Adopted my niece.

[Sara254]

I am Canadian Citizen I live in kenya since 2007 and have a business. I am married to a Kenyan.I have family here. My younger brother died in a car accident and left behind a daughter by his second wife. He has three grown children who live in USA, their mother and late brother were divorced. After his death the wife remarried when the daughter was three years old. Her current husband did not want to raise someone else child. She has also moved to the USA with her new family two years ago when her current husband sponsored them.

My niece was taken to my mother who is old and could not look after the child needs. When she was 5 yrs old I took over and enrolled her in preschool and she is now 17. When she turned 15 I legally adopted her in Kenyan high court and adoption order was Issued. The biologic mother was present in court to give consent for the adoption. I then proceeded to apply for Canadian Citizenship.

I have an interview schedule and wanted to know what should we expect?

 

[canuck78]

I am Canadian Citizen I live in kenya since 2007 and have a business. I am married to a Kenyan.I have family here. My younger brother died in a car accident and left behind a daughter by his second wife. He has three grown children who live in USA, their mother and late brother were divorced. After his death the wife remarried when the daughter was three years old. Her current husband did not want to raise someone else child. She has also moved to the USA with her new family two years ago when her current husband sponsored them.

My niece was taken to my mother who is old and could not look after the child needs. When she was 5 yrs old I took over and enrolled her in preschool and she is now 17. When she turned 15 I legally adopted her in Kenyan high court and adoption order was Issued. The biologic mother was present in court to give consent for the adoption. I then proceeded to apply for Canadian Citizenship.

I have an interview schedule and wanted to know what should we expect?

It is not usually considered a true adoption and more of an adoption of convenience although it will be up to the case officer. The fact that she is already 17 that will be another issue.

 

[scylla]

I am Canadian Citizen I live in kenya since 2007 and have a business. I am married to a Kenyan.I have family here. My younger brother died in a car accident and left behind a daughter by his second wife. He has three grown children who live in USA, their mother and late brother were divorced. After his death the wife remarried when the daughter was three years old. Her current husband did not want to raise someone else child. She has also moved to the USA with her new family two years ago when her current husband sponsored them.

My niece was taken to my mother who is old and could not look after the child needs. When she was 5 yrs old I took over and enrolled her in preschool and she is now 17. When she turned 15 I legally adopted her in Kenyan high court and adoption order was Issued. The biologic mother was present in court to give consent for the adoption. I then proceeded to apply for Canadian Citizenship.

I have an interview schedule and wanted to know what should we expect?

It's a trick situation since her mother is stil alive. However I think your case should have a good chance of succeeding given the circumstances.

I would recommend that you bring evidence of the following to the interview:

- Evidence that you have been her primary caregiver since the age of 5
- Evidence that she has lived with you since this time
- Evidence that she has effectively no contact / support from her mother
- Evidence that you have been paying for her schooling since age 5
- Anything else you can think of that demonstrate you have effectively been her parent since age 5

Good luck.

 

[Sara254]

It's a trick situation since her mother is stil alive. However I think your case should have a good chance of succeeding given the circumstances.

I would recommend that you bring evidence of the following to the interview:

- Evidence that you have been her primary caregiver since the age of 5
- Evidence that she has lived with you since this time
- Evidence that she has effectively no contact / support from her mother
- Evidence that you have been paying for her schooling since age 5
- Anything else you can think of that demonstrate you have effectively been her parent since age 5

Good luck.

 

[Sara254]

It is not usually considered a true adoption and more of an adoption of convenience although it will be up to the case officer. The fact that she is already 17 that will be another issue.

I am 54 years old with no children of my own and I have raised her since she was 5 yrs old. She does not any other parent except myself. Has no contact with her birth mother at all. I only reached out to her when I needed her consent for the adoption and she has no problem at all.

 

[Sara254]

I have letters from all schools from grade to currently that I was the person who enrolled her, paid her fees, and attended all parent teacher meetings. Also I have evidence of school fees from all schools. Also we the high court in kenya ordered we have have a social inquiry report from Kenyan Department of children services, and Adoption agency who recommended to the court that I be granted adoption since we already bonded as mother and daughter. They also testified to that. The birth mother also give her consent in court.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[scylla]

I have letters from all schools from grade to currently that I was the person who enrolled her, paid her fees, and attended all parent teacher meetings. Also I have evidence of school fees from all schools. Also we the high court in kenya ordered we have have a social inquiry report from Kenyan Department of children services, and Adoption agency who recommended to the court that I be granted adoption since we already bonded as mother and daughter. They also testified to that. The birth mother also give her consent in court.

Thanks for your advice.

The most important thing to show is that you have been her primary caregiver since age 5 and that she effectively has no contact with the birth mother. Adoptions are typically only accepted by IRCC if both parents are deceased. However it does sound like you have a solid case if you have been her caregiver since age 5 and assuming she has very little contact with her birth mother.

 

[canuck78]

Do you have intentions of moving back to Canada soon? Why did you wait until she is almost an adult to adopt? Always a tricky issue when parents are not deceased. Was she living with her grandmother as well? Impossible for anyone to determine what will happen.

