Child adoption by same-sex couples in Singapore

Adoption is an option for gay and lesbian couples who yearn for children but do not want to go through the travails of pregnancy, failed medically assisted insemination or surrogacy.

=Local=

A member of a gay couple may adopt as a single parent as long as he/she fulfills the following criteria as stipulated by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) (see main article: Child adoption in Singapore).

In summary:

Residency Status – the applicant must be a resident in Singapore to adopt, i.e. a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, or a holder of an Employment Pass, Dependant’s Pass or any other pass which the Family Court deems as qualifying the applicant as a resident in Singapore.

Age – the applicant must be at least 25 years old and at least 21 years older than the child to be adopted. The maximum age gap between the adopter and child must not be more than 50 years.

Marital status – if the applicant is a single male, he are not allowed to adopt a girl, unless there are special circumstances to justify the adoption.

Home Study Report – if the applicant wishes to adopt a foreign child or a local child via the MSF, he/she is required to apply for a Home Study Report.

Pre-adoption Briefing – applicants should attend a compulsory Pre-Adoption Briefing (PAB) before he/she applies for a Home Study Report or begins the legal proceedings for adoption.

The estimated cost of adoption is between S$8,000 to S$20,000 as at 2016.

Must be approved by MSF - must submit application to adopt. Part of process is that they will do a home study, can by done by a few different agencies, some more friendly than others. Recent developments are that some agencies will ask if you are gay. If you say yes, they may ask to interview your partner. One male gay couple after interviewing partner, got adoption rejected. Laws are not clear on this. Don't know what Ministry's stand is currently. They don't say clearly whether gay people can or cannot adopt. Some gay couples did manage to adopt but that was some time back, at least 3 to 4 years back. Policies may have changed. Be aware that when do home study or interview, you may not want to be 100% truthful about it. Men can only adopt boys Official age limit at 50 years older than child Soft limit around 40 - 45. They think you may not be suitable to adopt a child at this advanced age.

Gay male couple applied for adoption but rejected. During interview, asked if OK to declare if gay. Said there was no law but policy says gay people cannot adopt. During interview, said could consider but recently, changed policy.

=Overseas=

Policies differ from country to country Most will require home study approval by MSF - still will have to go through home study interviews. Only applicable to Singaporeans. If partner is foreigner, can get partner to get approval from his home country and you get approval for overseas adoption. If partner is PR, can opt to have home study done in his country.

Estimated cost: S$8,000 to 20,000

Once get approval from MSF, can approach any number of agencies to source child for you. Some agencies are better than others. Most adopted children in Singapore come from overseas. Not many Singaporean children are offered for adoption. Waiting list is quite long. Agencies will arrange for child from Malaysia, Indonesia or one of ASEAN countries. Some Singaporean couples are pick. They want a Chinese baby. Parents must be tall, educated. But if parents are tall, educated and privileged, won't want to offer child for adoption. Many children born to underprivileged parents in Malaysia who can't afford to bring them up. May be mixed babies in need of a home. So hope you will approach agencies sourcing from Malaysia or Indonesia.

Cost is S$15,000 for a Chinese baby, the cuter the more expensive. Like child trafficking system in Singapore and it is legal. Agency can show you all the pictures and the prices, eg. $20K or 30K. If you don't want, others want. Don't patronise agencies who are so mercenary.

Citizenship of child
When assets are overseas, overseas law will apply but kid is not overseas. US laws protect you better so may want to have child in US. Can get second parent adoption done there. Child will by UK or US citizens if born there. Both are legal parents to the child and they will have the adoption papers drawn up there. The laws in that country can apply. If have child and civil union of marriage in UK, you are both recognised as legal parents of the child. When you both come back to Singapore, only one of you will be recognised as the child's parent because Singapore does not recognise same-sex parents. In custody battle, it can be brought to courts of UK because legal papers drawn up there. Legal in UK and US but not in Australia. Cannot have both lesbian parents' names on child's birth cert even if born in US because both not residents of US. To get paperwork done, have to reside there for 6 months and do a home study to prepare for adoption. Well worth it if have time and money. Advantages of having both lesbian parents' names on birth certificate is that in custody fight, both parents have legal standing, not in Singapore but can bring up case in overseas court. Also both parents have equal right to child, even the one who did not give birth to it. Important to have equality in relationship and family.

A child of a Singaporean father only gains citizenship if he is legally married to the mother. A child born to a Singaporean mother is automatically a Singaporean.

=Surrogacy=

Surrogacy is the agreement of a woman to carry a pregnancy for the intended parents.

Not possible/legal in Singapore. Cannot do even if straight couple. Not discriminating against gay couples.

Only available via IVF.

There are two main types of surrogacy, gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy.

Gestational surrogacy
In gestational surrogacy, the pregnancy results from the transfer of an embryo created by IVF, in a manner so the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate. This type of surrogacy requires an egg donor.

Traditional surrogacy
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is impregnated naturally or artificially, but the resulting child is genetically related to the surrogate. In this case, the surrogate is the egg donor.

Legal status
Surrogacy is not legal in Singapore but can be done in other countries including Thailand and the United States.

Thailand
Until 2015, Thailand was Asia’s surrogate country of choice after India closed its doors to gay couples in January 2013. She boasted a lucrative, yet largely unregulated, international surrogacy trade which was particularly popular among gay couples.

But in February 2015, legislation was passed banning foreigners from using Thai surrogate mothers after a series of high-profile scandals.

The move was spurred by an Australian couple who were accused last spring of abandoning a baby with Down's syndrome carried by a Thai surrogate while taking his healthy twin sister.

A second high profile surrogacy controversy erupted when nine babies fathered by a Japanese man using Thai surrogate mothers were discovered in a Bangkok apartment.

Bangkok had a booming surrogacy industry with 35% of intending parents being gay men. However, there were some important laws that need to be noted. The most important law was that the surrogate mother must have her name on the child’s birth certificate. She was also the legal guardian, as a child born out of wedlock is deemed to be the legitimate child of the mother. The father had no parental rights, even if he was listed on the birth certificate. Therefore it was important to ensure the surrogate mother agreed to relinquish all rights to the child after birth.

The average cost of surrogacy in Bangkok was US$40,000, cheaper by half from United States and the proximity to Singapore made it a more attractive choice for Singaporeans.

Note:


 * One had to make sure that the surrogate entered into a contract outlining her intent to allow the child to be adopted by the biological sperm donor – the father listed on the birth certificate.
 * One had to be prepared to be in Thailand for around 3 to 4 weeks after the birth of the child as that was how long it took for the child to get a birth certificate and a passport.

USA
The United States’ lenient laws towards surrogacy have made the country an ideal place for gay couples to find a woman to carry their child.

Across the U.S. laws vary by state, with six states criminalising paid surrogacy, including New York, Michigan, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Washington. The surrogacy-friendly states are California, Illinois, Arkansas and Massachusetts. These states allow for paid surrogacies and some have agencies that specialise in locating surrogate mothers for gay couples. These agencies will also assist in preparing paperwork so that both fathers can have their names on the birth cert and the surrogate mother’s rights are correctly terminated.

The costs of surrogacy in United States starts from US$100,000. Taking into consideration airfare, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses, couples must be prepared to spend between US$100,000 to US$200,000.

Note:


 * Be sure to use a reputable agency, preferably one recommended by someone who has used their services before. This will help in preventing unnecessary complications and headaches.

Adoption of surrogate child in Singapore
=See also=
 * Child adoption in Singapore

=References=

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.