Getting Started
HANRAHAN TRANSLATIONS 061 399213 –CONTACT MARY HANRAHAN
jmhanrahan@eircom.net
Description of Services
- Consulting with, advising and supporting prospective adoptive parents throughout the dossier preparation process.
- Assisting with the completion of the necessary application forms.
- Reviewing all documents for consistency and completeness.
- Notarising and apostilling the documents.
- Photocopying twice the notarized, apostilled documents.
- Typing, printing, punching & binding of any necessary letters, forms etc.
- Providing all the necessary stationery and folders for presentation.
- Translation of documents.
- Stitching each document for presentation to the relevant Authorities.
- Postage, telephone, fax & email consultations.
In short,
We do everything a third party can do to complete the dossier as well as provide advice throughout the preparation of each document and those tasks that only you can complete.
As an adoptive parent, Mary Hanrahan is familiar with all aspects of International Adoption dossier preparation. Each clients documents are given care and timely attention. At Hanrahan Translations, the professional skills and personal experiences of all the staff combine to make us a good choice for expediting the dossier process.
Where to start with the preparation of a Belarussian Adoption Application Dossier:
The relevant Belarussian Adoption Application Forms are available from the Adoption Board, Shelbourne House, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Telephone 01 2309300 or Fax 01 667 1438.
As you gather your documents you can send them by registered post to us. At that stage we can make a start on the translation while you are busy gathering the remainder.
The earlier we get your documents to begin translation the faster the whole process will be.
It is important that while you wait for your Declaration with the Adoption Board, that you obtain and send to us a photocopy of your assessment report as this takes quite some time to translate.
If you have difficulty completing any of the forms, please telephone me and I will got through each form with you as you fill them out.
Some notes on each document:
v Your name on all application forms, where possible, is to be exactly the same as that on your passport ie., Mary Jane Brown. However, sometimes documents may only have your first name, this is ok, for example, on your declaration, immigration clearance, police certs. – where possible use your name as it appears on your passport, but do not go to the hassle of changing important documents to match. It is also important not alter or write on any of these official documents, as they would then become void.
v All documents have a validity of one year, documents are considered out of date, by Belarussian terms, one year after their date of issue, however Birth & Marriage Certs do not fall into this category – please check your birth & marriage certs to ensure that your dates of birth & marriage are correct on each.
v Forward all documents by registered post or courier in an all weather waterproof envelope.
v Re your signatures : One does not need to include your middle name when signing documents. You may use it if you wish, the main thing is to keep the signature consistant throughout – it is not a major issue.
v All documents can be handwritten – no need to retype the forms.
q FORM 1. Letter of Application to Adopt from Belarus – this is one of the standard application form available from the Adoption Board. The speed of the adoption depends on how flexible you are with regard to the age & sex of the child. “No preference” with regard to the sex of the child can speed up a referral. You must also state the age of child you wish to adopt for example “from birth to 4 years of age”. Remember to use the correct telephone code on this form of “810 353 area code, local number” . In the case of an identified child Form 1 should not be completed.
q Form 2 This form is only completed for an identified child or on receipt of the referral from the adoption board – it is used to apply for a court date for the child that has been referred to you.
q Form 6a – one each for husband & wife to be signed by your employer or if self employed, signed by your accountant. Just take your total earning for the full year to December 2003 and divide evenly among the 12 months.
q Form 6b – to be completed by persons who have extra income outside of main job ie., rent from letting of apartments etc. – complete only if applicable.
q Form 6c – one each for husband & wife to be completed by yourselves – family member refers to your husbands earnings & vice versa – must have the same figures as in Form 6a.
q The Medical Form 3 - all compled by your GP & include the HIV & Syphilis & Chest xray hospital results report for both husband and wife. Applicants do not have to attend a consultant unless they are already receiving treatment for a particular condition. The GP must sign and date each section, where requested, even if there is a negative or n/a result. Please check your hospital results for chest, hiv, syphilis to ensure items like dates of birth are correct.
q Form 5 Certificate of Living Conditions of Prospective Adoptive Parents, Guardians (Trustees) – to be compled, signed and stamped by a surveyor, autctioneer or valuerer. The form must be stamped at the top of the first page and the last page. The section “total number of people entitled to live in the accommodation” here you state how many are currently living in the house / they have the right to live there. “Habitable rooms” and “living area” by this they mean the bedrooms and sittingroom but not the kitchen or corridors or bathrooms.
