In order to adopt from Bulgaria, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Bulgaria allows both married couples and single women to adopt children from their country.
• There is no age restrictions but WIA prefers that the adoption parents be no more than 50 years older than the child they wish to adopt.
• When adopting siblings, at least one adoptive parent must be at least 15 years older than the youngest child but may be no more than 50 years older than the youngest child in the sibling group.
• Older couples will be asked to adopt older children.
• There is no restriction on current family size, but families with more than 2 children residing in their home will be encouraged to adopt an older child rather than a young toddler.
• Bulgaria frowns on things they consider background “problems” such as DUI’s, drug abuse, etc.

• All children are born in Bulgaria and are Bulgarian by birth.
• The children usually have dark hair, brown eyes, and light to dark olive colored skin.
• Many children available for adoption are of Roma (Gypsy) or Turkish descent and their skin color may have darker olive tones.
• There are sibling groups available and prospective adoptive parents may adopt two unrelated children at the same time.
• You can choose gender and age, but those families who want to adopt children younger than 3 years of age will have an approximate 48+ month wait for a referral.
• Adopting a child 3 years old or older and being willing to accept a boy rather than a girl may mean a faster referral timeline as there are more boys than girls available for adoption.
• There are also special needs children available and the timeline is faster for children with special needs. Detailed medical reports are provided and all children are tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, and venereal disease.

Your dossier will be sent to our attorney in Bulgaria and she will register the dossier with the Ministry of Justice.  The dossier will be registered with the Ministry and assigned a serial number.  When this number comes up on the register, the Ministry of Justice will look at your dossier and issue a referral for a child from their database of available children that most meets your request.  The referral will contain a detailed medical report, pictures of the child, and in certain cases there may also be video available.  The timeline for a referral can come as quickly as just a few months (for special needs and children over 7 years) up to 4+ years (for young children).  The cases for special needs children and children over 7 years old are not assigned serial numbers thus making the adoption of a special needs child or an older child a faster process.

Yes, there are two required trips:

1. The first trip will last for 6 or 7 days, at which time you will visit the child you are adopting at the orphanage. The families are obligated by the law to visit the child for 5 full days during the first visit.  They need to come to Bulgaria in order to meet the child and submit paperwork to the MOJ within two months from receiving the referral.
2. The second trip will last about 10 to 12 days, at which time you will pick up your child from the orphanage and then go to the US Consulate with the child for any exit interview and to obtain the child’s visa. There is also the option of having your child escorted.  This option is on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the MOJ and the US Consulate.  For families that can show severe hardship to travel, our Bulgarian partners visit the child on behalf of the parents and prepare a report for the child that is sent to the parents.

Schedule of Fees, Expenses, Financial Obligations and Refund Policy | Wasatch International Adoption (wiaa.org)

Get Sample Contracts | Wasatch International Adoption (wiaa.org)

*These fees are required by the agency, Wasatch International Adoptions.
**These fees are required by the foreign country.
***These fees may vary from dossier to dossier depending on the number of documents (for example a single person’s dossier will be smaller than a married couple’s dossier). Expenses also may vary depending on when you travel, where you travel in country, and where you stay.  Country Fees are never to be considered a stable or set fee as it is not determined nor in the control of WIA. WIA makes every effort to stay current as to fees but third party and country fees may change without notice or reason.

**Note: Upon request, WIA will disclose the following: Service policy Contracts, the number of adoption placements per year for the prior 3 calendar years, the number of placements that remain intact, the number of families who apply to adopt each year, and the number of waiting children eligible for adoption. To obtain this information please call our office.