Russian and Vietnamese babies most sought-after

Costa del Sol

ANDALUCIA - A TOTAL of 254 applications to adopt children abroad have been handled so far this year in Andalucia. Russian and Vietnamese babies are the most sought-after, with 87 and 31 applications made respectively to adopt from these countries.

ANDALUCIA

Government handles 254 applications to adopt children abroad

A TOTAL of 254 applications to adopt children abroad have been handled so far this year in Andalucia. Russian and Vietnamese babies are the most sought-after, with 87 and 31 applications made respectively to adopt from these countries. This is followed by babies from the Philippines, with 30 requests, and 22 children from China.

Ukraine, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Colombia are also popular destinations for would-be adoptive parents to seek babies. So far this year, 223 children have arrived in this country to be placed with adoptive parents – 10 more than in the same period last year. Sevilla, Malaga and Cadiz are the provinces with the highest numbers of applications, followed by Cordoba, Granada, Huelva, Almeria and Jaen. Requests to adopt children from abroad are carried out via the regional government Ministry for Equality and Social Well-being, or via charities such as Entidades Colaboradoras de Adopcion Internacional (ECAI).

Overseas adoption is regulated by agreements between governments, designed to ensure the children’s well-being. Children who can be sent abroad to be adopted should come from countries where the social, political and economic situation is sufficiently adverse to warrant their being taken away from their native land. In the last 15 years, a total of 5,012 children have been adopted in Andalucia from abroad.