Adopting a child in Singapore

What adoption means

When the court makes an adoption order, the legal ties between the child and the birth parents end. The adoptive parents take on all parental rights and responsibilities, including decisions on education, religion and medical care, and a new birth certificate is issued. An adopted child can also inherit from the adoptive parents.

An adoption order is meant to be permanent. It can be reopened only in narrow circumstances, such as where it was obtained through false information.

The law

Adoption is governed by the Adoption of Children Act 2022, which replaced the 1939 Act on 15 October 2024. The new Act added pre-application requirements, renamed the Home Study Report as the Adoption Suitability Assessment, and changed how consents are given.

Who can adopt

The main requirements described by Singapore firms are:

• You must be at least 25 years old and at least 21 years older than the child. The court can allow exceptions, for example where the applicant and child are related by blood.
• Applicants must be habitually resident in Singapore. For joint applicants, at least one must be a Singapore Citizen or both must be Permanent Residents. A sole applicant must be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• You must have lived in Singapore continuously for at least one year before applying for the Adoption Suitability Assessment.
• Joint applicants must be married to each other. A married person adopting alone needs their spouse's consent.
• A sole male applicant generally cannot adopt a girl unless there are special circumstances.
• People convicted of certain serious offences are barred from adopting.

Which children can be adopted

The child must be under 21. The child must also be resident in Singapore, which covers Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Dependant's Pass holders. A child here on a visit pass or student pass is generally not treated as resident.

The main steps

The steps below are a general outline. Details vary between local, stepchild and foreign adoptions.

• Attend the compulsory Pre-Adoption Briefing and a briefing on telling the child about the adoption.
• Obtain an Adoption Suitability Assessment from an Authorised Adoption Agency, which looks at your readiness to adopt, including finances, health and home environment.
• Identify the child, through an agency or otherwise. A foreign child must be brought in on a Dependant's Pass.
• Obtain the consent of the relevant persons, such as the birth parents, in the prescribed form, witnessed by two people aged at least 21.
• File the application with the Family Justice Courts.
• A Guardian-in-Adoption, a public officer, looks after the child's interests, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development carries out home visits and reports to the court.
• The court hears the application and decides whether to make an adoption order.

What the court looks at

The court must be satisfied that the adoption is for the welfare of the child and that the required consents have been validly given. Improper payments or rewards in connection with an adoption are prohibited, and applicants are expected to account for their adoption-related expenses.

How long it takes

Firms report that the Ministry's home visit and report typically take six to eight months once the case is filed, and that most uncontested adoptions take about six to twelve months overall. A foreign adoption usually takes longer because of the additional checks.

This guide is general information only. Each adoption depends on the applicants' and the child's circumstances.