According to Decree No. 393 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 10, 2018 on "Measures related to the improvement of management in the field of adoption", the state policy and regulation in the field of adoption was attributed to the activities of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Adoption is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Family Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Here are 3 steps to Adoption:
1. Registration of the person (persons) who wants to adopt;
2. Providing an opinion on the compatibility of the child's interests;
3. Court decision about adoptiona
A person(s) of either sex may be an adopter, except:
1. Persons deemed by the court to be incapacitated or with limited capacity;
2. Persons who have been deprived of their parental rights by the court or whose parental rights have been restricted;
3. Persons removed from the position of guardian or foster parent due to failure to fulfill the duties imposed on them by law;
4. Persons whose adoption right was revoked after being found guilty by the court;
5. Persons who cannot fulfill their parental duties due to their health;
6. Persons sentenced to serious or especially serious crimes against peace and humanity, public security and public morale, life and health, freedom and dignity of the person, sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the person, against minors and family relations, without taking into account the revocation of conviction and persons whose criminal prosecution was terminated without justifiable grounds for committing these crimes;
7. Persons who are subject to criminal proceedings;
8. Persons whose average monthly income per person in the family is less than the amount of the living minimum determined for the country for each of the family members (including the child to be adopted) (for foreigners and stateless persons who want to adopt children who are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2 times the average monthly salary for the country they live);
9. Persons with diseases defined in the list of diseases that do not allow for adoption, guardianship and foster familly;
10. Unmarried foreigners and stateless persons (relatives (siblings, grandparents, parents' sisters, brothers, their children);
11. Foreigners and stateless persons who want to adopt a child who is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan and whose property is less than the minimum norm according to the relevant legislation of the country of residence, taking into account every person living there;
12. Unmarried persons under the age of 30, excluding stepfather (stepmother), as well as relatives (siblings, grandparents, parents' sisters, brothers, their children);
13. The requirements mentioned in clauses 2.6, 2.7 and 2.9 are also applied to the persons who live together (have a common household) with the person(s) who wish to adopt the child.
14. Unmarried persons cannot adopt the same child together.
Within 10 (ten) working days after the parent-candidate is registered in accordance with the "Regulation on the adoption of children deprived of parental care, including the adoption of children who are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan by foreigners and stateless persons", the social worker conducts an interview with the the parent-candidate at his place of residence.
During the interview, the social worker working with the parents examines living conditions, interests, family composition (number of family members, including the age and gender of the children in the family), as well as the attitude of the family members to adoption, and at the same time, informs the parent-candidate regarding adoption. Social worker prepares a preliminary evaluation opinion on the results of the interview within 2 (two) working days and enters it into the subsystem.
After the interview, the social worker for work with children examines the financial conditions of the parent-candidate in terms of compliance with the interests of the child. In accordance with the form specified in the Appendix to the above-mentioned Regulation, an act is drawn up and signed by the parent-candidate and the social worker for work with children, and the social worker enters the act into the subsystem within the same day. If, according to the results of the examination, the financial conditions of the parent-candidate are not considered to be in the best interests of the child, the parent-candidate has the right to re-apply for the examination of the financial conditions by eliminating the defects mentioned in the act within 1 (one) month.
People who want to adopt a child can apply electronically as follows:
The parent-candidate(s) who wants to adopt a child, together with cphabitant persons over 18 years of age, apply to the notary authority for an application for adoption.
яAfter the notarized application is transferred to the subsystem through the "Electronic Notary" information system of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the parent-candidate can apply for adoption through “Children deprived of parental care and adoption subsystem" on the Ministry's "e-sosial.az" internet portal and create a personal cabinet.
https://adoption.mlspp.gov.az/app
To create a personal cabinet, users need to get ASAN Login:
By creating a personal cabinet, the registered person enters the documents obtained based on the visual medical examination of the parent-candidate(s) (and the cohabitant person) on the presence of the following diseases (including a psychiatrist's opinion) into the subsystem.
Parents-candidate(s) and cohabitant person(s) can undergo medical examinations at 2 medical institutions designated throughout the country:
1. Persons registered in Baku city - at city Polyclinic No. 5;
2. Persons with other city/district registration - in the Republican Clinical Hospital named after Aсademiс M.A. Mirgasimov.
The person(s) should approach the mentioned medical institutions with a medical certificate obtained from the city/district hospital/polyclinic where he/she is registered, stating whether he/she is registered for tuberculosis.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population conducts the unified accounting of adopted children, as well as parents-candidates, using the information systems and resources of the state bodies (institutions) and other relevant institutions mentioned below:
Ministry of Labour and Social Protection;
Ministry of Justice;
Ministry of Internal Affairs;
Ministry of Health;
Ministry of Science and Education;
Ministry of Economy;
State Migration Service;
State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance;
Medical Area Management Association credit bureaus.
