• Document Number：Letter No.4 [2008] of the Ministry of Civil Affairs
• Area of Law： Civil Affairs Marriage,Family Support,Adoption,and Inheritance
• Level of Authority： Departmental Regulatory Documents
• Date issued：01-08-2008
• Effective Date：01-08-2008
• Issuing Authority： Ministry of Civil Affairs
• Status： Effective

Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Certificates and Evidentiary Material Required to Be Produced by Parties Concerned to Foreigners' Adoption of Stepchildren in China
(Letter No.4 [2008] of the Ministry of Civil Affairs)
The departments (bureaus) of civil affairs of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and China Center of Adoption Affairs:
For the purpose of regularizing foreigners' adoption behaviors of stepchildren in the People's Republic of China and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of adoptees and adopters, according to the relevant provisions of the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Adoption Law) and the Registration Measures for Foreigner's Adoption of Stepchildren in the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Registration Measures), we hereby notify the certificates and evidentiary material required to be produced by the parties concerned as follows:
I. Certificates and evidentiary material required to be produced by adopters
According to the provisions of Article 14 of the Adoption Law and Article 4 of the Registration Measures, the certificates and evidentiary material need to be produced by the foreigner for adopting a stepchild include:
1. an application form for intercountry adoption;
2. the birth certificate;
3. a certificate on the marriage between the adopter and the natural father or mother of the adoptee;
4. a certificate proving that the competent authorities of the adopter's country have agreed with the intercountry adoption, or a certificate proving that the competent authorities of the adopter's country have agreed with the adoptee's entering the country and obtaining the nationality of the country; and
5. two 2-inch bareheaded photos of the adopter.
All above-mentioned material, except for material No.5, shall be subject to the notarial and authentication formalities, and shall be examined and handled by China Center of Adoption Affairs in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 and Article 7 of the Registration Measures.
II. Certificates and evidentiary material required to be produced by persons placing out children for adoption
According to the provisions ofArticle 14 of the Adoption Law and Article 5 of the Registration Measures, the certificates and evidentiary material required to be produced by a person placing out a child for adoption include:
1. the written opinion of the natural father or mother of the adoptee on agreeing with placing out the child for adoption;
2. the household register and the resident identity certificate of the person placing out the child for adoption;
3. the resident identity certificate or household register certificate of the adoptee;
4. a certificate on the paternity between the person placing out the child for adoption and the adoptee; and
5. two 2-inch bareheaded photos of the adoptee.
If the person placing out the child for adoption dies or is declared dead by the people's court, the evidentiary material No.1, 2 and 4 may be exempted, but the remarried party shall submit the death certificate of the person placing out the child for adoption (a natural death certificate shall be issued by a medical and public health entity, while an accidental death certificate shall be issued by the public security department at or above the county level) or the court verdict of declaration of death issued by the people's court, the resident household register and resident identity certificate of the remarried party, a certificate on the paternity between the remarried party and the adoptee, and a written declaration made by the parents of the party dead or declared dead on not exercising their preemptive right of bringing up the child. The worker in charge of adoption registration shall seriously examine and make necessary investigation on the death certificate of the person placing out the child for adoption submitted by the party concerned, and keep the investigation records in the archives. When handling the adoption registration, information about the person placing out the child for adoption is not filled in the Adoption Registration Certificate.
If the adoptee is 10-year-old or above, a certificate on the adoptee's consent to the adoption shall be submitted.
The department of civil affairs under the people's government of the concerned province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, after examining the above-mentioned certificates and evidentiary material, if believing that the adoptee and the person placing out the adoptee satisfy the statutory conditions specified in the Adoption Law, notify China Center of Adoption Affairs and forward the photocopies of the above-mentioned certificates and evidentiary material as well as photos to the Center.
All regions shall comply with and implement this Notice seriously, and do a good job in filing the relevant material.
January 8th, 2008