Latvia has been debating the issue of international adoptions for several years, and last year it was even proposed to ban foreigners from adopting children from Latvia.
Under the new regulation, a child may be adopted to a foreign state that has ratified the Hague Convention of May 29, 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the Convention on the Rights of the Child of November 20, 1989, and that has a bilateral agreement with Latvia which determines legal cooperation in the field of adoption.
According to LETA, the amended regulation bans adopting children to the United States, as the US has yet to ratify the convention. Currently, however, most international adoptions in Latvia are to the US.
The new law is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2022. The already ongoing international adoption procedures will be completed in accordance with the legislation effective in Latvia at the start of these procedures.
