Your cousin or a child related to you has just been orphaned and you want to help?

You are a dual national and would like to adopt a child in your country of origin?

You have just been awarded custody or you wish to be awarded tutorship of a child and you would like the child to come live with you in Québec?

From a personal standpoint, these situations are legitimate and understandable. However, in reality, things are not always so simple. There are specific steps to be taken to comply with Québec law; otherwise neither adoption nor immigration procedures can be completed.

At times, there are persons domiciled in Québec and acting in good faith, who initiate adoption procedures in a foreign country without finding out beforehand the rules to comply with in Québec. By doing this, their adoption procedures will not be officially recognized in Québec. In every case, this means the loss of a substantial personal and monetary investment; it also means that somewhere a child will not be able to begin a new life with a family in Québec that was ready to take the child in. Such a situation is in no one’s interest.

Who is in charge of international adoptions in Québec?

The Secrétariat à l’adoption internationale (SAI) performs the functions of a central authority for Québec on behalf of the Minister of Health and Social Services. The SAI coordinates all international adoptions in Québec in the best interests of the children, in keeping with their fundamental rights.

What do Québec laws have to say about international adoptions?

Any person domiciled in Québec who wants to adopt a child domiciled elsewhere in Canada or in another country must proceed through an international adoption body certified by the Minister.

However, in certain special circumstances, intra-family adoptions for example, a person may be authorized to proceed without the help of a certified body. Such authorization must absolutely be granted by the SAI before beginning any international adoption procedures.

How does the SAI try to prevent children and adoptive parents from finding themselves in this type of difficult situation?

The SAI is aware of the circumstances described above and works very hard to prevent such situations from happening. Hence the importance for it to inform everyone, including dual nationals, of the existence of the SAI, its mandate and the rules governing international adoption that apply in Québec.

By taking a few minutes of your time to answer a short questionnaire, you will help the SAI find effective ways of communicating information. All you have to do is click on the following hyperlink: