Effective as of August 1, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea (MOHW) has relaxed the age guidelines on who is eligible to adopt from Korea. For families that have previously adopted a Korean child, new guidelines will allow families up to age forty nine to enter the program. This is great news for families that wanted a second child from Korean, but had aged out of the program. Age waivers will be given to adult Korean adoptees as well. The new guidelines also clarify the age limits for heritage families.
In the Korean Program generally, parents must be under age 45 by the time the adoption is approved in Korea (by the MOHW). However, special permission will be given to prospective adoptive parents up to age 49 at the time of homestudy approval as long as they meet one of the below requirements:
1. Both prospective adoptive parents are Korean-heritage.
2. One prospective adoptive parent is a Korean adoptee.
3. The prospective adoptive parents already have a Korean adopted child.
Please contact this office if you have any questions. For more on the Korean Program, click here.