Overview - Where do I start?

If you're new to international adoption, you'll have lots of questions - What's the process? What is CYF? NZCA? ICANZ? What services do each of them provide? What countries can I adopt from? Where do I start? and no doubt there'll be many more. We're here to help and have provided a lot of answers you need in the following pages.

Adoption Process - this page gives a general outline of the steps you will need to take to adopt a child internationally. It explains which organisations provide the services along the way.

Requirements - this page sums up the key differences in requirements for each country. This is a good place to start considering which country you'd like to adopt from. For specific country information you can go directly to the individual programme details.

Country Programmes - these pages give more information on each individual country's requirements, the characteristics of children who are in need of a family and the process.

So where do I start?

After reading about the process and checking you meet the specific country requirements on our website for your preferred country programme, you should contact CYF to start the education, approval and homestudy process. Tell CYF that you intend to use ICANZ as your placement agency after you are approved as an adoptive parent.

At the same time This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we can give you more detailed information on the countries you are interested in. As each family is unique, we encourage you to telephone and speak to one of us about your personal situation and which countries may be options for you. Call or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to chat with a team member who can give you accurate and up to date information relevant to you. If you feel ready to commit to one country, you may wish to pre-register, so that you can access our member-only pages and ask our staff for answers to your questions while you are being assessed and approved by CYF.