I. Eligibility of foreign adopters

Age requirements: 

Both parents must be between the ages of 30 and 50. Those couples who apply to adopt a special needs child must be between the ages of 30 and 55.

Marriage requirements: 

Chinese law permits adoption by married couples, defined as one man and one woman. They must adopt the child jointly. In addition, they must have been married at least two years. If either person has previously divorced, the couple must have been married at least five years. No more than two divorces are allowed.

China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) shall not identify prospective adoptive referrals for homosexuals. Legally, the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China recognizes only families formed by marriage of opposite sexes and does not recognize the legitimacy of homosexual families, and the homosexual families are, therefore, not protected by laws.

Income requirements: 

At least one member of the couple must have stable employment. The total value of family assets must be at least $80,000. The family's annual income equals at least $10,000 for each family member in the household (including the child to be adopted). Annual income excludes welfare, pensions, unemployment insurance, Government subsidies and the like. Both prospective parents must be high school graduates or have vocational training equivalent to a high school education.

Health requirements: 

Both partners must be physically and mentally fit, with none of the following conditions:

1) AIDS;

2) Mental disability;

3) Infectious disease that is actively contagious;

4) Blind in either eye;

5) Hearing loss in both ears or loss of language function (those adopting children with hearing or language function loss are exempted from this requirement);

6) Non-function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incomplete limbs, paralysis or deformation;

7) Severe facial deformation;

8) Severe diseases that require long-term treatment and that may affect life expectancy, including malignant tumors, lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy, etc;

9) Major organ transplant within ten years;

10) Schizophrenia;

11) Severe mental disorders requiring medication for more than two years, including depression, mania, or anxiety neurosis;

12) Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more.

*For those disabled who can look after themselves and have the ability of bringing up and educating the prospective adopted children, China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption(CCCWA) shall identify appropriate adoptive referrals for them.