Quick & Affordable Adoption Process for UAE Expats: Learn More

DUBAI // Adopting a child from another country is quicker and easier when done from the UAE, expatriate couples say.

Adoption is not officially recognised but couples can adopt while living here if their country and that of the child’s allow it.

It is quicker because they work through embassies rather than international adoption agencies, which can take years longer.

“Usually it is faster and costs less than in their own countries,” said Dr Andrea Tosatto, a psychologist at the Synergy Integrated Medical Centre in Dubai, who has helped more than 400 couples to adopt.

“On average, an adoption takes one year here, while in Italy it would take around three years. There are people from Kuwait and Bahrain who are coming to ask for help.”

Embassies must determine whether the parents are fit to adopt, and then may legalise the adoption.

Ester Benbrook and her husband, expatriates in Dubai, have biological twins of their own – Hannah and Ella, aged 4. They adopted a son, Liam, from Ethiopia.

The Benbrooks met Liam in August 2014 when he was four and a half months old, and the adoption was legalised six months later.

“We got a call in August 2014 telling us we have a son. From that moment he was our son in our hearts,” said Ms Benbrook, a Slovakian.

She said the process could be overwhelming at first but it was just a matter of following steps.

“Compared to other countries, it’s easy,” Ms Benbrook said. “Not having an adoption agency, you feel you are more in control of where your papers go and how quickly or how slow.”

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