
Burkina Faso is a West African country home to approximately 20 million people, most well-known for its distinct music culture. It contains multiple rivers, lakes, and streams, but is a relatively flat country with the exception of a few plains of rolling hills. Originally a French colony, Burkina Faso achieved independence in 1960. While overflowing with vibrant culture, it is known to be one of the most impoverished countries in the world. The capitol is Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore, all intercountry adoptions between Burkina Faso and the United States must meet the requirements of the Convention and U.S. law implementing the Convention. Hague countries have additional safeguards to ensure ethical adoptions and tend to be more stable and predictable in processing adoptions.
All adoptions in Burkina Faso are completed through a collaborative effort between an adoption service provider approved by the Burkinabe Central Authority, Ministère de l’Action Sociale et de la Solidarité Nationale, who handles international adoptions and orphan care in Burkina Faso.
CHILDREN AVAILABLE
- Both boys and girls are available for adoption; gender preference may be specified.
- Available children range in age from infancy to teens.
- Sibling groups are typically rare.
- Children are of African descent
- Children with special needs, including those with known needs ranging from correctable to severe, are available for adoption, including older children (6 and older) with no identified medical needs.
ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT
Couples who have been married five years or more can adopt from Burkina Faso. At least one spouse must be a minimum of 30 years old and neither spouse may be older than 53. Adoptive parents must also be at least 15 years older than the adopted child. Preference is given to couples without a child, followed by couples with only one child. Burkinabe law allows for a maximum of two children in the home after the placement of the adopted child(ren). If prospective adoptive parents already have one child in their home, they are not able to adopt more than one child from Burkina Faso. However, this requirement can be waived if the family is adopting a child with special needs or a child 6 years of age or older.
PROCESS
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- Submit your application to Nightlight Christian Adoptions.
- Begin your adoption homestudy and submit form I-800A to USCIS.
- Begin to assemble your dossier. We will give you detailed instructions.
- Once USCIS has approved you to adopt from Burkina Faso, you will receive your I-797C approval notice.
- Once your USCIS approval has been received your dossier is complete, your dossier will be registered in Burkina Faso.
- You will be added to the list of waiting families and it can take 12 to 24 months to receive a match from the central authority.
- Upon referral acceptance, Nightlight will begin assisting you with processing of your I-800.
- Your file is submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso and the Article 5 letter is issued.
- Your legal adoption process is completed in Burkina Faso.
- You will then travel to Burkina Faso for a period of 15 days to meet your child and begin the finalization process.
- The final step is to obtain the US visa for your child, obtain exit approval, meet with the central authority and returning home with your adopted child.
- The children reside in orphanages or foster care while awaiting adoption.
- Burkina Faso adoptions will take approximately 9-12 months to be finalized after a referral is accepted.
TRAVEL
After being matched with a child, the adoptive parents are required to take one trip to Burkina Faso. The trip is approximately 15 days, wherein the couple are united with their child and attend multiple appointments, allowing the child to exit the country and return to the U.S. with their new family.
NIGHTLIGHT’S COMMITMENT
POST ADOPTION
Within 30 days of your arrival home, you must have a home visit by your home study provider. Your home study provider will prepare post-adoption reports and submit them to Nightlight at 12 months, and 24 months from the date of placement and then every three years till the child is 18, with at least ten printed photos to include pictures of the whole family and pictures of the child alone. Reports must be notarized and apostilled. These reports include your child’s developmental progress and pictures. This is a very serious commitment; Nightlight is committed to showing the Burkina Faso Government and birth families that children adopted by US citizens are healthy and well cared for. Compliance with post adoption reports is also required by the Hague Convention. Therefore, Nightlight charges a fee to monitor and process these post placement reports and also requires families to pay for the cost of the post placement report in advance.
Please contact Savana Rowe at savana@nightlight.org or call (502) 423-5780 with any questions.
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Burkina Faso Adoption Program Details
- Children will be 2 and older
- Adoptive parents must be at least 30 years old.
More Information on Burkina Faso Adoptions
Burkina Faso Adoption Overview and Fees
U.S. Relations with Burkina Faso
U.S. Department of State Information on Burkina Faso