Application of the parent-candidate and cohabitant persons (having a common household) (confirmed by a notary authority with an enhanced electronic signature);
Personal information about parent-candidates (surname, first name, patronymic, gender, date of birth, place of birth, PIN, place of residence, including actual place of residence (address), citizenship);
Health certificate of the State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance based on the visual medical examination of the parent-candidate regarding the presence or absence of diseases (including a psychiatrist's opinion);
Information on marital status (number and date of marriage or divorce certificate);
Information about the place of work (including position), salary and other income (including bank account statement for the last 12 months);
Information about the real estates in his possession, including vehicles; Information about conviction (date of conviction, type of sentence, term, date of release, grounds for release);
Information about alimony, credit and other obligations;
In case of adopting of one's own relative (sister, brother, grandchild, brother's or sister's child, parent's sister or brother's children) - information on confirmation of kinship relations (copy of birth certificate);
In relation to foreigners and stateless persons, also - information on the migration document (number, date of issue, validity period, basis of issue).
Note 1: The mentioned documents are obtained based on the information integrated into the subsystem by the relevant authorities.
If it is not possible to obtain this information from the information systems, the submission of those documents is requested from the relevant body with the consent of the citizen or is provided by the citizen.
Note 2: In order to determine whether the adoption is in the best interests of the child, additional documents and information about them can be obtained with the consent of the prospective parents, family members, as well as persons living with them.
Steps to Adoption:
Registration of the person (persons) who wants to adopt;
Conducting an interview with the person(s) who wants to adopt;
Involving the person(s) who want to adopt in training;
Selection of a suitable child for the person (persons) who wants to adopt, suitable parent for the adopted child;
Organization of the meeting of the person (persons) who wants to adopt with a child at the institution where the child is located;
Placement of the adopted child in the home of the person(s) wishing to adopt the child during the trial period.
Involvement of the parent-candidate in training
The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection makes a decision on the results of the interview within 3 (three) working days on the basis of the results of the preliminary assessment opinion of social workers regarding the interview with the parent-candidate and the act conducted by examination of financial and household conditions in accordance with part 5 of the rule "Adoption of children deprived of parental care, including adoption of children who are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan by foreigners and stateless persons". After the interview, the parent-candidate is involved in the training organized by the Ministry within 10 (ten) working days, the duration of which is not more than 30 (thirty) days. The topics and programs of the training are prepared by the Ministry.
At the end of the training, the parent-candidate is evaluated according to the following criteria, and a report is drawn up on the results of the evaluation:
The level of self-confidence and self-awareness of the parent-candidate regarding adoption;
The parent-candidate's level of basic knowledge about the needs of the adopted child;
Motivation of the parent-candidate regarding adoption;
The level of development of parenting skills of the parent-candidate;
The ability of the prospective parent to make decisions regarding the resolution of problems that may arise during the upbringing of the adopted child.
When a parent-candidate who has passed the training applies for adoption again, he/she is released from the training phase of adoption.
Note: Foreigners and stateless persons who have submitted a document (certificate) confirming adoption training in their country are not included in the training.
Note: Participation in the training is mandatory.
Selection of a suitable child for the parent-candidate and organization of their meetings
When the results of the training are evaluated positively, taking into account the wishes and interests of the parent-candidate, as well as the requirements of Article 121.2 of the Family Code, the subsystem selects a suitable parent for the child to be adopted and a suitable child for the parent-candidate, and the Ministry, within 5 (five) working days organizes their meeting (meetings) with the participation of the sosial worker.
In the selection process of suitable parent for the adopted child and a suitable child for the parent-candidate In accordance with Article 121.3 of the Family Code, preference is given to the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan who have been married for at least 3 (three) years (1 (one) year for spouses over the age of 35) and foreigners and stateless persons who have been married for at least 5 (five) years, as well as to persons under the age of 55.
Meetings between parent-candidate and the child to know the child better and building family ties, are organized at the institution where the child is placed for a period of 2 (two) months for at least 40 (forty) hours per month.
Note: Foreigners and stateless persons living outside the Republic of Azerbaijan must meet with children in institutions for a total of 40 hours within 2 weeks. The Ministry can shorten this period to 12 (twelve) hours within 20 (twenty) days based on the report of the social worker in the case of children under 0-1 years of age who are deprived of parental care.
The institution where the child is placed must create the necessary conditions for the meeting of the parent-candidate with the child and for social workers to perform their duties.
Temporary placement of the child in the house of the parent-candidate for a trial period
According to the results of the meetings between the child and the parent-candidate, the child is temporarily placed in the home of the parent-candidate for a trial period of 3 (three) months based on the contract concluded between the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population and the parent-candidate.
Giving an opinion on the justification of adoption and compliance with the interests of the adopted child
At the end of the trial period, the Ministry prepares an opinion within 7 (seven) working days on the justification of the adoption and its compliance with the interests of the adopted child, according to the results of all stages related to adoption.
In the preparation of the opinion, the reports (opinions) prepared by social workers regarding the stages of adoption, the training results of the parent-candidate, as well as the wishes and interests of the adopted children are considered.
The opinion is attached to the application of the person applying to the court for adoption.
Monitoring after adoption
After the court decision on adoption becomes legal, it is carried out every quarter of the first year until the child reaches the age of 18, and once a year in the following years.
