Adoption Requirements and Advise

[melovesengland]

Early next year we will be lodging our visa application for my daughter to come and live here with me in the UK permanently. My husband Paul has mentioned if he can adopt my daughter ang give her his name. Another thing is that we wanted to make a will and name it to my daughter and son. Now my questions are:

What are the procedure of adoption here in the UK?
What are the documents needed from the Philippines for the adoption to go through here in the UK?

I am going to visit the philippines in sept and whilst im there I wanted to get documents ready for her visa and the possible adoption we are going to do.

Any advise and tips will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[raynaputi]

Have a read o this thread Novie, http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/54788-Advice-Needed, there are some answers to your query.

[melovesengland]

Have a read o this thread Novie, http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/54788-Advice-Needed, there are some answers to your query.

Thanks Rayna! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[lordna]

i have more to add on the adoption process BUT i am reading this thread on holiday on a tiny laptop....so will reply in about a weeks time. In short the process to recognise a UK adoption in the philippines has recently changed.

[melovesengland]

i have more to add on the adoption process BUT i am reading this thread on holiday on a tiny laptop....so will reply in about a weeks time. In short the process to recognise a UK adoption in the philippines has recently changed.

Thank you! I will be waiting. Have a great holiday! X

[lordna]

Thank you! I will be waiting. Have a great holiday! X

Back from holiday!!!!

After going through the UK adoption process we were under the impression that this was recognised in the Philippines and it was a minor formality to just get the records updated. At the time we started the adoption process this certainly WAS the case. Once the UK adoption was completed, a form WAS available on the London Philippine embassy website to effectively notify the NSO that the birth certificate of the adoptee needed to be changed to include the new surname details and details of the step parent.

I sent off my step daughters BRItish passport to get it updated to her new surname, enclosing her Philippine and British passports in her old name. They refused to issue a passport in her new name as she held a passport (Philippines) in her old name. I pointed out that the process to get the Philippine passport changed first would take longer which is why i had decided to get the British one done first. However they still refused to issue it but did eventually return the passports and refund my fee. This enabled my daughter to go on her school trip.
When she returned i decided to contact the Philippine embassy because the form to notify them of the adoption was no longer available on their website. They wrote back the following:-

Dear Mr XXXXXX,

This is with reference to your letter dated April 2016 regarding your step-daughter xxxxxxxxxx who has already assumed your surname upon adoption.

You may wish to note the following:-
1) Recognition of the UK adoption order
- Pursuant to amendments made on the rules of court of the Philippines, the recognition of the Adoption issued by foreign courts are no longer just reported (through a report of Adoption) to the Philippine civil registry.
- Any decree or judgement of a foreign court, such as the adoption order issued by the UK family court, has to be submitted to a Regional Trial Court in the Philippines for judicial recognition.
- Once the Philippine Court issues the Order recognising the adoption, the Order must be submitted to the Philippines StatisticsAuthority (PSA), the Philippine's main civil registry authority, for the annotation of xxxxxxxx Philippine birth certificate, to show the fact of her adoption and the name change done on adoption.

2) Issuance of a Philippine passport as xxxxxxxxxx "new surname"
- the issuance of a Philippine passport under the assumed on adoption can only be done on the basis of the annotated Philippine birth certificate.
- the original annotated birth certificate and a photocopy thereof will have to be submitted along with the other standard passport renewal requirements when the application is filed.

3) documentation in the citizenship re-acquisition/retention.
- the documents issued during your wife's reacquisition of Philippine citizenship will not require change as these were true and correct details at the time of the event.

I trust that this addresses your concerns on the matter.

Very truly yours,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Consul General

[andy222]

I enquired about this. I went to see a solicitor who told me the best and cheapest way would be just to change her surname. It would appear on most documents ie medical records etc. Your new surname is not recognised in the philippines. This is what I was told. I am going to change my stepdaughters name but I will wait untill she gets her I,L,R. as I do not want to confuse the home office.

[melovesengland]

Hmmmm, it got more complicated that i thought lordna. To do all that in the philippines it must take ages. Thanks for this. I will talk my husband through this and see if what we can do.

[lordna]

Hmmmm, it got more complicated that i thought lordna. To do all that in the philippines it must take ages. Thanks for this. I will talk my husband through this and see if what we can do.

