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Azerbaijan changes adoption procedure for children deprived of parental care

05 October 2026 16:22 (UTC +04:00)

Changes have been made to the procedure for selecting a suitable child for a prospective adoptive parent, selecting a suitable prospective parent for a child deprived of parental care, and organizing meetings between them, APA reports.

The changes are reflected in amendments approved by a decree of President Ilham Aliyev to the “Rules for the Adoption of Children Deprived of Parental Care, including the Adoption of Children Who Are Citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan by Foreigners and Stateless Persons.”

Under the decree, a prospective adoptive parent deemed suitable for a child deprived of parental care will meet the child at the institution where the child is placed for at least 20 hours over a period of one month in order to become acquainted and establish family bonds.

For children deprived of parental care aged up to three years, the Ministry may, on the basis of a social worker’s report, reduce this period to up to six hours over 10 days.

The social worker will observe the prospective adoptive parent for no less than 10 hours during the period stipulated in paragraph 7.4 of the Rules and, in the case provided for in paragraph 7.5, throughout the entire period. No later than three working days after the end of this period, the social worker will prepare an opinion on the results of the meetings between the prospective adoptive parent and the child at the institution and enter it into the subsystem.

Previously, a prospective adoptive parent deemed suitable for a child deprived of parental care was required to meet the child at the institution for at least 40 hours per month over a two-month period in order to become acquainted and establish family bonds.

For children deprived of parental care aged up to one year, the Ministry could, on the basis of a social worker’s report, reduce this period to up to 12 hours over 20 days.

Under the previous rules, the social worker observed the prospective adoptive parent for no less than eight hours each month during the periods stipulated in paragraphs 7.4 and 7.5 and, no later than three working days after the end of the relevant period, prepared an opinion on the results of the meetings between the prospective adoptive parent and the child and entered it into the subsystem.