 

[Sara254]

I have letters from all schools from grade to currently that I was the person who enrolled her, paid her fees, and attended all parent teacher meetings. Also I have evidence of school fees from all schools. Also we the high court in kenya ordered we have have a social inquiry report from Kenyan Department of children services, and Adoption agency who recommended to the court that I be granted adoption since we already bonded as mother and daughter. They also testified to that. The birth mother also give her consent in court.

Thanks for your advice.

Do you have intentions of moving back to Canada soon? Why did you wait until she is almost an adult to adopt? Always a tricky issue when parents are not deceased. Was she living with her grandmother as well? Impossible for anyone to determine what will happen.

The security situation in kenya is getting worse year after year. I decided at some point I need to move back to canada and I just could not imagine life without her and the though of being separated was unbearable,I was not aware I could adopt her till I consulted a lawyer since Kenyan governments stopped adoption by foreigners but since she was my niece it was allowed under kinship adoption.

 

[Sara254]

The interview for my daughter has been cancelled due to the covid-19 situation. However I wrote to the high commissioner that I need to leave Kenya but I could not leave my daughter behind. An officer got in touch with Me and said he will give me a facilitation visa which is being issued tomorrow April 3. However, I do not understand what will happen once we get to Canada. Do I have bring her back? Can she go to school?

 

[canuck78]

The interview for my daughter has been cancelled due to the covid-19 situation. However I wrote to the high commissioner that I need to leave Kenya but I could not leave my daughter behind. An officer got in touch with Me and said he will give me a facilitation visa which is being issued tomorrow April 3. However, I do not understand what will happen once we get to Canada. Do I have bring her back? Can she go to school?

There is no school currently. If she isn’t approved she’ll need to return. She won’t currently qualify for healthcare in all or most provinces so you should purchase an emergency private health plan.

 

[scylla]

The interview for my daughter has been cancelled due to the covid-19 situation. However I wrote to the high commissioner that I need to leave Kenya but I could not leave my daughter behind. An officer got in touch with Me and said he will give me a facilitation visa which is being issued tomorrow April 3. However, I do not understand what will happen once we get to Canada. Do I have bring her back? Can she go to school?

That's great news!

Your situation is extremely unique so you probably won't get solid anwers to your questions without hiring a lawyer.

It sounds like they are going to allow you to complete the sponsorship process with both of you in Canada. I don't know what happens with the interview (if it's still going to be held, if it will be moved to Canada or held in Kenya once things have settled down).

For school, she will most likely need to wait until she has been approved for PR and has a PR card before she will be able to attend. However you can certainly contact schools once you are in Canada, tell them about the situation and see if they will make an exception. You should be aware that all schools are closed down right now (most until the start of May for now). Many believe that schools will not resume again until September due to COVID-19.

You should also look into getting private health care insurance for her if you can since she will not be covered by the provincial health care system when she first arrives (she most likely won't be covered until a few months after she has PR). This will cover emergencies. For non-emergency care, you will need to pay out of pocket yourself. I am hearing that private insurance is difficult maybe even impossible to get these days due to COVID-19. However I would still try to financially protect yourself from unexpected costs.

 

[Sara254]

There is no school currently. If she isn’t approved she’ll need to return. She won’t currently qualify for healthcare in all or most provinces so you should purchase an emergency private health plan.

Thank for your feedback and I appreciate your input.

 

[Sara254]

That's great news!

Your situation is extremely unique so you probably won't get solid anwers to your questions without hiring a lawyer.

It sounds like they are going to allow you to complete the sponsorship process with both of you in Canada. I don't know what happens with the interview (if it's still going to be held, if it will be moved to Canada or held in Kenya once things have settled down).

For school, she will most likely need to wait until she has been approved for PR and has a PR card before she will be able to attend. However you can certainly contact schools once you are in Canada, tell them about the situation and see if they will make an exception. You should be aware that all schools are closed down right now (most until the start of May for now). Many believe that schools will not resume again until September due to COVID-19.

You should also look into getting private health care insurance for her if you can since she will not be covered by the provincial health care system when she first arrives (she most likely won't be covered until a few months after she has PR). This will cover emergencies. For non-emergency care, you will need to pay out of pocket yourself. I am hearing that private insurance is difficult maybe even impossible to get these days due to COVID-19. However I would still try to financially protect yourself from unexpected costs.

Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate the points you gave me. I was ready for the interview but covid-19 has turned our lives upside down.

I understand she will not be able to receive any benefits and I will get insurance for her
I need to ask the officer via email if the case will continue in Canada or we have to return to kenya.

Currently there are no flights in and out of kenya so we are stuck.

I will update you once I have more information.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate the points you gave me. I was ready for the interview but covid-19 has turned our lives upside down.

I understand she will not be able to receive any benefits and I will get insurance for her
I need to ask the officer via email if the case will continue in Canada or we have to return to kenya.

Currently there are no flights in and out of kenya so we are stuck.

I will update you once I have more information.

As the legal child of a Canadian and with a sponsorship app in process, it is possible that she may qualify for provincial health coverage. It depends on the province.