Angola is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention or Convention). Intercountry adoption processing in Convention countries must be done in accordance with the requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention; the U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA); the IAA’s implementing regulations and U.S. adoption-related immigration policies; as well as the implementing legislation and regulations of Angola.
General Adoption Steps: Intercountry adoptions from Angola to the United States are possible, but rare. Under Angolan law, each intercountry adoption must be approved by the Angolan National Assembly, which likely will result in lengthy processing timelines.
While adoption is legally possible, children from Angola are not generally placed for intercountry adoption. No child from Angola has received a U.S. immigrant visa based on an intercountry adoption in the past five fiscal years. The information provided is intended primarily to assist in extremely rare adoption cases from Angola, including adoptions of children from Angola by relatives in the United States, as well as adoptions from third countries by U.S. citizens living in Angola.
U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Angola should contact the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Angola to inquire about applicable laws and procedures.
If you receive permission from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Angola to pursue a Hague intercountry adoption, you may wish to work closely with your Adoption Service Provider (ASP) to ensure that the adoption proceeds in compliance with all relevant U.S. and Angolan laws and regulations. We have extremely limited information on the Angolan intercountry adoption process.
Before adopting or obtaining legal custody of a child in Angola, you must first receive approval of your Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, and provisional approval of your Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, filed on behalf of the child you intend to adopt. Please see the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website for additional information about the Hague Process.
The consular officer will then send a letter (referred to as an “Article 5/17 Letter”) to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in any intercountry adoption involving U.S. citizen adoptive parents and a child from Angola if all Convention requirements are met and the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States. This letter will inform Angola’s Central Authority that the parents are suitable and eligible to adopt, that the child appears eligible to enter and reside permanently in the United States, and that the U.S. Central Authority agrees that the adoption may proceed.
Warning: Do not attempt to adopt or obtain custody of a child in Angola before USCIS has provisionally approved your Form I-800 petition AND a U.S. consular officer issues the “Article 5/17 Letter” for your adoption case. The consular officer will make a final decision about a child’s eligibility for an immigrant visa later in the adoption process.
Caution:Although U.S. citizens generally must follow the Hague Convention process to adopt a child from a Hague Convention country, the Family-Based Petition Process (Form I-130) may be an option for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to petition for their adopted child. However, U.S. citizens may file a Form I-130 for a child from a Hague Convention country only if they can establish the Convention does not apply to the adoption. There are significant differences between the Hague and the Family-Based Petition Process. For more information about specific Form I-130 requirements for adopted children, see the USCIS website and the USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 5.
Note: If any of the following occurred prior to July 1, 2024 (the date on which the Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for Angola), the Hague Adoption Convention may not apply to your case: 1) you filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition, identifying Angola as the country where you intended to adopt, and the approval is still valid; 2) you filed a Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, on behalf of a child from Angola, or 3) you completed the adoption. Under these circumstances, your adopted child’s adoption could continue to be processed as a non-Convention intercountry adoption, provided the child’s country of origin agrees. For more information, read about Hague Transition Cases. There may be other circumstances when the Hague Adoption Convention may not apply. For additional information, see the USCIS website. Please contact adoption@state.gov with the details of the case if this situation applies to you.
Please visit the Department of State’s country page for more information on traveling to Angola and U.S. Embassy Luanda’s website for information on consular services.
Please see our section on Adoptions from the United States for more information on the process for adopting a child from the United States. We urge prospective adoptive parents residing abroad who are considering adoption of a child from the United States to consult with Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Angola for its determination as to whether it considers your adoption to be subject to the Convention.
