'Having to adopt children twice is not in the children's best interests': a reflective case study analysis of intercountry adoption policy in the UK

Abstract

In 2007, my husband and I adopted two boys from Russia as New Zealand citizens. We complied with all the detailed legal requirements of New Zealand adoption policy and law, as well as with Russian intercountry adoption (ICA) regulations. In 2009, we decided to return to the UK, our country of birth, where we had lived until 1999. We wished to bring our legally adopted boys to the UK with a view to returning to the UK permanently. The UK adoption and immigration polices, however, did not recognise our ICA as a Hague Convention adoption. Russia is a non-Hague country and we were required by UK law to re-adopt our boys. This article explores the differing policies and practices of ICA in New Zealand and the UK, and the children's rights issues involved, as well as the unintended discriminatory practices of double or re-adoption. I will consider the need for procedural changes in the future to avoid the double-jeopardy faced by families such as my own. © 2011 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.