Armenian children can be adopted by foreign citizens and stateless persons. It is allowed only in case the child cannot be adopted by his close relatives or a family of Armenia citizens constantly living in Armenia.

Persons who want to adopt a child in Armenia should proceed to registration as adoptive parents personally or by means of their authorized representative enclose the following documents and their corresponding copies:

1. Identification document.
2. Living conditions certificate.
3. Family structure certificate.
4. Income and posts certificate.
5. Personal guarantee about due behavior of the person issued by the authorized organization or by at least three persons.
6. Medical certificates stating absence of the diseases listed further.
7. Marriage certificate.
8. In case of adoption of a child by one of spouses - the written consent of the second except for cases if spouses stopped the matrimonial relations and don't live together more than one year and the residence of the second spouse it unknown.
9. Criminal records certificate.

When the dossier is registered the corresponding authority has a one-month period to evaluate living conditions of the person wishing to adopt and to draw up the relevant statement containing positive or negative conclusion about possibility of adoption.

In case of the absence of the reasons that impede adoption, in case the information provided in the dossier documents is full and faultless, the corresponding authority states a positive conclusion that is valid within 12 months from the date of issue. The applicant on the basis of the positive conclusion within 3 working days is being registered as a person wishing to adopt a child.

In case some information is lacking the corresponding authority gives a 30-day period to correct or submit missing documents or information.

The negative conclusion might be reasoned by the following (such conclusion is valid within a year of the day of issue):

1. in case of not elimination by the person wishing to adopt the child of inaccuracies present in he documents submitted
2. on the basis of received information that negatively characterizes the person wishing adopt the child
3. on the basis of the act of studying of living conditions of the person
4. in case of groundlessness of the statement of the person wishing to adopt the child
5. in cases estipulated by the law forbidding adoption of the child

The person wishing to adopt the child can de struck off the register:
1. according to the statement
2. in case of the expiration of 12 months from the date of the positive conclusion
3. in case of adoption of the child
4. in case of change of residence
5. in case of one of the bases provided in the part 1 of article 116 of the family legislation

Armenia government should approve a family or a person who takes a child under the guardianship.
Adult persons wishing to adopt a child in Armenia should correspond to several requirements.

Those persons who were recognized incapable or were limited in their legal capability, were deprived or limited in their parental rights by court, those who were discharged of duties of a tutor or a foster parent in consequence of improper performance of duties assigned by law, those whose state of health doesn’t permit to carry out parental responsibilities cannot adopt.

The following diseases impede adoption of a child in Armenia:

1. All kinds of psychotic mental disorders.

2. Chronic alcoholism, drug addiction and drug abuse.

3. Not psychotic mental disorders that occur with frequent exacerbations combined with expressed neurotic changes and personality alterations.

4. Intellectual disability, dementia.

5. Schizophrenia,  schizotypic  state, delusional disorder.

6. Epilepsy with character alterations/degradation of the personality.

7. Mood or affective disorders.

8. The open form of tuberculosis.

9. Diseases of the organs and systems in the stage of decompensation and irreversible changes, and persistent functional disorders.

10. Acute infectious diseases.

11. Sexually transmitted diseases and skin diseases.

Those persons or families who are unable to provide to child minimum vital conditions or have no permanent residence, or live in the condition that do not conform to the established sanitary and technical requirements cannot adopt in Armenia either.

Armenian law forbids to adopt to those persons who have criminal records for heavy and especially serious crimes.
The court can revoke its judgement that states adoption of a child guiding by his interests and taking in consideration opinion of a child older than 10.

After adoption had been established the decision can be also revoked in cases if adoptive parents evade the parental responsibilities assigned to them.

There are some reasons which can become the reason for annulment of the adoptive parents. If such parents abuse their parental rights, treat the adopted child cruelly, become chronic alcoholics or drug addicted.

On the other way the adoptive parents can lose the child on request of his biological parents who were early recognized by court as dead or as absent in case of rewatching the corresponding court decision, as well as in case of restoration of legal capability of the biological parents.

Adoption in Armenia is being regulated by national law, such as the Family code, the civil legislation of RA, and also the law Armenia "About the Registry Office” and also the Adoption order approved by the decision No. 269 of RA government on March 18, 2010, as well as by the international law, for example the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption .

Registration of the Armenian children adopted by RA citizens living outside Armenia, foreign citizens and stateless persons in diplomatic missions and consular establishments.

Registration of the adopted Armenian children is carried out in RA diplomatic missions and consular organizations (further “consular organization”) in the country of residence of the adoptive parents.

In case of absence of the consular organization in the country of the adoptive parents, the registration of an adopted child is carried out by the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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