Foreign adop­tion

What is foreign adoption?

Foreign adoption involves adopting a child under the age of 18 without having prior knowledge of the child. Foreign adoption is also known as anonymous adoption. If the child is adopted here in Denmark, it is a national foreign adoption. If the child is adopted from abroad, it is an international foreign adoption. After the adoption, the applicant(s) will be the child's legal parent(s) and the original parents will no longer have a legal role in the child's life.

Both married, cohabiting and single applicants can be approved for adoption. Being a same-sex couple does not affect the adoption process for children in Denmark. If you wish to adopt a child from abroad, DIA (Danish International Adoption) can provide guidance on which countries allow same-sex couples to adopt.

If you are married or have been cohabiting for more than 2½ years, you must apply together. This also applies if you start the application process alone but have been living together for 2½ years by the time the process is underway.

The 2½-year cohabitation requirement is to ensure that the child is adopted into a stable relationship. However, this requirement can be waived in relation to cohabitants, so that cohabitants can be approved as adopters if they have lived together for at least 1½ years at the time of application and one applicant has already been approved as an adopter.

You can read about how to be approved as an adopter on the Agency of Family Law’s website.