Tonga Adoption

CHILDREN AVAILABLE 

• Under Tongan law, only illegitimate children under 21 years of age may be adopted. However, according to US regulations, USCIS will not process the adoption of a child if the I-600A has not been submitted prior to the child’s 16th birthday. We can only assist families who are planning to adopt children under age 16 and they are able to complete their home study and submit USCIS I-600A prior to the child’s 16th birthday.

• Relinquishment Requirements: Almost all Tongan adoptions involve direct relinquishments of children by their birth mothers to the adoptive parents, and almost all are arranged either between relatives, by close friends, or through religious institutions. 
   
  Please note that in some instances, such direct relinquishments, while appropriate under Tongan law, may complicate the U.S. immigration process. American prospective adoptive parents considering a Tongan adoption in which the child will be directly relinquished should contact U.S. Embassy Suva (Fiji) early in the process to confirm whether the circumstances of their specific case will or will not preclude the child's immigration to the United States.

ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT 

• Minimum Residency:  Prospective adoptive parents must reside with the child for at least six months prior to the application for adoption of that child. The Supreme Court occasionally waives the residency requirements in exceptional cases.
• Age of Adopting Parents: None.
• Marriage: Tongan law permits both single and married foreigners to adopt Tongan children.
• Minimum Income: Income should be above Tonga average and prospective adoptive parents should live in a suitable environment. Proof of income will have to be submitted to the adoption authority. Must meet US standards of 125% over poverty
• Other requirements: Prospective parents must show themselves able to provide adequate emotional and financial support for the child. Under no circumstances are proxy adoptions allowed.

PROCESS 

1. Collect all required child documents and provide to Nightlight coordinator (proof of orphan status; parent death certificates or relinquishment of rights; medical evaluation; school and social report
2. Complete our online application
3. Complete our International Adoption Services Contract & pay the Monitoring and Oversight fee. The Monitoring and Oversight fee is paid to CEAS, the accrediting entity designated by the US Department of State/Office of Children’s Issues, the US Central Authority.)
4. Orientation meeting with Nightlight Staff, reviewing the intercountry adoption process through Tonga. Review and return Service Plan.
5. Begin your Home Study with Nightlight or an approved Hague Accredited agency that is identified and approved by Nightlight.
6. Complete your pre-adoption application form to the CDA Child Development Agency, the Adoption Authority for Tonga.
7. Once your Home Study has been completed, Nightlight will review the Home Study and assist you with preparing your I-600A Advance Processing of Orphan Petition for US Immigration https://www.uscis.gov/i-600a
8. Tonga Dossier: Nightlight will assist you in putting together the packet of documents required by the Tongan Adoption Authority.
9. Receive approval of the I-600A.
10. Receive official referral from the Tongan Adoption Authority
11. Nightlight Clinical staff will review specific child referral - medical, social, psychological reports with the family, recognizing the child is often well known to the family and the family likely provided the staff member with the referral information.
12. Adopt the child in Tonga
13. Complete I-600 application and submit to USCIS – NBC for review. Nightlight will assist with this process.
14. After the approval of the I-600, the parents will travel to Tonga for the Visa interview with the US Embassy. 
15. Complete a minimum of 3 post adoption reports with your Home Study provider once you return home.

TRAVEL

Most families make 2 trips for their adoption.  The first trip is for the court hearing.  The final trip includes the Visa Interview at the US Embassy.  Length of the trips can vary. Upon completion of the visa process, your child will be able to travel home with you to the US. 

POST PLACEMENT/ADOPTION 

Your adoption will be finalized in Tonga.  There is a minimum of 3 post adoption reports required with your social worker after you arrive home.  Reports will be due 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after you arrive home with your child.

Once the adoption is finalized, you will also need to file form N600 with USCIS to apply for your child’s citizenship.  https://www.uscis.gov/n-600

COSTS

The program fee for an adoption from Tonga is $11,450. Your additional costs will include home study, post placement, post adoption shipping reports to Tonga, immigration fees, country attorney, travel, documents or communication. Your out-of-pocket expenses may further be reduced if you receive scholarships, grants or employer-provided adoption benefits. Please see the fee schedule.

Tonga is a beautiful island country nation located in the South Pacific; and is in the same general area as other familiar Island nations such as Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands.  Our Tonga program is designed for Tongan families living in the U.S. who have a relative or close friend living in Tonga who wishes to place their child with them. The U.S. government has strict regulations in place for children who are adopted from Tonga.  In order to meet U.S. regulations, the biological mother of the child being placed for adoption must be unmarried and must show proof she cannot support the child being placed for adoption.  Children born to a legally married couple are not eligible to be adopted by U.S. citizen families due to both Tongan law and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). However, if one or both biological parents’ area deceased, adoption of the child is possible.  There are no age restrictions for adopting families and single parents are also eligible to adopt from Tonga, however, adopting parents must be at least 25 years of age.

Adoptions from Tonga are normally completed in a timely manner.  The timeline from beginning of the process until the adoption is completed is approximately 9 to 12 months, but could last longer.  Travel to Tonga is required for the adoption.  One adoptive parent may be required to complete a 6-month residency required before their paperwork can be submitted to the court. This residency requirement may be waived, but there is no guarantee that this will happen.  It is better to be prepared for this to be required rather than to expect that this residency requirement will be waived. 

As a Hague accredited agency, you can be confident that Nightlight programs are regularly evaluated and monitored for excellence in both process and service. Our home study services are recognized by our peers as educational and thoroughly completed for the benefit of our clients.

You can count on Nightlight to be there for you long after your adoption is complete too. Our team is available to help answer questions and provide guidance as you navigate parenting your adopted child. You are not alone!

Please open our International Quicklook spreadsheet to give you an overview of the wide variety of international programs available through Nightlight.

To get started, email randy@nightlight.org or call  (801) 334-8683

Tonga Booklet and Fee Schedule

Compare International Programs

Agreement for International Services