Study the list of the documents to be attached to the application for adoption

Documents Checklist — Adoption (offline submission)

Assemble the package of documents according to the checklist

If your documents are in order and you have a proactive attitude towards adoption, you can assemble the entire package of documents within a week or two. The documents are valid for one year from the date of issue, and for a year and a half during the martial law.

Generally, the main challenge is with obtaining a medical opinion, as future candidates usually have no idea where to begin. Here is the complete algorithm that will help you develop your medical examination route most efficiently, and pass the examination as fast as possible:

Medical examination route — adoption

File an application to be registered as an adoptive parent candidate

The application and the package of additional documents can be submitted during the in-person meeting with the Children’s Service at your place of residence, or online via the DIIA Portal: Adoption: Get registered as a candidate.

For the application and documents to be submitted online via the DIIA Portal, the documents that are not in the state registers need to be prepared in advance. These documents include, without limitation, the health statement, the pay statement for the last six months, documents on the right to use the residential premises (for instance, a lease agreement), and the consent of the applicant’s spouse to the adoption of a child. These documents need to be uploaded when the application is submitted online via the DIIA Portal, and the original copies must be shown to the officer at the Children’s Service at a later time (during the assessment of living and household conditions). Please note that documents attached to the application through interaction with the respective databases and state registers shall not be checked. If you have received no feedback within five business days following submission of the documents via the DIIA Portal, you should contact the Children’s Service and ask about the progress of your application.

The application and documents need to be filed with the Children’s Service at the applicant’s place of permanent residence (it does not have to be the place of your registration).

Here are some examples of where to apply:

• if you live in a city with administrative divisions: for instance, you live in Lviv. Lviv has six administrative districts: Halytskyi, Zaliznychnyi, Lychakivskyi, Sykhivskyi, Frankivskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi. If you live in the Zaliznychnyi District, you need to apply to the Children’s Service of Zaliznychnyi District. The contact details (address, telephone number) can be found online (just google them) easily;
• if you live in a city with no administrative divisions: for instance, you live in the city of Vasylkiv in Kyiv Oblast; then you must contact the Vasylkiv City Children and Family Service;
• if you live in a village or urban-type settlement: for instance, you permanently reside in the village of Malechkovychy, Pustomyty Raion, Lviv Oblast. You must apply to the Pustomyty Raion Children’s Service. Please note that village and urban-type settlement services do not register adopting parent candidates. Adopting parent candidates who reside in villages and urban-type settlements will be registered with the raion children’s services.