Czechia 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 Czechia.
U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Czechia should contact the Central Authority of Czechia to inquire about applicable laws and procedures. U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Czechia who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Czechia’s Central Authority. See contact information below.
General Adoption Steps
If you receive permission from the Central Authority of Czechia to pursue a Hague intercountry adoption, below is the limited adoption information the Department has obtained from the adoption authority of Czechia.
Before adopting or obtaining legal custody of a child in country Czechia, 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 Czechia’s Central Authority in any intercountry adoption involving U.S. citizen adoptive parents and a child from Czechia if all Convention requirements are met and the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States. This letter will inform the Czechia’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 a child in Czechia 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.
Czechia is not considered a country of origin for intercountry adoption at this time. While adoption is legally possible, children from Czechia are not generally placed for intercountry adoption. No child from Czechia 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 Czechia, including adoptions of children from Czechia by relatives in the United States, as well as adoptions from third countries by U.S. citizens living in Czechia.
Please visit the Department of State’s country page for more information on traveling to Czechia and U.S. Embassy Prague’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 Czechia’s Central Authority, Office for International Legal Protection of Children, for its determination as to whether it considers your adoption to be subject to the Convention.
