Korea
THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION:
South Korea is not a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention). Therefore the entering into force of the Convention for the United States on April 1, 2008, did not change intercountry adoption processing for South Korea.
PLEASE NOTE: South Korea ’s special adoption law No. 2977, Section 9 (A), requires the use of an adoption agency for overseas adoption of Korean orphans, and Section 10 (A) provides that such agencies must be authorized by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.:
Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Korean orphans:
| Fiscal Year | Number of Immigrant Visas Issued |
| FY 2007 | 939 |
| FY 2006 | 1,376 |
| FY 2005 | 1,668 |
| FY 2004 | 1,773 |
| FY 2003 | 1,817 |
ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN SOUTH KOREA:
The government office responsible for adoptions in South Korea is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The address is as follows:
Population & Children’s Policy Anyang Construction Tower 3rd Fl. 1112-1 Dalan Dong, Tongan Gu, Anyang Tel: +82-31-440-9654ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT:
South Korean authorities have advised the U.S. Embassy in Seoul of the following criteria for selecting adoptive parents. These criteria have been established by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. They are administrative policy guidelines and not legal requirements, but local adoption agencies can be expected to follow them:
- The adoptive parents must be eligible to adopt under the laws of their country or state of residence.
- Single parents are not eligible.
- The couple should be married for at least three years and be between the ages of 25 and 44. Korean authorities usually require that both adoptive parents in overseas adoptions be younger than 45 years old; however, they may make exceptions in some cases. The following three factors, while unofficial and applied differently from case to case, may be considered when making exceptions to the age limit:
- At least one parent is under 45
- The adoptive parents have previously adopted a Korean orphan
- The parents are willing to adopt an orphan with serious medical problems
- The adoptive couple should have no more than five children. This number includes the child or children to be adopted
- The couple should not have an age difference of more than 15 years
- The income of the adoptive couple should be higher than the national average of their country and sufficient to raise the child.
RESIDECY REQUIREMENTS: Parents living in the U.S. do not need residency in Korea to adopt a child from Korea . They only need to contact one of the U.S. adoption agencies affiliated with Korean adoption agencies authorized by Korean government.
TIME FRAME: The period of time between when a couple first applies for a child and when the child arrives in the United States is anywhere between one and four years. One year is the norm for hard-to-place handicapped children and three years is usual for healthy infants.
ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: The Korean government requires prospective adoptive families to work with agencies that have been approved by the Korean government. The list is as follows:
EASTERN SOCIAL WELFARE SOCIETY, INC. 493, Changchun-Dong, Sudaemun-Ku, Seoul Tel: 82-2-332-3941/5 Fax: 82-2-333-1588 http://www.eastern.or.kr/eng HOLT INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S SERVICES 382-14, Hapjong-Dong, Mapo-Ku, Seoul Tel: 82-2-332-7501~4, 322-8102~3 Fax: 82-2-335-6319 or 334-5440 http://www.holt.or.kr KOREA SOCIAL SERVICE 533-3, Ssangmun-Dong, Dobong-Ku, Seoul Tel: 82-2-908-9191~3 Fax: 82-2-908-3344 http://www.kssinc.org SOCIAL WELFARE SOCIETY, INC. 718-35, Yuksam-Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul Central Post Office Box 24, Seoul, Korea Tel: 82-2-552-1015~8, 552-6227 Fax: 82-2-552-1019. http://www.alovenest.comADOPTION FEES IN SOUTH KOREA:
According to the Korean Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Korean adoption agencies, the total cost is between $9,500 and $10,000. This includes:
- Child care fees (including payment for foster mother)
- Medical expenses
- Legal processing fees
- Administrative fees
- Social worker payment and counseling fees
- Post adoption service fee
ADOPTION PROCEDURES:
Korean adoption is always conducted through one of the aforementioned authorized adoption agencies. Accordingly, the first step for couples who wish to adopt a Korean child would be to contact the adoption agency.
The procedure with the adoption agency is generally the following:
- Pre-adoption counseling
- Submission of application for adoption (please see below “Korean Documentary Requirements”)
- A home study
- Child assignment
- Application for child’s overseas adoption to the Korean government
- Applications for child’s passport and visa
- Fly to the adoptive parents
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN SOUTH KOREA :
Most of the documents required by the Korean government will be prepared by the adoption agencies. Adoption agencies will require from the would-be parents the following documents:
- Home study report
- Affidavit of support (Form I-864)
- Adoptive parents’ birth certificates
- Notice of petition approval (Form I-797)
KOREAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:
Embassy of Korea Consular Section 2450 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20008 Tel: 202-939-5600 Web address: http://www.dynamic-korea.com/Korea also has Consulates in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Evanston (Illinois), Ft. Lauderdale, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Kansas), Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Mobile, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle and St. Louis.
AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: For more information on authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad, please see the Judicial Assistance section of our website.
U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS:
Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service publication The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600A, Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative and Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative in the State Department flyer “How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States.”
Parents who do not have an approved I-600A must file their Form I-600 (Petition t Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) with the USCIS office having jurisdiction over their place of residence in the United States . In general, a parent who has an approved I-600A may file Form I-600 either in the U.S. or at a USCIS office in the country where the immigrant visa will be issued. If there is no USCIS office in that country, the I-600 may be filed with the consular section of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where the adoption case is being processed.
Once the I-600 is approved, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul will receive the notice of approval from CIS. The Embassy will then inform the adoption agency, so they may prepare the immigrant visa application and medical examination. After receiving the visa application, the visa is normally issued the following business day.
NOTE: Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.
U.S. EMBASSY IN SOUTH KOREA : Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The Consular Section is located at:
Street Address
U.S. Embassy 32 Sejong-Ro, Jongno-gu Seoul, Korea Tel: 011-82-2-397-4114 Fax: 011-82-2-738-8845 Web: http://seoul.usembassy.gov/
Mailing Address
U.S. Embassy Unit 15550 APO AP 96205-5550
DOCTORS: In addition to the designated panel physicians who must be consulted as part of the U.S. immigrant visa process, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul maintains current lists of doctors and sources for medicines, should either a prospective parent or prospective adoptive child experience health problems while in Korea .
ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: Please see the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 for further information on acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, and security information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, call Toll Free 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
- U.S. Department of State Visa Office - For information on immigrant visas for adopted orphans, call (202) 663-1225. Press 1 for additional information on visas, and press 0 to speak to a Visa Information Officer, available 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except Wednesdays 11 a.m. - 12:00 noon)
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
- National Visa Center (NVC) Public Inquiries (603) 334-0700, Email: nvcinquiry@state.gov.
- Country Specific Information - The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department’s Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours.
- USCIS web site
