Bulgaria

Bulgaria is an adoption program that offers many options for parents. Parents need to make only two short trips of five days each. In some cases only one parent needs to travel on the second trip. Because Bulgaria is a relatively small country, in-country flights are not needed. Visas are also not required for travel to Bulgaria. The children of Bulgaria are beautiful, with an olive complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair.

Adoption ARK has a partnership with Happy Family NGO, a registered adoption service provider in Bulgaria.  The role of Adoption ARK is to prepare the dossier for prospective adoptive family, to provide training, and to pre-qualified the family for adoption based on submitted documents. Adoption ARK sends the dossier to the partner service provider and they submit the dossier to the Central Authority.  The referral is assigned by the government of Bulgaria and, the information about the referral is provided to the family by the partner agency though Adoption ARK.

How to Start Your Bulgarian Adoption Process

• Read over the information on this page, and contact us with questions or fill out our no-commitment registration form and an adoption consultant will contact you with more information
• If you decide this is the program for you, then request an adoption contract from your consultant, complete it, and send it in to our Illinois office with the initial fee.
• Your contract will be reviewed and approved by our director, and then you will be assigned a caseworker to complete your adoption.
• Your caseworker will inform you of the steps needed to move forward with your adoption. Some of these steps include:
  • Submitting your petition to adopt an orphan from overseas (I600A form)
  • Starting your home study if you do not have one completed
  • Collecting documents and forms needed for your adoption dossier
• Once your dossier is complete, all documents need to be notarized and apostilled.
• Send in your notarized, apostilled, and complete dossier to your caseworker.
• Your caseworker will make sure the dossier is complete. She will then send the dossier to Bulgaria.

Trip One to Bulgaria

• Your caseworker will receive a referral of a child from the Bulgarian authorities.
• If you accept the referral, your acceptance request is sent back to Bulgaria and, if approved, more information on the child will be provided to you.
• You will be invited to Bulgaria to meet your preferred child and decide to formally accept the referral. In some cases only one parent needs to travel.
• All paperwork will be submitted by your in-country coordinator to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice.
• You will return home and wait for the process of adoption to be finalized in Bulgaria, and soon you will be invited for your second trip.

Trip Two to Bulgaria

• Your caseworker will contact you and invite you back to Bulgaria.
• There is no court date. All decisions are made by the Bulgarian authorities, and your interests will be represented by Happy Family NGO.
• Your second trip will be short – only to pick up your child, pass the medical appointment, and pass the American Embassy appointment.
• In many cases the second trip can be avoided, and the adoption can be completed in one trip. In some cases, travel can be avoided entirely, and an escort will be provided for an additional fee.

Bulgarian Children Available for Adoption
Children range in age from toddlers to teenagers. However, It is quicker to receive a referral for an older child. Many older children are waiting for their chance to be adopted. Special needs children and sibling groups are also available.

Parent Requirements
Married couples are preferred, but single women may adopt in some cases. Parents must be under 45 and have no major health problems. It is preferable that the adoptive parents do not have any biological children or have a limited number of children at home.

Timeframe
From the time the dossier is submitted, it will take approximately 12-24 months to complete the adoption. The most important thing to remember is that you will never be alone. We will be with you every step of the way.

Useful Links
Information about Bulgaria
Bulgarian news
Learning Bulgarian
US Embassy in Bulgaria

For an overview of all of our international adoption programs, please view our adoption program comparison chart.