The Next Couple Months - An Overview

Now that the formerly faint light at the end of the waiting tunnel has turned into a blinding floodlight illuminating our long “to do” lists, it’s time to begin thinking about the next part of the adoption process.

Following is an overview of what happens once we arrive in Kazakhstan (i.e. why it takes 2 months). We understand the timelines given to be averages or best case scenarios if all goes as planned. “If” being the key word, of course.

MEET CHILD
On Monday morning, January 21, we will visit the Baby House (a.k.a. orphanage). At that time, if all goes as planned, we will meet our prospective child. We are allowed time to consult medical professionals regarding the child’s health. Generally this can happen as quickly as overnight.

BONDING PERIOD*
Once we agree to pursue the adoption of a specific child, a 2 week requisite bonding period begins. During this time, we visit the child every day in the Baby House. Visiting time is determined by the Baby House. We will most likely visit once per day for 2 hours, though some Baby Houses allow 2 visits per day. *As Canadians, we may have an additional step to fulfil during this bonding period – see below for details.

COURT DATE
Once our 2 week bonding period is complete, we apply for a court date. Court dates are generally assigned within a week of applying, but wait times can vary. While we wait, we continue our daily visits to the Baby House. On the court date we go before a judge for legal permission to adopt the child (Note - acting on behalf of the state, there is also a prosecutor who can argue for the side of the case against the approval of the adoption). The judge is likely to ask various questions which we will answer through a translator, since our Lonely Planet Phrasebook seems to have omitted this specific section. Apparently the husband is required to make a “speech” before the court without, as difficult as it may be, resorting to too much stand-up comedy. Assuming all goes in our favour, the judge approves our adoption.

APPEAL PERIOD
The judge’s signature of approval is not the end of the legal process. Following the court date, we wait another 2 weeks during which time anybody has the right to appeal the judge’s decision. The child remains in the Baby House and we continue our daily visits.

CUSTODY
The appeal period ends with a hearing (we think) at which time “the” child becomes “our” child. We take custody and bring him/her “home” to our Almaty living quarters (most likely an apartment).

PASSPORT
Once the legal part is behind us, we begin processing the paperwork to get a Kazakhstani passport and exit visa for our child. This takes at least a week, possibly (probably?) more.

CANADIAN IMMIGRATION
Once in possession of a Kaz passport, we work on the requirements to obtain a Canadian entry visa (a procedure which may be somewhat modified by the changes noted below). The nearest Canadian embassy/consulate that can process a visa is in Moscow which requires that the Kaz passport be sent to Moscow. Unfortunately, some courier companies (DHL for one) will not transport passports, at least in that part of the world. So, we will most likely pay for our Kaz coordinator or similar person to fly to Moscow and hand deliver the passport. This can take several days.

HOME SWEET HOME
As soon as the Kaz passport returns with the Canadian visa intact, we are free to go!

*POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL CANADIAN REQUIREMENT
Prior to 22 December 2007, children adopted internationally by Canadian parents had to apply for permanent resident status in Canada before being eligible to apply for citizenship. This made acquiring Canadian citizenship a long and drawn out affair. Less than 3 weeks ago, new legislation went into effect allowing us to bypass the permanent resident step. Internationally adopted children of Canadian parents now automatically acquire Canadian citizenship (analogous to how it is in the US).

Because the legislation is so new and went into effect over the holidays when a lot of government workers were not working, we are not yet clear how this will impact us. In theory, we should no longer have to fulfil permanent resident requirements (key steps that occur while in Kazakhstan). However, one presumes that alternate steps or, at least, alternate forms would be required. This is where we currently lack for answers.

In a worst case scenario (which we presume will not happen), we would simply go through the same steps to acquire permanent resident status as required prior to 22 December. The steps include a physical examination of the child by a Canadian approved doctor (there are two in Kazakhstan) and then couriering the medical report first to the Canadian embassy in Moscow and then to the Canadian High Commission in London. The steps begin as soon as we meet our prospective child and proceed behind the scenes while we are fulfilling the 2 week bonding period requirement. The reason for the “worst case scenario” designation is that these steps often take more than 2 weeks to complete. We cannot apply for our court date until we have the documents back from London. As a result, these steps will most likely increase our waiting time (not to mention our costs) between the bonding period and the court date by approximately a week.

Even though it is highly unlikely to occur, I offer the details of this former extra step just to get it out of the way. That way you can share our appreciation of the presumed expediency of whatever alternate steps come into play.

Allowing for the above described worst case scenario and an extra day here and there, the whole thing should take approximately 8 weeks. We’ve booked our return flight for 9 weeks from the day we presume the counting will begin. Time will tell whether that was an optimistic or pessimistic target.

Are there any questions? ;)