Adoption is the process by which you become the legal parent of a child who is not your own. Adoptive parents are then the legal parents of the child. As you adopt a child, s/he no longer has any legal ties with his/her biological (birth) family.
In Norway you can adopt a child
- whom you don't know
- whom you do know
- whom comes from another country.
You can also adopt the child of your spouse or the person you live with.
Conditions for adoption in Norway
In order that a child may be adopted in Norway, the parents with parental responsibility must consent. Children older than 12 must themselves agree to be adopted.
When you adopt a child, it is permanent. This means that you cannot give the child back if there are problems or if the child turns out to be different from what you imagined.
Adopting a child
The adoption mediation law in Norway
In Norway, an adoption can only be mediated by the Adoption Authority and certain organizations. The three approved adoption agencies are Adopsjonsforum, Verdens Barn and InorAdopt.
Who can adopt?
Both married couples, people living together and people that are single can adopt children. In Norway, same-sex couples can also adopt children.
As a main rule, the couple must adopt the child together. This means that both partners must want to take on parental responsibility for the child.
You can adopt a child even if you have a child already.
Putting a child up for adoption
You must give your consent
A child must be more than two months old to be put up for adoption. The parents with parental responsibility must give their consent to the adoption. If you wish to put the child up for adoption, you can contact the Adoption Authority even before the birth to get information on what help you can receive.
You lose all rights
Adoption is permanent and cannot be undone. If your child is adopted, you are legally no longer related to the child. You no longer have parental responsibilities for the child and you are no longer entitled to see or look after the child.
You do get to know where your child lives and who s/he is adopted by. The adoptive parents are obligated to tell the child that it is adopted.
After an adoptive child turns 18, it has a right to be informed by the Adoption Authority who the biological parents are. The Adoption Authority will send a letter informing the child of this right.
Right to information
If you want to adopt a child born in Norway or abroad you can get information from the Adoption Authority in the region you live in.
The Adoption Authority holds mandatory courses in preparation for an adoption, evaluates people applying for an adoption, and decides who are approved as adoptive parents.
Adopting children from abroad
Norway and more than 60 other countries have specific child protection laws in place regarding international adoptions. Children from abroad may only be adopted in Norway if it is not possible for them to be adopted in their country of origin.
Children younger than 18 that are adopted to Norway automatically receive Norwegian citizenship upon being adopted if one or both of the adoptive parents are Norwegian citizens.
