ADOPTION BY FOREIGN NATIONALS OR BY LITHUANIAN ...

2The consent of the child – when the child to be adopted has already reached the age of 10, thechild’s consent for the adoption filled with the court shall be required. Where the child is under 10,the court must take account of the child’s will if the child is capable of expressing his/her views andif that will is not contrary to the child’s interests.Special needs children – are children children with serious or incurable medical condition, which is certified by a healthcertificate issued by a medical institution and a certificate filled in by the child’sguardian; children older than 8 years of age; who come in a sibling group of at least three who are referred for adoption together; children close to their siblings who do not agree to be adopted or who can not beadopted together.Currently, the majority of children eligible for adoption by foreign nationals are children withspecial needs. The Adoption Service encourages competent authorities of all receiving States toprovide training for families that can adopt such children. Special needs children adoptionprogramme is implemented in co-operation with accredited adoption agencies involved in findingfamilies, providing information and training as well as post-adoption services for them.4. Documents required for adoptionHague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of IntercountryAdoption provides that a family must apply to a central authority or an accredited agency of thefamily’s habitual residence with an application for adoption. An accredited adoption agency mustbe authorized to act in the field of adoption by the receiving State and by the competent authoritiesof the Republic of Lithuania.All documents of prospective adoptive parents must be submitted to the State Child RightsProtection and Adoption Service; the latter shall verify whether the prospective adoptive parentsmeet the requirements and the family shall be included into the waiting list of prospective adoptiveparents. The mere fact that the family included into the waiting list of prospective adoptive parentsshall not mean that one or more children must be placed for adoption with that family. The finaljudgment regarding adoption shall be made by the court.Submission of documentsCitizens of foreign countries wishing to adopt a child in Lithuania shall apply to the Centralauthority in their country or an accredited body in their habitual residence. They have to submit thefollowing documents:1. Application to the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service in Lithuaniacontaining the data about the number, age, sex, health condition of the children requested foradoption;2. Information letter representing a family prepared by Central Institution (CI) or AuthorizedOrganization (AO) in the Receiving State;3. Home study report (description of the family members, their life history, social andpsychological environment, motives of adoption, readiness to adopt, etc.);4. License to adopt issued by competent authority in the Receiving State;5. A copy of marriage certificate (if married), of divorce certificate (if divorced), of deathcertificate of the spouse (if widowed);6. Copies of the front page of the passports or other identity documents;7. Copies of the birth certificates (if children or other persons live together with adoptivefamily their birth certificates must be submitted as well);8. Medical certificates proving state of health (if children or other persons live together withadoptive family medical certificates proving their state of health must be submitted as well);