The motives of people seeking to adopt children from abroad are many and varied. Some, put off by the difficulty of adopting a baby in this country, look further afield.

Others may be moved by the plight of youngsters living in desperate conditions. Some people want to adopt child who has the same national background to themselves.

Whatever the reason, adopting from abroad is a complex and difficult task and there are strict rules and regulations governing the procedure.

Anyone seeking to adopt children from other countries must first be approved as an adopter in this country and will have to undergo exactly the same process as if they were adopting a British child. This means they must meet the same criteria as many other adopters.

Recent laws have made it a criminal offence to bring children into this country illegally for the purposes of adoption. The maximum sentence for this is up to three months in prison and a £5,000 fine.

What happens to the child in these cases is up to the court which will decide if they should remain in the UK or be returned to their homeland.

If you plan to adopt from overseas then you should firstly discuss your plans with your local council or adoption agency. You will need to be approved to adopt and the law allows only councils and some voluntary adoption agencies to facilitate intercountry adoptions.

Secondly, find out if the country from where you wish to adopt allows intercountry adoptions, you can do this by contacting the country's Embassy in England.

The Intercountry Adoption Centre publishes a number of publications about overseas adoption. To download the list (in Word format) click here

See 'We could not have adopted without the help of the Web'

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