Adopting a child

When you adopt a child, you take over the care and upbringing of the biological parents. You and the child then also become legally related. 

To apply for adoption, you file a request with the court. You are required to hire a lawyer.

What you need to know

If you want to adopt a child, there is a lot to consider. Look at the websites Rijksoverheid | Adoption and Jurisprudence for more information about the procedure, costs and approximately how long it may take.

Applying for a residence permit

Is the adoption approved in the Netherlands? This sometimes means that the child will also receive Dutch nationality.

Does your child not have Dutch nationality right away? Then you must apply for a residence permit. For this you contact the Immigration and Naturalization Service .

Making an appointment

Child adopted, but not yet registered in the Netherlands?

Then you must register your child in the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP). For the first registration, the child must come along. The child must be registered with the municipality within 5 days after settling in.

For an appointment, call 14 079 .

Child adopted, but registered in the Netherlands?

Is your child already registered in the Netherlands, but you need to hand in the adoption papers? Then you need to make an appointment for that.

For an appointment, call 14 079 .

Change or delete appointment?

Once you have made an appointment you will receive a confirmation e-mail. This e-mail also contains a link that allows you to change or delete your appointment.

Do you no longer have the e-mail? Call 14 079. A staff member can change or delete the appointment for you.

What you need to bring

  • valid identity document of the adoptive parents and the child
  • foreign birth certificate of the child (if available)
  • foreign adoption order and other adoption documents

+ In some situations:

  • proof that the adoption took place in accordance with the Convention (certificate of conformity, Article 23 of the Hague Adoption Convention)
  • approval in principle from the Ministry of Justice with the BKA number

Legalization of foreign documents

The adoption papers and birth certificate sometimes need to be legalized. Whether this is necessary for you depends on the country where the documents were drawn up. For more information, see the website of the Dutch government | Legalization of foreign documents .

Are the documents not in Dutch, English, French or German? Then an official interpreter/translator in the Netherlands must translate the documents.