Contact at La Creche
La Creche de Tanger (Director’s Assistant): Ass.creche@menara.ma
Documents needed to start the adoption process and file for Kefala (guardianship)
- Home Study (you should start this ASAP as it takes a few months)
- copy of passports
- copy of birth certificate
- copy of marriage certificate
- police clearance from your home state
- lots of passport sized photographs (easy to get in Tangier)
- certificate of being Muslim*
- certificate of employment and salary ^
- Moroccan police clearance*^
- health clearance*^
*Should be obtained from Morocco. Fatima Haddad or the people at La Creche will assist you in obtaining these.
^Must have been generated no more than 3 months before you file the Kefala paperwork.
Child placement with families is on a referral basis. Once you submit your completed home study, the necessary documents, and their information form (simple name, address, etc.), they will place you in a queue for receiving a baby. Once a child becomes available, they will send you a referral (photo and info). If you choose to accept that child, you will then travel to Morocco to complete the adoption. The process should take about 4 weeks.
Fees
This is a sample fee breakdown for a US expat international adoption:
I-600A with supporting documents: $670 + courier fees
-Copy of passport (notarized): Notary fee (usually free from your bank)
-Fingerprints on form FB-258: this can vary depending on where you get your fingerprints taken. Range: $10-$50
-Marriage certificate: approximately $15 (depending on what your state charges)
-Home study: approximately $2,000 + notary fee
-Medical Statement (signature notarized): Notary fee
-Letter of Employment (signature notarized): Notary fee
-Financial letter with supporting documents (signature notarized): Notary fee
-Birth certificate: $15 (varies by state)
-Marriage certificate: $15 (varies by state)
-Reference letters: no fee
-State clearance (must be a fingerprint check): varies by state: $60
-Qatar clearance: $30
-Child Abuse Registry Check: $50
HS certification: varies by agency: $1,500 + courier fees
Documents needed for Moroccan process (in addition to what is included in hs)
-Certificate of Islam: $30/person
-12+ photos of each parent: $5
File form DS-230 at the US Embassy in Casablanca: $373 + $74
Moroccan social worker’s fee: 1,000 Euros (may vary by case or change) + $500 translation fees
US re-adoption (attorney fees): about $2,500
Lodging and food in Morocco: approximately $500/month housing + $300 food (moderate price, family of 2)
Travel to/from Morocco: approximately $1,000/person
Total: $12,102
Note: Our process took 4.5 months because I chose to stay in Morocco 3 months before Ayoub was released for adoption by the courts. We were so excited to have a child and couldn’t wait 3 months to be with him full time! (There were no issue of establishing residency as with orphanages in other Moroccan cities).
And then there was a government strike which delayed the process by 10 days bringing our total time there to 3 month (we chose to be there) and 6 weeks (4 for adoption process (we only had to be in country for 2 of those weeks) + 10 day gov’t strike delay).
How did we manage this? I run an online company so my work is portable. My husband stayed in Qatar to work and visited us every month. He was in Tangier toward the end of our stay when we both needed to appear before the Moroccan judge and at the US Embassy to get Ayoub’s visa to travel to the US.
Félicitation pour cette merveilleuse aventure!!!! Ayoub est trés mignon
Nous habitons en France et nous avons aussi adopter un petit garçon OMAR en Avril 2008 à la créche de Tanger ( que nous avons rencontré à trois semaines et qui aujourd’hui 3ans)
J”ai découvert votre blog qui m’a fait chaud au coeur car mon fils vient de la créche de Tanger, je connais aussi trés bien Fatima Haddad;
A bientot ciao
Hello again,
So I should have my homestudy done by month end and have all of my other documents. I will be sending everything to get the I600 application going but my question to you is I see you note that these signatures must be notarized. Do they get notarized in Morocco or in the US? Thank you.
Hi Ivonne:
Thank you for your message! Congratulations on completing your homestudy (in advance)! I know it’s a great feeling to have completed such a large chunk of your adoption process. The next big chunk is waiting!
Regarding your question, it is your signature that must be notarized wherever you are. If you are overseas, I believe the US embassy is the best place to have something notarized, especially if you are sending a document to a US agency. If you are in the US, you may have a signature notarized in various places including banks
I hope this answers your question. If there’s anything further I can help with, please let me know.
Best wishes,
Raana
Raana,
I feel so blessed to have found you, thank you again for all your guideance and support.
So, my homestudy is approved and I have all the documents ready to mail off for my I-600A which should take 2 months.
While I am waiting, do you recommend I submit all the other documents to get translated in Morocco? I have a list of the documents and didn’t see the I-600A as one of those items that would hold that process up.
In your opinion, should I do them both simultaneously to speed up my process?
2nd question – The only document I am missing is the ‘police clearance from my home state’. What exactly is that and how do I obtain?
I was fingerprinted to get the homestudy and have the DOJ and FBI approval, but none are my state. What do you think?
Thank you in advance for your continued support and guideance.
Ivonne
i didnt get wat is the home study i am very much interested in adopting a child from morrocco so whom to contact and how to go about it do tell me i have been married frm last 4 years and my wife had 5 miscarages and for us having our own child is highly unlikely so we want to adopt kindly guide me. I am an Indian national workin in qatar from last 14 years so do let me know if its possible that we can adopt
your prompt reply is highly appreciated
best regards
minhaj
Minhaj: Please visit the “lingo” page for an explanation of what a home study is. For a step-by-step guide on how to adopt, please visit the “steps” page. Both pages are on the blog.
Best wishes!
Hello again Raana,
I have a few more questions and am hoping for your guideance. We are getting really close, and are very excited and humbled all in one.
Our homestudy is done and we’re waiting for our I600A to be approved. While we wait:
1. Do you recommend I submit all the other documents to get translated in Morocco?
2. The only document I am missing is the ‘police clearance from my home state’. What exactly is that and how do I obtain? I was fingerprinted to get the homestudy and have the DOJ and FBI approval, but none are my state. What do you think?
3. Which city do you recommend we fly into?
4. Can you recommend a place to rent? We, most likely will have to make 2 trips since we have our daughter in school.
Thank you again for all your support. I hope your little one is happy, healthy, and thriving.
Blessings, Ivonne