International adoption regulations

 

International Regulations
  • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, November 20, 1989
  • Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague on May 29, 1993
  • Hague Conference on Private International Law
Regulations at National and Regional Levels

Bilateral Adoption Agreements

  • Russian Federation. Collaboration agreement on the adoption of children between the Kingdom of Spain and the Russian Federation. Madrid, July 9, 2014 (BOE. No. 74, March 27, 2015) More information

Regulations at the Regional Level

In this area, within the scope of their competencies, the Autonomous Communities have issued their own regulations, which are published in their respective official journals and corporate websites.

Registration of Adoption in the Civil Registry
  • Law 54/2007, December 28, on Intercountry Adoption. as amended by Law 26/2015, July 29, amending the system for the protection of children and adolescents.
  • Circular Resolution, July 15, 2006, from the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters, on the recognition and registration in the Spanish Civil Registry of International Adoptions.
  • Instruction of February 28, 2006, from the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters, on the competence of municipal Civil Registries in matters of Spanish nationality acquisition and international adoptions. 
  • Circular Resolution, October 31, 2005, from the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters, on international adoptions.
  • Instruction of July 1, 2004, from the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters, amending Rule One of the Instruction of February 15, 1999, on the registration record of adoption. 
Embassies and Consulates

Consular Civil Registry (RCC) Registration

The Consular Civil Registry is responsible, based on art. 16.1 of the Civil Registry Law, for registering the birth of the minor and the adoption, without prejudice to the consideration as preferential of the Municipal Civil Registry of the adoptive parents' domicile to register the international adoptions constituted by Spanish persons residing in Spain.

If the adoption registration in the Consular Civil Registry (RCC) is requested, as established in art. 27 of Law 54/2007, of December 28, on international adoption, the person in charge of the Civil Registry in which the registration of the foreign-constituted adoption is requested for recognition in Spain will incidentally control the validity of said adoption in Spain according to the rules contained in the Hague Convention, of May 29, 1993, on the protection of the child and cooperation in intercountry adoption, through the presentation of the certificate of conformity as provided in its article 23, and that the reason for non-recognition provided in article 24 of said Convention has not been incurred.

In cases of minors coming from non-signatory countries of the same, the person in charge of the Civil Registry will carry out said incidental control by verifying if the adoption meets the recognition conditions provided in articles 5.1.e), 5.1.f), and 26 of the International Adoption Law.

Before registration, the person responsible for the Consular Civil Registry must verify that the requirements established in art. 26 of the aforementioned international adoption law are met. 

Visa Issuance

Regarding visa issuance, when the adoption is full and one of the adoptive parents is Spanish or a national of a member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland, a visa for the relative of a Union citizen will be processed; in other cases, a family reunification visa under the general regime will be processed. For this, the regrouping person must first request the conformity or authorization of family reunification, as the case may be, before the Government Sub-delegation or the corresponding Foreigners Office of their province of residence.

The Consul, prior to issuing a visa in favor of the minor adopted in the accreditation country, must verify that the adoption meets the requirements demanded, both by local legislation and by Spanish legislation, in the case of Spanish nationals, which, according to article 27 of the International Adoption Law will allow its later registration in the Civil Registry in Spain. In the case of foreign persons residing in Spain, the legislation of the nationality country of the regrouping person will be taken into account.

According to the doctrine of the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters, all these requirements must be applied and interpreted, in any case, always in accordance with the principle of the “best interests of the children,” as prescribed by article 3, no. 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, done in New York, November 20, 1989. Regarding the second requirement, the Directorate General of Registries and Notarial Matters specifies that the control of the state law “seeks to ensure the continuity of international adoption between the State of Origin and the receiving State. Thus, the adoption validly constituted in a foreign state (State of origin) will also be considered valid and effective in Spain (receiving State).”

It is noted that the verifications that must be carried out by the Consul or the person in charge of the Consular Section are simpler and, to a certain extent, automatic, in the case that the country where the adoption is performed is a party to the 1993 Hague Convention concerning the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. In these cases, the Central Authority of the country of adoption must issue a certificate indicating that the adoption has been constituted “according to the Convention,” as established in article 23 of the mentioned Convention. In other cases and in the absence of a bilateral agreement in this matter, the verification process of the adoption records submitted must be more thorough and meticulous, especially if it is a country where legal uncertainty is high.

Automatically translated with OpenAI from Spanish