q Health Board Agreement to Post Placement Reports make sure this letter says that reports will be sent to the National Adoption Centre in Belarus every 6 months for a duration of 3 years & has to be signed by yourselves & the social worker – this letter is got from your Social Worker.
q Health Board Intercountry Adoption Assessment Report – a photocopy of same can be got from your Social Worker for translation purposes while you are waiting for your declaration. It takes quite a while to translate, some reports are up to 20 pages, so the earlier we get this the better.
q Declaration of Eligibility & Suitability from the Adoption Board in accordance with the names on your Birth Certificates.
q Letter of introduction from the Adoption Board – if you have not received this letter with your declaration you must write back to the Adoption Board for it.
q Photocopy of Immigration Clearance write to Immigration Clearance for Foreign Adoptions, Immigration Operations, c/o Immigration and Citizenship Division, Department of Justice, 13/14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. – you can only apply for this when you get your declaration, Tel 01 6167718. Send the following by registered post, Original Declaration, Original Marriage & Birth Certs, 2 passport photos & letter stating that you wish to adopt from Belarus. It usually takes about 3 weeks for the return of same.
q Photocopy of Passport – husband & wife – photocopy the page with the photo on it and the opposite page – there must be at least one year of validity remaining on the passport. One photocopy page for each husband and wife– do not put both copies on the one page.
q Declaration of Identity required if the name on your passport differs from that on your birth / marriage certs & other forms etc. ie., you are called Finbar but known as Barry. We will prepare same if it is required in your dossier.
q Police Certificate of Character – husband & wife – the cert has a validity of one year from the date of issue.
q Statement of Income from Employer – Stamped & signed letter from Employer on employers headed paper outlinging details of employment (permanent / years worked ) & salary for the full year to December 2003 – (letter is more preferable than the P60)– or if self employed a brief copy of the last financial years Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss account stamped by your accountant. The figures must correspond with those on the 6a & 6c.
q Homemaker - If you are a homemaker – not working outside the family home, please ask your solicitor to write a short letter to confirm same.
q Birth Certificate – husband & wife – check your dates of birth to make sure they are correct.
q Marriage Certificate – check dates of birth & marriage on this.
q Six to eight photographs of :yourselves, your home, the childs bedroom, your garden etc & or any children you already have – please write the details of who is in each photo on the back – we will translate these details into Russian. Do not include photos of persons who are not relevant to your application ie., your neighbours, their children etc.
q Letter of request re your representative / translator in Belarus – we can type this up for you, just let us know who your representative is.
After translation we will make two photocopies of your dossier for you.
You are required to submit the original to the Adoption Board for forwarding to Belarus and one photocopy for the Adoption Boards files and of course retain one copy for yourself.
When submitting the dossier to the Adoption Board for forwarding to Belarus please enclose the following:
v 32 euros cheque made payable to the Department of Health & Children.
v Sterling draft made payable to the Embassy of Belarus in Great Britain to certify the translation – currently the rate is 20 stg per document – we will advise you of the correct amount relevant to you dossier.
The Adoption Board forwards the dossier to the Embassy in London who certify the translation and transmit the dossier to the National Adoption Centre in Belarus via Diplomatic post, usually, the last Sunday of each month.
One month later the dossier will be listed in the National Adoption Centre.
Usually a referral is given about 6 months after this date. But the waiting time seems to be much longer if you request siblings under the age of 5 years or female children under the age of 3 years.
For Male children under the age of 4 years, most families seem to get a referral within a few months.
One month after your dossier has left London your representative in Belarus will telephone you to confirm the your dossier has joined the queue.
Web sites
There is a very good Belarussian discussion group at the following web address
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Adoption_From_Belarus/
The International Adoption Association PO Box 5522, Shankill, Co. Dublin – a must for all prospective adopter !! issues excellent adoption newsletters and provides advice on all adoption related issues. Membership is approx. 60 euros.
Check with their web site or write to the above address to gain and confirm membership etc at www.iaaireland.com
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