I’m Taiwanese and my husband’s European, and we are residing in Taiwan. We’ve been married for years, tried everything we can, and I mean everything–but no luck with kids. We don’t think domestic adoption is such a good idea so we are thinking about adopting from a third country, say…Thailand, considering the culture, cost, traveling and everything.
I know we are gonna be swamped by mountains of paperworks, but still, we want to explore the possibility. I have asked lots of agencies in Taiwan but none of them seem to know anything about international adoption. And I have learned that the agencies in Thailand or other countries don’t really deal with individuals.
So I was wondering if anyone has any experience in this?
No doubt you have your reasons I’m sure, but for sure domestic adoption will be a lot easier than doing it overseas. You’ve already discovered that even if a local agent decides to take your case, you’ll be dealing with someone who hasn’t done this before, which will doubtless cause all manner of headaches.
There are many orphans here, from newborns to teenagers, especially since Typhoon Morakot last year.
[quote=“sheknows15”]I’m Taiwanese and my husband’s European, and we are residing in Taiwan. We’ve been married for years, tried everything we can, and I mean everything–but no luck with kids. We don’t think domestic adoption is such a good idea so we are thinking about adopting from a third country, say…Thailand, considering the culture, cost, traveling and everything.
I know we are gonna be swamped by mountains of paperworks, but still, we want to explore the possibility. I have asked lots of agencies in Taiwan but none of them seem to know anything about international adoption. And I have learned that the agencies in Thailand or other countries don’t really deal with individuals.
So I was wondering if anyone has any experience in this?[/quote]
First of all, I am sorry that you have experienced difficulty in starting a family. I know how painful that can be. We have researched adoption quite a bit. I think that you will find that international adoption is far more expensive than domestic adoption in Taiwan, and has a lot more headaches. For example, Thailand can be a difficult and expensive country to adopt from, and the timeline is not always secure–there are often lots of delays and unexpected bumps in the road. We have several friends who have adopted here in Taiwan, and all had fairly smooth and inexpensive journeys to their children. They were also able to foster their children from young infancy while waiting for the adoption to be completed, which really aids in attachment. Plus, there are the added bonuses of the child being able to grow up in the culture of their birth, and the adoptive parents already knowing the native language of the child (for older babies and young children this helps, obviously).
I am sure you have your reasons for considering international adoption. There are lots of things to consider and it’s a touchy subject for many. But do think about adoption here in Taiwan seriously, if you haven’t already. There are many babies and children here who need families.
Thanks, everyone. We don’t exactly…reject the idea of domestic adoption. It’s just that we are more keen on private adoption. And knowing Taiwanese, it could get a bit complicated sometimes. Birth parents didn’t have money so had to give the baby away, but when things get better for them, they want their kid back. Or the kid’s grandparents suddenly show up, vowing to preserve the last of family bloodline. Dramtic? True stories.
As evil as it may sound, it would probably be a lot harder for Thai birth parents to come and stalk my kid in Taiwan.
After going through countless IVF procedures, the last thing I need is more complications. But you guys are absolutely right, international adoption is definitely gonna be a painstaking process. So I’m only exploring the possibilities…
Isn’t adoption in Taiwan anonymous? I thought that was standard procedure everywhere to avoid the sort of problems you’re worried about.
Anyway, I really hope you can find a good match for you. Also, to aid others in the future, it would be great if you could post about any procedures or problems you encounter here. If you feel comfortable doing that, that is. Best of luck.