Sorry i can't tell you anything more about the bit in the Philippines , or the cost, as we have not done that bit yet. .......but we will! I still think the UK adoption was worth doing though.

[Michael Parnham]

Just discovered this Thread so I will take the opportunity to tell my story. In 1990 my now ex wife went to the Philippines to collect her 5 year old daughter, my wife's sister had already started the visa process and after three weeks they arrived in the UK. Approx three months later we applied to proceed with adoption and found it very easy, after Twelve months that consisted of two interviews and two home visits followed by a ten minute private court hearing in the presence of a Judge the adoption was done, what did surprise us was that both me and my wife had to adopt. My daughter went right through the UK education system and went to both Bangor University to study Marine biology also Leeds University to study Marine geology total 6years. Also as a child I took her for swimming lessons at our local sports centre and when she reached 8 years of age she then joined the Borough of Barnsley swim club which consisted of daily 2 hour sessions in the evenings plus 4 two hour sessions a week at 5.30 am total 22 hours per week with 1 day per month off right up until she started University, she also qualified as a life guard and swimming coach and on top of that we took her to Philippines when she was 16 years of age to complete her Divemaster. I am so proud to have given a child from the Philippines the opportunity to have good education and career and I'm sure she will do well in the future. To sum up I will mention after the first six months of living in the UK my daughter forgot Tagalog and was talking broad yorkshire because for some strange reason my wife always spoke to her in English, also after she returned from her Divemaster coarse she said she never wanted to visit Philippines unless it was connected to her job in the future, I found that rather strange:Erm:

[cheeky_monkey]

Back from holiday!!!!

After going through the UK adoption process we were under the impression that this was recognised in the Philippines and it was a minor formality to just get the records updated. At the time we started the adoption process this certainly WAS the case. Once the UK adoption was completed, a form WAS available on the London Philippine embassy website to effectively notify the NSO that the birth certificate of the adoptee needed to be changed to include the new surname details and details of the step parent.

I sent off my step daughters BRItish passport to get it updated to her new surname, enclosing her Philippine and British passports in her old name. They refused to issue a passport in her new name as she held a passport (Philippines) in her old name. I pointed out that the process to get the Philippine passport changed first would take longer which is why i had decided to get the British one done first. However they still refused to issue it but did eventually return the passports and refund my fee. This enabled my daughter to go on her school trip.
When she returned i decided to contact the Philippine embassy because the form to notify them of the adoption was no longer available on their website. They wrote back the following:-

Dear Mr XXXXXX,

This is with reference to your letter dated April 2016 regarding your step-daughter xxxxxxxxxx who has already assumed your surname upon adoption.

You may wish to note the following:-
1) Recognition of the UK adoption order
- Pursuant to amendments made on the rules of court of the Philippines, the recognition of the Adoption issued by foreign courts are no longer just reported (through a report of Adoption) to the Philippine civil registry.
- Any decree or judgement of a foreign court, such as the adoption order issued by the UK family court, has to be submitted to a Regional Trial Court in the Philippines for judicial recognition.
- Once the Philippine Court issues the Order recognising the adoption, the Order must be submitted to the Philippines StatisticsAuthority (PSA), the Philippine's main civil registry authority, for the annotation of xxxxxxxx Philippine birth certificate, to show the fact of her adoption and the name change done on adoption.

2) Issuance of a Philippine passport as xxxxxxxxxx "new surname"
- the issuance of a Philippine passport under the assumed on adoption can only be done on the basis of the annotated Philippine birth certificate.
- the original annotated birth certificate and a photocopy thereof will have to be submitted along with the other standard passport renewal requirements when the application is filed.

3) documentation in the citizenship re-acquisition/retention.
- the documents issued during your wife's reacquisition of Philippine citizenship will not require change as these were true and correct details at the time of the event.

I trust that this addresses your concerns on the matter.

Very truly yours,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Consul General


Hi,
I just wanted to ask if you were able to change your stepdaughter's name in her Philippines Birth certificate to her new name? Did you have to use an attorney in the Philippines, how much did it cost and how long did it take?
We are on the process of changing my daughter's name but the attorney we consulted wanted PHP150K which we find to be very extortionate.

Some advice will be appreciated.

Thanks.