This Notice Supersedes the Message issued on January 30, 2018

As a reminder, on December 15, 2017, the new Civil Code of Ukraine went into effect, increasing the appeal period of all civil cases, including the appeals process for adoption decrees, from 10 days to 30 calendar days. After a Ukrainian civil court approves an adoption decree, the judgement will not go into effect until 30 calendar days have passed to allow for an appeal to be filed. After this period, adoptive parents may be given physical custody of the adopted child and may then apply for a new birth certificate and passport and finalize the adoption. 

NOTE: Adoptive parents may have to wait an additional six to 12 weeks in Ukraine to obtain the child’s passport, birth certificate, and other required documents. This wait time is in addition to the 30-day waiting period following the final court hearing. Before you travel to finalize your child’s adoption in Ukraine, you should consider these new timelines in your travel plans.

For more information about adoption from Ukraine, including the U.S. immigrant visa process, please review the country specific information page on this website.

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in Ukraine. For questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at Adoption@state.gov.