Intercountry adoption: Scotland's guide for international adoption

8. Definitions

This section gives a brief description of some of the terms used within this guidance document.

Adoption agency

• Your local council’s adoption service team, or a registered adoption service, which carries out or proposes to carry out functions specified in the Adoption Agencies (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

Apostillisation

• A specific type of certification carried out by the government. In the UK, apostilles are issued only by the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The apostille confirms the signature and seal of the notary public, or public official who certified the document. This gives the document an extra level of authentication and confidence in its validity to whomever will be receiving the document. The apostille itself is a piece of paper affixed to the document, stating the name of the notary public on the notarised document and the public official or government department who issued the document. Each apostille is given a unique reference number.

Certificate of Eligibility

• A Certificate of Eligibility confirms that the prospective adopters have been assessed by their local authority and determined eligible to adopt. The certificate does not guarantee that an adoption will take place and does not reflect anything regarding immigration and visa processes. It is used to confirm to other countries that the PAPs have been deemed eligible to adopt, which is required in order to proceed with any ICA application process.

Contracting State

• Referring to a country which has signed, ratified or acceded the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (‘the Hague Convention’), which protects children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad. The Hague Convention, which operates through a system of national Central Authorities, reinforces the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 21) and seeks to ensure that ICAs are made in the best interest of the child and with respect for their fundamental rights. It also seeks to prevent the abduction of, sale of, or traffic of children.

Exception Requests

• A preliminary step required to be taken by prospective adopters wishing to adopt a child who is habitually resident in a Restricted Country. If the Exception Request is granted, the prospective adopters would then take the required steps to complete the Hague Convention or Non-Hague Convention Adoption process, depending on the specific Restricted Country’s status as a recognised contracting state.

Habitual Residence

• Refers to a place where a person lives, with a degree of settlement and continuity. An individual’s habitual residence is assessed on a case-by-case basis, where the quality of residence is assessed rather than the mere duration. It requires an element of intention. There is no requisite period of residence, and it is a legal concept not defined by statute. It is not for the Scottish Government to determine if someone is habitually resident.

Hague Convention Adoption

• A Hague Convention Adoption is where prospective adopters are seeking to adopt a child who is habitually resident in a Contracting State, i.e. another country which has consented to be bound by the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (‘the Hague Convention’).

Intercountry Adoption (ICA)

• The process of adopting a child from a foreign country into an individual’s home country. For the purposes of this guidance, ICA references the process of adopting a child from outside the United Kingdom.

Local Authority (LA)

• Scottish Local Government consisting of 32 elected councils which provide a range of services to the people of Scotland. LAs act as the Adoption Agency for ICA, unless otherwise specified. LAs are responsible for assessing prospective adopters’ suitability for adoption, and for communicating with the Scottish Government during and after the adoption process. A list of Local Authorities in Scotland is available to help individuals identify who to contact.

Legalisation

• The process of making key documents valid for use in a foreign country by getting them certified by a government. Legalisation can be carried out either by the UK government, or the local government where the document is going to be used. Different countries have their own requirements as to what is needed for a document to be valid. Certain countries, including many of those in the Commonwealth, accept notarisation only. However, for most countries, document legalisation will be required.

Non-Hague Convention Adoption

• Refers to the process by which prospective adopters are seeking to adopt a child who is habitually resident in a country that is either not a Contracting State to the Hague Convention or is a Contracting State on the Restricted Countries List, but the UK does not recognise its status as a Contracting State.

Notarisation

• Refers to a notary public authenticating a document. A notary public can authenticate documents in various ways. For example, it may involve witnessing a signature, confirming identity and capacity, or certifying a copy of a document. A notary is a lawyer specialising in authentication. When sending documents abroad, it is common practice to get a notary to authenticate it. The notary will carry out various checks on the document or any persons signing and will issue a notarial certificate.

Prospective Adopters

• Reference to ‘prospective adopters’ throughout means any couple or individual residing in Scotland who are/is seeking to adopt a child, where the couple or individual meet(s) the eligibility criteria of section 29 or section 30 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 regarding the couple or individual’s habitual residence in the British Islands.

Restricted Country / Countries

• Means a country or countries that have been entered onto the Restricted List.

Restricted List

• A list of ‘Restricted Countries’ that have been entered onto that list where there are public policy concerns about adoption practices in those countries. It is a requirement under section 62(5) of the 2007 Act that the Scottish Ministers publish and maintain the Restricted List. Section 62(4) also requires that the reasons for such declarations must be published.

State of Origin

• Refers to the home country of a child who will come through ICA to live in Scotland.

State of Origin Adoption (where Scotland is the “sending State”)

• An adoption where the child is habitually resident in Scotland and will depart from Scotland for another country outwith the UK, following successful completion of the ICA process.