About Me | Adoption | The initial steps of the adoption process

Adoption in Vietnam - the initial steps

May 2005

It was in May 2005 that I decided to begin the process of adoption in Vietnam, not knowing at all where to begin and how to get information on the process. I started by talking about it to friends and colleagues to see if they had any ideas. Then « by chance » I saw an ad in the newspaper from an NGO that facilitates adoption for Americans - Pearl S. Buck. I decided to go to visit them and they in turn referred me to the Department of International Adoption of Vietnam (DIA) which falls under the Ministry of Justice. So off I went to the DIA and was greeted somewhat curtly by an officer who spoke French. I learned that there was a moratorium on adoption from Vietnam, and that each country had to sign a bilateral agreement. Canada had just done so, but it had not been ratified by the Government of Vietnam. However, she informed me that because I plan to live and work in Vietnam for more than 6 months, I could adopt without the agreement. She briefly told me the documents I had to get including a very important letter of non-intervention from the Canadian Government. I don’t think she ever expected to see me again, but I was determined to go ahead and get the documents together.

I spent the next 2 months trying to find out which agency in Canada or Quebec had the authority to write such a letter. The Canadian High Commission of Singapore sent me information on adoption but no matter how many times I asked them about the letter, I never got an answer. The Canadian Embassy did not know either but agreed to forward my “dossier” and request for such a letter to the Government. I continued my research on the Internet and found the Secretary for International Adoption of Quebec (SIA). I sent them an email explaining my situation and they confirmed that they could write such a letter. One month later, I got it but its content did not seem appropriate. I was expecting a letter which would state that the government would not oppose the adoption process but instead it said that the government had nothing to do with this adoption. Kind of like saying “you’re on your own”. When I presented it to the DIA, they didn’t know either if it was acceptable. But this coincided with the visit to Vietnam of the SIA in early September and we were able to clarify that no other letter could be provided by the government and that international adoption was not possible for me since I did not live in Canada. The only option, if Vietnam allowed it, was for a domestic adoption according to the laws of the country. Canada would have nothing to do with it.

I wanted so much at that point to visit orphanages and maybe put a face on this adoption process. I tried to get addresses on the Internet but was not able to find any. When I asked the DIA, I was told that they had a list, but she would not give it to me. She said that it was up to the Canadian embassy to provide this kind of information. Thanks a lot! So in the end, I could not visit any orphanages, except SOS Village but their children are not up for adoption.

I spent many months getting all the documents together including the medical report. When I thought I had it all, I made another appointment with the DIA. But the officer looked at the documents and said to me for the first time that they all had to be translated into Vietnamese and notarized, and she didn’t know if in the end I would be allowed to adopt. I was discouraged and mad so I asked her why she had told me to get these documents together. She kept saying that she couldn’t help me and that she had never said that I could adopt. She then informed me also that my criminal record had to be no more than 6 months old, and that I needed an adoption permit and a psychosocial evaluation. She then gave me a more complete typed list of documents which I was supposed to get, but it was in Vietnamese. I asked her why she hadn’t given this list to me before. And still, she did not answer and could not even tell me that once I’d get all these documents translated and notarized, I could adopt. So confused and not wanting to waste my time, I then contacted the Canadian Embassy and they recommended that I deal directly with the director of the DIA. And this was a good thing, since he was able to confirm to me that once I'd submitted a full dossier, I would be eligible for adoption. So I left and then started looking for a psychologist who could do the evaluation but no one, including the DIA could tell me what the content of an evaluation had to be. Again I did some research and found that the SIA had a nice guide with table of content for a psychosocial evaluation. I met again with the DIA to have it validated, then I presented it to a psychologist who said that she would do it.

I also needed a letter from my employer but to my surprise, my boss refused. He did not want the NGO to get “involved” in personal matters of volunteers. But I just wanted a letter stating the facts: length of contract, monthly allowance, conditions, etc. Finally, I asked Head Office and they agreed to do it but it still took one month to get it. The weeks and months were going by quickly, and already we were in November. I was then told that my criminal record was fine, so I went to have it translated and notarized. Impossible. I had a photocopy and needed to get the original. So I had to contact my NGO and get them to send it to me. Again, more waiting... I also needed a letter from the Canadian Government stating that they would grant immigration and citizenship to the child. The embassy said that this kind of guarantee would be impossible and that no letter to that effect could be provided. I thought it would all end here. But then the Embassy found out that in the case of Canadians living overseas and wishing to adopt, I did not have to request immigration and could directly ask for citizenship. This, they could write in a letter and explain. And the DIA accepted it.

The DIA also informed me that I had to get a Vietnamese criminal record from the provincial police station in Thanh Hoa. This turned out to be the most difficult document to get. Nobody knew how or who could do it. I thought of going to my district police station to see if they could do it or at least forward my request to the province. They asked me to submit to them a formal written request and 2 weeks later, they told me that they couldn’t do it and that I had to go to Thanh Hoa! Everytime I did anything, be it a visit, phone call or letter, I had to rely on one of the project translator and ask them for help. No need to say that this was a personal matter so I always felt guilty to ask them for help, yet I had no choice. So I took the bus and went to the provincial police station, and I got the run around since no one knew how to help me. Finally I called the DIA and asked them to intervene, and as always they were very curt on the phone but they did tell me to go to the Ministry of Justice who then would forward my request to the police station. But, this was far from over. The Ministry wanted a letter from my district saying that I had never been arrested for any crime! So I went back, but the district would not write such a letter. Another call in sheer desperation to the DIA, countless visits and more calls, and finally I returned 2 weeks later. I did get some kind of introduction letter from the district, and went to fill the request form for the criminal record. Oh, but they forgot to tell me that I needed an immigration document, so I had to go back 5 hours by bus each time, get the document, copy and notarize it in the district and return. Over? Nope. When I was near tears, the Thanh Hoa office told me it could take up to 6 months to get the document. Unless I paid extra. So I had to give a bribe of 100$ and was told that I would get the criminal record in 20 days. And I did. Amen.

Tuesday December 13 2005 – I officially submitted my dossier to the DIA with all the necessary documents after 8 months of trials and errors. What a relief! Now that I was eligible, we could proceed to the next step in the adoption process – identifying a child. I was recommended by the director to go to an orphanage in Saigon since he knew for sure that they had boys age 2-3 for adoption, plus he knew the director very well. So I asked him to make an appointment for 3 days later! After our meeting, shaking with anticipation, I went to book a plane ticket then returned home by bus to pack my bags. I tried many times to contact the orphanage’s director to confirm our meeting but he was so rude on the phone. Still, I was determined to proceed to this important step and on December 15, I was flying from Hanoi and landed in Saigon, hoping that the next day I would meet my future son...