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Vietnam local time:
The Vietnam program is currently closed due to the expiration of the agreement between Vietnam and the U.S. This agreement expired on September 1, 2008. We are now waiting for negotiations to begin toward a new agreement. For up to date information on the status of the Vietnam program please contact Faith International.
*Please note that the information provided below is subject to change once a new agreement is reached and adoptions reopen in Vietnam.
Who are we and what services can we provide adoptive families?
 We are directors, social workers, clerks, Vietnamese translators, liaison people, tour guides,
and consultants. We are a family dedicated to matching caring parents with children who need
them. Collectively and officially we are a 501(c) (3) non-profit agency, licensed by the
State of Washington and subject to the laws of this state. We have the experience, expertise,
and the network to handle all aspects of an international adoption in Vietnam.
 We help adoptive families prepare their dossiers in an efficient manner, arrange for their travel
to and within Vietnam, assign multi-lingual guides for the entire time they are there, and provide
travel and lodging accommodations for every day of the adoptive parents' stay in Vietnam. We
assist families with each step of the adoptive process, and provide information on all matters
relevant to their adoption, i.e., assign an agency case worker upon request, update the status of
their dossiers both before and after it has been sent to Vietnam, inform clients of changing
requirements brought about by the Vietnamese Adoption Center or by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servicez, provide re-adoption assistance for our families, coordinate social
activities, and much more.
Faith International Adoptions has for several years maintained a Permit of Operation through the People's Aid Coordinating Committee in Hanoi to provide charitable aid and relief to orphans, disabled children and homeless children in Vietnam . Since the first closure to adoptions in 2002 we have seen the number of children residing in orphanages substantially increase. With the current closure to adoptions in Vietnam the need for caring adoptive families is greater than it has ever been.
In July of 2002, Vietnam issued a Decree governing international adoption of Vietnamese children. The Decree required Vietnam and the country of the adoptive applicants to be signatories to an international treaty regarding cooperation on the adoption of children. This Decree went into effect in December of 2002. All adoptions with applicants from countries that had not signed the bilateral agreement were suspended at that time.
On June 21, 2005, the United States and Vietnam jointly signed the Agreement Regarding Cooperation on the Adoption of Children in Washington D.C., thus reopening adoptions of Vietnamese children to U.S. citizens. On September 1, 2008 this agreement expired. Due to suspicions of unethical practices in Vietnam, the U.S. Department of State was not agreeable to resigning the same three year agreement. Department of State officials have expressed a willingness to renegotiate a new agreement with Vietnam that will allow for ethical, transparent adoptions. Currently, we are waiting for such negotiations to begin between the U.S. Department of State and the Department of International Adoption in Vietnam.
During the first closure to adoptions in Vietnam, we were able to provide continued assistance and relief to several orphanages throughout the country and maintain our network of facilitators and adoption guides. We continue to maintain this support in Vietnam today and throughout the period of the current closure. Many other agencies discontinued their support of orphanages during the closure. However, we felt, and continue to strongly believe that it is necessary to attend not only to children who will unite with their families, but also to those precious children who will, for no fault of their own, continue to live in these orphanages. We look forward to expanding our outreach and providing critical charitable relief and humanitarian aid to more orphanages in the future and throughout the current closure of adoptions in Vietnam.
Changes in the process.
The adoption process in Vietnam underwent few changes between the closure in 2002 and the reopening in 2005. The Department of International Adoption (DIA), a division of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), was established in 2004. Its functions are to oversee and administer adoptions pursuant to the Decree issued in July 2002. Although this department oversees the process, Provincial authorities are still responsible for the matching of families with children, carrying out the legal process of the adoption, and scheduling the date of the Giving and Receiving Ceremony.
We anticipate many more changes to the process with the negotiation of a new agreement. Many of the new policies and procedures will follow the Hague treaty guidelines. However, Vietnam will not ascend to the Hague until all specific Hague legislation has been implemented. The process of implementing Hague policies can take years; therefore it is essential for Vietnam to negotiate an interim agreement with the U.S. that will allow adoptions to resume. The negotiation of a new agreement is not contingent upon the ratification of the Hague. Rather, a new agreement will serve as a guideline to process adoptions during the interim, while Vietnam works toward ascending to the Hague.
Who qualifies?
Couples and single women and men between the ages 25 and 50 qualify for healthy children. Both infant boys and girls are available for adoption as well as older children. Traditionally boys are more numerous than girls.
While there is no specific limitation on the number of children already in the family home, couples with 5 or more children in the family home will be considered by the IAD and the orphanage on a case-by-case basis.
Parents over 50 may adopt, but the likelihood of a child 12 months or older increases.
There are many children in Vietnam institutionalized with minor, correctable special needs. If
you would be willing to adopt a child with special needs you may make this request. Please
contact Faith for further information.
When will you be matched with a baby, and how will you be notified?
After your dossier is sent to Vietnam it is put into order of receipt along with hundreds of dossiers from other agencies. The backlog of dossiers at the DIA impacts the amount of time between dossier submittal and match. This time could be shorter or longer depending on circumstances at the DIA.
The Vietnamese authorities are responsible for identifying that a child is eligible for adoption, for making the referral and for carrying out the adoption. These processes are exclusively under the control of the Vietnamese authorities. However, the referral process is likely to change once a new agreement is put in place.
Our agency is sent the child's picture attached to a medical report. We notify you immediately! (This is one of the best moments of our job.) Families have approximately 2 weeks within which to accept or decline the referral. If you do not accept the match, the Director of the agency will act as your intermediary with the DIA.
When would we travel?
Approximately three to nine months after your referral has been sent to Faith, you will be ready to travel to Vietnam. The wait time between referral and travel is dependent on the province in which each child resides. While we know that this period of waiting is often difficult for our families, it is unavoidable due to processes that must take place in Vietnam to prepare for the adoption.
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