Restrictions on Adoption and Child visas

On 14 December 2015 amendments were made to the validity requirements for Adoption and Child visa applications where the applicant claims to have been adopted in an overseas country as an expatriate adoption. An application for an Adoption visa or Child visa will not be valid if the adoption occurred in a country and at a time specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument.

It is anticipated that the Minister will use these provisions to list countries where, for example, the adoption or removal of a child from that country is unlawful under the domestic legislation of that country. This is aimed at complying with the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention), which Australia is a signatory to.