Adopting a child

Adopting a child

"I am 30 years old and have been living with my boyfriend for 10 years. What are the requirements?

Corinne, Geneva

The law provides that a child may be adopted if the prospective adoptive parents have provided care and upbringing for at least one year, and if all the circumstances make it possible to foresee that the establishment of a parent-child relationship will serve the child's welfare without unfairly affecting the situation of other children of the adoptive parents. In particular, account is taken of the personal, family, social and material circumstances, as well as the health and educational capacity of the adoptive parents. In other words, the adoptive parents must provide guarantees as to their ability and readiness to welcome this child as if it were their own and to encourage and support it in its development.

The age difference between the child and the parents must be at least 16. If capable of discernment, the child's consent is required. The consent of the guardianship authority is also required if the child is under guardianship, as well as that of the parents if the child is not an orphan. In the latter case, however, the consent of one of the parents may be disregarded if the parent is unknown, has been absent for a long time with no known place of residence, is permanently incapable of discernment or has not shown serious concern for the child. The parents' consent can only be validly given six weeks after the birth of the child. Once given, it may be revoked within six weeks. Finally, it should be noted that the adoption of a person of full age or a person who is prohibited from adopting is only possible if there are no descendants of the future adoptive parents.

A married couple can only adopt jointly. The spouses must have been married for at least five years or have reached the age of 35. However, a married person over the age of 35 may adopt alone if a joint adoption proves impossible because the spouse has become permanently incapable of discernment, or has been absent for more than two years with no known place of residence, or if the legal separation has been pronounced for more than three years. An unmarried person may adopt on their own if they are at least 35 years old. It is important to remember that same-sex couples are still not allowed to adopt a child jointly, or to adopt the child of their registered partner.

If you and your friend want to adopt a child together, you will need to get married. In this case, adoption will be possible in 5 years if the other legal conditions are met. You can also adopt on your own after the age of 35, but like most adoptions by a single person, this will be very difficult.