NEW!
May 14, 2007

In August 2006, the Georgia Ministry of Education informed the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia that a very limited number of Georgian children are eligible for intercountry adoption.  Information about available children may be obtained by contacting Ms. Tamar Golubiani, head of the Child Care Department at the Ministry of Education and Science in Georgia. For the most up-to-date information about Georgia, please visit the U.S. Department of State website by clicking here.

NEW!
January 2, 2007

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention) has the force of law in the United States and the Republic of Georgia. This has been confirmed by the Depository of the Hague Convention.

A domestic law in Georgia permitted lawyers to arrange private adoptions, however these lawyers are not licensed or accredited under the Hague Convention to arrange intercountry adoptions. These privately arranged adoptions contravene the Hague Convention. There have been reports of irregularities with these privately arranged adoptions.

At this time, it is believed that the Government of Georgia is not able to comply with the Hague Convention.

Notably, new legislation has been signed by the President of Georgia which effectively terminates private adoptions by foreigners. However, the Ministry of Education in Georgia will be making a legislative proposal to improve the existing adoption legislation, which would include the implementation of the Hague Convention.

October 27, 2003

The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia issued a press release titled "Newly Signed Amendment to the Georgian Adoption Law Will Significantly Delay International Direct Adoption".  The new amendment calls for international direct adoptions to be regulated by the "Law on the Rules of Adoption" as opposed to Civil Code.

Full press release:

Newly Signed Amendment to the Georgian Adoption Law Will Significantly Delay International Direct Adoption

Tbilisi - On August 26, 2003, the Parliament of Georgia passed changes to the Civil Code of Georgia, Articles 1251, 1252 (Chapter 6). President Shevardnadze signed these amendments into law on September 25, 2003. The American Embassy received a copy of the amendments and has looked at how they will affect potential adoptions by Americans.

The new amendment calls for international direct adoptions to be regulated by the "Law on the Rules of Adoption" as opposed to Civil Code. Domestic direct adoptions will still be possible under Articles 1251 and 1252 of the Civil Code. In recent years, virtually all international adoptions in Georgia have been direct adoptions based on Articles 1251 and 1252. The "Law on the Rules of Adoption" regulates adoption in more detail than Articles 1251 and 1252 of the Civil Code.

Articles 1251 and 1252 of the Civil Code did not specifically address international direct adoption. Article 1251 states: "The parents may give their consent to the adoption of their child to any concrete person or without specifying a concrete person." Article 1252 states: "In case of a child born out of wedlock written consent of mother is necessary. Consent has to be made more than six weeks after the child's birth." These articles no longer apply to international direct adoption.

The "Law on the Rules of Adoptions" stipulates that children left without parental care must be registered in the Ministry of Education's centralized database of orphans for at least six months before they are allowed to be adopted internationally. The Ministry of Education is the institution responsible for regulating the adoption process. If no Georgian family is willing to adopt, a child may be adopted internationally by a foreign family, including American citizens. In the meantime, such children will have to be placed in an infant house or orphanage where they are available for adoption domestically in Georgia. Previously, children adopted directly by foreigners have typically been placed in informal foster care until a court hearing awarded final custody of a child to the new adoptive parents.

The American Embassy Tbilisi remains in contact with the Ministry of Education to discuss specifically how pending adoption dossiers that have been submitted to the Ministry, but have not yet been authorized, will be handled. To date, the Ministry of Education has not yet worked out procedures for such cases, e.g. a grandfather clause. The American Embassy Tbilisi understands that one of the leading adoption attorneys in Georgia is working closely with the Ministry of Education on this issue and has addressed the Secretary of the Parliament with a request for guidance on pending adoption cases.

American citizens considering adoption from Georgia and/or their adoption agencies will appreciate the fact that the amendment will subject any direct adoption program to significant delays. The American Embassy Tbilisi places a high priority on adoption issues and will continue to closely monitor the situation. We will update American citizens and the Department of State once there is news.

This situation in no way affects immigrant visa applications for children adopted by American citizens in Armenia and Azerbaijan whose immigrant visas are processed at Embassy Tbilisi as of October 1, 2003.

September 26, 2003

Except from the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi:

Possible Amendment to the Georgian Adoption Law Could Significantly Slow Down International Adoption

Tbilisi - On August 26, 2003, the Parliament of Georgia made changes to the Civil Code of Georgia, Article 1251, 1252 Chapter 6. These changes were adopted with the required three hearings.

Based on the amendment made, direct international adoptions will be regulated by the "Law on the Rules of Adoption" as opposed to the Civil Code. As far as the American Embassy Tbilisi understands, the former law doesn't foresee international direct adoption. The latter law says: "The parents may give their consent to the adoption of their child to any concrete person or without specifying a concrete person" (Art. 1251) and "In case of a child born out of wedlock written consent of mother is necessary. Consent has to be made more than 6 weeks after the child's birth" (Art. 1252). The American Embassy received a copy of the amendments and was able to study them.

As far as the American Embassy Tbilisi understands, these changes mean that babies left without parental care must be registered in the Ministry of Education's centralized database of orphans. Babies will have to be placed in an Infant House where they can be adopted by a local Georgian family. In case no local family is willing to adopt a child, such a child might be adopted internationally by foreign families, e.g. American citizens. The Ministry of Education is the institution responsible for regulating the adoption process.

The amendment to the law has meanwhile been submitted to the President of Georgia. After the President signs the law, the new law will be enacted and enforced. To date, the President has not signed the law.

Representatives of the American Embassy Tbilisi have met with Ms. Rusudan Gorgiladze, the Deputy Minister of Education, to seek clarification of the law. She confirmed the passing of the amendments and informed the Embassy that her office has submitted a lengthy brief to the President requesting him not to sign the new law as the Ministry of Education was neither informed nor involved in passing this amendment, a highly unusual practice. According to Ms. Gorgiladze, the amendment conflicts with ongoing legal reform initiatives being considered by the Ministry.

At this point it is unknown whether or not President Shevardnadze will sign the amendment. The American Embassy Tbilisi remains in contact with the Ministry of Education to discuss further proceedings should President Shevardnadze sign the bill, specifically how to process pending adoption dossiers that have not yet been authorized by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry has not yet worked out procedures for such cases. The American Embassy Tbilisi also understands that one of the leading adoption attorneys in Georgia is working closely with the MOE on this issue and has addressed the Secretary of the Parliament with a request for guidance on pending adoption cases. The Embassy also remains in contact with the Parliament to see where the amendment is in the ratification/signature process.

American citizens considering adoption from Georgia and/or their adoption agencies will appreciate the fact that, should the law be signed and enacted, all adoption agencies' direct adoption programs would be subject to significant delays (as children must first be placed in infant houses, resp. orphanages and spend the minimum 6 months on the orphan database). The American Embassy Tbilisi places a high priority on adoption issues and will continue to closely monitor the situation. We will update American citizens and the Department of State once there is news.

This situation in no way affects immigrant visa applicants from Armenia and Azerbaijan (including adopted children) whose immigrant visas are processed at Embassy Tbilisi as of October 1, 2003.

For more information on international adoption from Georgia, consult the U.S. State Department.