Bulgaria: Country and Program Overview
The ancient and historically significant country of Bulgaria shares borders with Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, and Turkey. Two mountain ranges and two great valleys mark the topography of Bulgaria, a country the size of Tennessee and situated on the Black Sea. The Maritsa is Bulgaria's principal river, and the Danube also flows through the country. Interestingly, Bulgaria has dominated the world market of rose oil so precious to the perfume industry for many years. The rose-growing area between Klisura and Kazanlak produces seventy percent of the world’s attar - or extract - of roses. Considering that perfumeries’ pay more than $45 million a year for this, it’s not surprising that roses are known as "Bulgaria’s gold". Bulgarians are warm and hearty people, renowned for their hospitality to foreigners, famous for their respect and good will toward their guests and visitors.
Current Status
Partners for Adoption will make sure your adoption from Bulgaria is as simple as possible, from homestudy through placement, when you work with us in collaboration with our partner agency, Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc. For more information please contact us or Hopscotch directly at www.hopscotchadoptions.org.
Children Available
Children range in age from 12 months to 16 years old. It is quicker to receive a referral for a child over the age of 3 years or a child with a special correctable need. Many older children and children with special needs are waiting for their opportunity for a permanent family. Siblings are available as well. The children of Bulgaria are beautiful, with an olive complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair. Many children are of Roma ethnicity. The referral of a child is made with substantial medical and social records for your review.
Parent Requirements
Married couples are preferred, but single women may also adopt Parents must be under 55, with one parent preferably younger, and have no major health problems If the applicant is a single woman, she may adopt a child of approximately 5 years of age if near the age of 55 It is preferable that the adoptive parents do not have any biological children or have a limited number of children at home.
Program and Process
Hopscotch’s Bulgarian adoption program offers many options for parents. Approximate time frames to complete a Bulgarian adoption greatly depend on the child you desire to adopt. The younger the child, the more lengthy the process will be. Typically, for a child 2.5 years or older, the process will take 9-12 months from dossier submission to return home. Hopscotch parents need to make only two short trips, the first being 5 days in lengh and the second being approximately 9-15 days. In some cases the first trip can be waived. Escorts are possible for an additional fee and only one parent may need to travel on the second trip Visas are not required for travel to Bulgaria.
Hopscotch has a partnership with an accredited and insured Bulgarian Foundation. This Foundation, which is highly regarded in Bulgaria, has successfully placed approximately 130 children since 2003.
Hopscotch will guide families in preparing the notarized and apostilled dossiers, provide required Hague training, referral counseling, and travel assistance. Once Hopscotch receives the completed dossier it is sent to the Foundation; the Foundation submits the dossier to the Central Authority; the referral is assigned by the government of Bulgaria and is provided to the family by the Foundation via Hopscotch. Once Hopscotch receives a child referral from the Foundation it is assigned to a family. We encourage our families to consult with an International Adoption Specialist Pediatrician for consultation about their referral. If the referral is accepted the acceptance request is sent back to Bulgaria and, if approved, more information on the child will be provided to the family. The family will then be invited to Bulgaria for a 5 day trip to meet the referred child and formally accept the referral. In some cases this trip can be waived, but Hopscotch recommends that each family strongly consider this step in preparing for the adoption and bonding process. After the decision to accept the referral has been made the family will return home and wait for the adoption to be finalized in Bulgaria. Shortly thereafter the family will be invited for a second trip of 4-5 days, which will take place approximately 90 days later. In Bulgaria adoptions are finalized by the court. All decisions are made by the Bulgarian authorities, and families interests will be represented by our partner Foundation’s attorney. Once the family is notified to return to Bulgaria to finalize the adoption, appointments will be secured for the child to have a US embassy panel physician’s medical examination and apply for the child’s HR-3 or HR-4 visa.
Fees
Contact Hopscotch directly for a current fee schedule.