Click each heading to open that section of the Process
1. Check ICANZ Country Programme Requirements
Check you meet the requirements for your country of choice. Call or email us with your questions and for fuller information including costs These vary for each country.
2. Pre-registration with ICANZ - optional
If you are really committed to adopting in a particular country with ICANZ, then while you're undergoing assessment, we can help you more if you complete our pre-registration to receive further information on your country of choice, to discuss your personal situation with our staff, to keep updated about any changes in that country's process, and to book your place in our system. It also gives you access to our Members only page on this website for your country of choice. Currently for all countries it is optional.
There's no requirement for you to already have links to the culture of the country you wish to apply to, although for India it does give you an advantage. You do need to be able to help your child learn about their heritage, to integrate that with your family culture and you must respect their heritage. You need to learn how to provide your child with familiar food from their culture and say some basic phrases in their language. Take a look at resources that will help you to build your child's awareness of their heritage.
3. Education, Assessment/Approval to be an adoptive parent, Home Study Report - Either AFS or OT, with NZCA approval
This is the first step towards intercountry adoption. For this step, you have a choice of using either the New Zealand Government Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children (OT, formerly CYF); or, an accredited non-government organisation called Adoption First Steps (AFS) ICANZ is not an Assessment Service and does not carry out this step.
Whichever organisation you use, this steps involves
1. police, medical and referee reports to check your legal eligibility
2. an education/preparation course on adoption
3. social worker visits to your home for interviews to assess your suitability to become an adoptive parent
4. the social worker's report called a Home Study Report
5. review of the Home Study Report by the NZCA (New Zealand Central Authority) and issue of an approval certificate to adopt a certain number of children, of a particular age range, from one specified country.
If you use Oranga Tamariki, their education course, called "Ways to Care", starts with a short information session, covering fostering, long term shared guardianship ("Home for Life"), NZ adoption, plus inter-country adoption. You then attend 3 workshops, referred to as Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. Be aware that there are two versions of Day 3 - one to prepare you to go into the pool for local "Home for Life" children and one to prepare you to adopt a child or children intercountry. Make sure you know which one you've chosen to attend.
If you use AFS, their course involves online education that you can complete at home in your own time, followed by a workshop run by AFS.
For some countries you'll also need a report from a psychologist.The NZCA will send your Home Study Report to ICANZ provided you've told the AFS or OT social worker you wish to use ICANZ. We'll then work on your behalf to prepare an application and make the arrangements that lead to you being offered a child to adopt into your family (see below).
4. Placement of a child in your home - ICANZ, with NZCA approval
ICANZ (that's us - Inter-Country Adoption New Zealand) is a placement organisation, with authority to arrange the placement (and finally adoption) of a child from overseas into your home. We'll do the paperwork, apply on your behalf to the overseas authorities, and make all the arrangements needed. ICANZ can assist you to adopt a child from countries listed on this website. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information about the country you are interested in.