Uganda Update

Please see below the latest update from the State Department concerning the new regulations from Uganda (found here- http://www.mglsd.go.ug/laws/ The%20Children%20Amendment% 20Act%202016.pdf (start page 32) and here http://www.mglsd.go.ug/laws/children%20act%20Chapter_59.pdf (start page 22)

These new regulations went into effect on June 2nd. The Laws were signed in May, but it had previously not been clear as to when it would go into effect, so some had hope that cases this summer would not be impacted. It seems now that this means any referrals made after June 2nd will need to abide by these new laws. IAN will keep its license in Uganda should a family want to adopt under these new regulations, however it seems that as things stand, it would be very difficult for any families living in the US to meet these standards. Here is a run down of the main things you need to know:

​A person who is not a citizen of Uganda may in exceptional

circumstances adopt a Ugandan child, if he or she—

(a) has stayed in Uganda for at least one

(b) has fostered the child for at least one year under the

supervision of a probation and social welfare officer;

(c) does not have a criminal record;

(d) has a recommendation concerning his or her suitability to adopt

a child from his or her country’s probation and welfare office or

other competent authority; and

(e) has satisfied the court that his or her country of origin will

respect and recognise the adoption order.

45. Restrictions and conditions.

(1) An adoption order may be granted to a sole applicant or jointly

to spouses where—

(a) the applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has attained

the age of twenty-five years and is at least twenty-one years older

than the child;

(b) in the case of an application by one of the spouses, the other has

consented to the adoption.

(2) The court may dispense with the consent required under

subsection (1)(b) if the spouse whose consent is required cannot be found or

is incapable of giving consent, or the spouses are separated and living apart

and the separation is likely to be permanent.

(3) An adoption order shall not be made in favour of a sole male

applicant in respect of a female child, or in favour of a sole female applicant

in respect of a male child, unless the court is satisfied that there are special

circumstances that justify, as an exceptional measure, the making of an

adoption order.

(4) The application shall not be considered unless the applicant has

fostered the child for a period of not less than thirty-six months under the

supervision of a probation and social welfare officer.

(5) The probation and social welfare officer shall be required to

submit a report to assist the court in considering the application; and the

court may, in addition, require some other person or the local authority to

make a report in respect of the adoption application.

(6) Except where the application is by spouses jointly, an adoption

order shall not be made authorising more than one person to adopt a child at

the same time.

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The main thing is that these requirements used to be able to be waived by going through guardianship decrees and then finalizing the adoption in the US. However guardianship is no longer an option if you are not a Ugandan citizen under the new amendments, so these residency rules now apply to all international cases. Obviously we understand that most families can not move to Uganda for an extended time. The state department is updating its Uganda adoption information page, and as soon as we have any more information about how this is playing out, we will be sure to let you know.