TAIWAN ADOPTIONS
The government of Taiwan has approved Sunrise to work with licenced adoption agencies in Taiwan to assist with finding families for children.
The Parents
The eligibility criteria to adopt from Taiwan are:
Either one of the applicants has to be a Canadian Citizen;
Residents of British Columbia and residents of any other provinces in Canada (except Ontario and Quebec).
You must have been married for at least 2 years before applying, and not had more than 2 marriages (For Chung Yi; if the marriage is the third marriage of one of the adoptive parents or of both parents then the marriage needs to be minimum of 7 years and be considered on a case-by-case basis. For Cathwel, you must have been married for at least 5 years);
Minimum age of the adoptive parent is 25 years. Maximum age of the adoptive parent is:
For Cathwel, the oldest parent must be no more than 45 years older than the child they intend on adopting, at the time of the proposal.
For Chung Yi, the adoptive parent aged between 25 and 50, the difference between the adoptee and applicant(s) must be no more than 48 years older than the child they intend on adopting, at the time of the proposal. For example, if the applicant is 50 years old, the child must be over 2 years old at the time of the proposal. If one of the applicants is aged between 50 and 55, the family needs to be open to adopt a child/ren aged 5 or above or a child/ren with special needs;
Applicants must be in good physical and mental health (For Cathwel, you must have a BMI under 40. For Chung Yi, you must have BMI under 30. If the BMI is between 30 and 40, a health examination report must be provided). Applicants who have experienced medical or mental health issues will be considered on a case-by-case basis;
Applicants must not have a criminal record that adversely affects their parental capacity as an adoptive parent;
Applicants must have a high school graduate or a high school equivalency certificate;
Applicants must be in a good financial situation;
For Cathwel, preference is given to couples with no children. For couples with children, they must have no more than 2 biological children (under 18 years) living in the home. The total of children at home should be no more than 4 including the prospective adopted child;
For Chung Yi, the number of children of the family must not exceed 3, and must not be more than 4, including adoptive child/ren. If the number of children exceeds 4, the family can only qualify for adopting child/ren above 5 years old or with special needs;
Applicants are advised to learn about development and attachment issues, and must consider what resources they have to parent a child who has been in the child welfare system; and
Applicants must be genuinely willing to accept, love and care for a child.
The Children
The majority of children waiting in Taiwan range from 1 to 6 years of age. Occasionally, there are children over 6 years and sibling groups available. The children are part of the child welfare system and therefore have complex backgrounds and have come into care as a result of challenging situations in their home life including abuse, neglect or a parental history of drug use, mental health issues, mental disability and criminal activity. They will have experienced trauma and loss and will need emotional support.