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Adoption

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on adoption.

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Original poster

SUE is having problem bringing her ds to the UK . SEEKING ADVICE URGENTLY

62 replies

Nanou1 · 19/01/2007 11:41

Hello everyone. Please can you read below and let us know if you know of anyone who has gone through this and how they managed to take their child / children home?
Sue's MN friends are very upset for her and want to help. she has gone through so much already. our suggestion so far is just turn up at the airport?? What should she do?here it is... (copy of message from foxabouttopop 18 Jan 07):

Sue is having a really hard time in Almaty. I spoke with her Mum today and here is an update:

Sue is ready to fly back but just needs the DFeS in the UK to issue clearance for Daniel to gain entry at this end. Oddly, the fact that he is now her adopted son and he has a passport doesn?t in itself give him a right to enter the UK.

Her Mum has spent all day on the phone trying to get through to the DFeS ? she eventually managed to speak with someone there at about 3.30pm and they claim they sent her a form back in October which they are waiting for her to complete and return before they will agree clearance. Sue never received this and is very distressed. Her visa for Kazak runs out next week so she is well and truly stuffed if she can?t get back in the next few days.

She has been to the British Embassy/FCO in Almaty and they?ve said they cannot issue the clearance, it has to be done through the DFeS!

I gave Sue?s Mum the contact for a guy who works for Susan Kramer MP and she?s been onto various depts at the House of Commons today as well.

Sue is stuck on the 5th (or is it 9th) floor of a tower block with no lift, no pushchair and limited Russian language skills. The last of her friends who are also adopting fly out on Saturday morning so she will be completely alone.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for any advice you may have or sending some cyber hugs to Sue so that she knows that all her MN friends are right behind her.

OP posts:

JackieNo · 19/01/2007 11:44

Can the DFeS fax the form to the british embassy and Sue could fill it in there and fax it back? Oh blimey - poor, poor thing.

Original poster

Nanou1 · 19/01/2007 11:47

that's what i was wondering too... asked sue but waiting to hear from her. thanks for suggestion jackieno

OP posts:

SisterOfSoapbox · 19/01/2007 11:48

I would suggest that you ask if the form can be completed and returned via email given the circumstances, with the hard copy being followed up in the post or via courier.

This way it could be turned round in 24 hours.

Failing this, ask them to fax the form to the British Embassy and ask if they will accept a completed form back by Fax if the British Embassy staff verify signatures and everything else on their behalf, afterall they allow this with passport applications now where the Post Office check the documents etc prior to sending!

Hope you manage to get this resolved quickly, how frustrating for everyone involved!

Original poster

Nanou1 · 19/01/2007 11:51

i agree. i don't see why this option is not feasible. thank you

OP posts:

SisterOfSoapbox · 19/01/2007 12:00

I have looked at the DFeS website and found this which details the procedure which they are involved in for adopting a child from another Country. It might be helpful to find out from Sue whether she has done all of this and what stage of their procedure she is at. This way someone over here who is going to help her will know the facts etc.

HTH

Issymum · 19/01/2007 12:00

This has got to be quick as I'm due to be in an all day meeting in 5 mins.

This is indeed a bit of a disaster as the DfES has to clear the adoption from the UK end. The DfES should have had a copy of the homestudy and a form from Sue. With that they would have issued a 'Certificate of Eligibility to Adopt' stating the number of children Sue could adopt, heir age range and birth country. Sue should then have got clearance from the DfES that Daniel matched that Certificate. That clearance would have been forwarded to the Embassy and it is that clearance that would allow the Embassy to grant the adoption visa.

I think that Sue's best bet here is to email the head of the DfES department directly. I think it is still Jeremy Cogle. He is fundamentally a nice guy, but under huge pressure to be seen to do the right thing. I'm sorry that I don't have his direct email address (it will have changed since we went through this in 2003 as the department belonged to the DOH then). But somebody at OASIS will be able to help. Sue or someone on Sue's behalf should post on the UKAO board and ask for help. This is the link: UKAO - I would expect that Sue is a member and you'll need her name and password to log onto the group on her behalf.

Sorry got to dash but that should help.

Original poster

Nanou1 · 19/01/2007 12:08

thank you so so much. will forward to sue immediately.

OP posts:

WigWamBam · 19/01/2007 12:09

Oh poor Sue - I hope she can sort something out quickly. I don't have any advice, but will be thinking of her and seding all the positive vibes I can muster!

Issymum · 19/01/2007 13:03

Sorry, just back from my meeting.

Jeremy's email address may be [email protected]

firstname.lastname@departmental address seems to be the convention for governmental departments and dfes.gsi.gov.uk is the departmental address for the DfES.

If Sue applies to Jeremy Cogle directly she is going to have to word her email very carefully to get him on side. She'll need a heading to grab his attention (he must get 100s of emails a day) and then I think she'll need to explain how desperate her plight it, how she really thought that she had followed the correct procedure (e.g. by completing homestudy) and how she has been let down by her agent, her social worker, the Royal Mail and herself (a little self-deprecation might be useful here) in not realising the DfES role in the adoption process. The DfES plays such a huge role in inter-country adoption in the UK, Sue is going to need to explain really cogently how she came to be unaware of the DfES requirements.

This sounds a little harsh, but I want to help Sue as much as I can and this is no time to pull punches. I'm fairly sure that Jeremy's first reaction will be 'How the Hell could she not have known that she needed something from the DfES?' Sue will need to overcome that reaction and to make Jeremy understand that she had no intention to circumvent UK process and the terrible situation she is now in. The DfES is incredibly under-resourced and there are often huge delays in processing paperwork (we're talking several months here!). So Sue is somehow going to have to get her case prioritised over that backlog.

Please do let us know how she is getting on and if there is anything else we can do.

Original poster

Nanou1 · 19/01/2007 13:12

oh issymum... thank you so so much. am emailing Sue now. x

OP posts:

Marina · 19/01/2007 13:15

Am so sorry she has run into problems.
Thank goodness for such fab advice here and wishing her best of luck in sorting out the paperwork XXX

Tutter · 19/01/2007 13:18

keeping at the top of active convos so sue can get all the help possible

have everythign crossed here

Littlefish · 19/01/2007 13:37

Bump for more advice.

JackieNo · 19/01/2007 13:49

Bump.

uwila · 19/01/2007 13:56

OH MY GOD! How terrible. I've only just seen this. I'm so sorry Sue.

Ok, so the passport won't get you into the UK. What about another EU country? Won't his passport get him into say France until the paperwork is sorted out with the DfES. I'm not sure if this is helpful (or even wise) but the flight from Atyrau to Amsterdam checks no passports on entry to the UK. Quite sure the man checking passports in Atyrau won't be familiar with DfES requirements for Daniel to travel.

I know I know, Atyrau isn't exactly next to Almaty. But, I just thought that perhaps there is a slim chance this is helpful.

Also if you travel from France to the UK and they send you back, will they send you back to Kaz or back to France?

bran · 19/01/2007 13:58

Could she possibly get a tourist visa for Daniel? If not to the UK, then to another European country like Ireland. At least she would be able to leave Kazakstan and she could apply for another visa to Kazakstan in case Daniel has to go back.

uwila · 19/01/2007 14:41

What about contacting David Cameron and the BBC and every other news source we can think of. I bet the conservatives would like an opportunity to poin out the failings of the current government.

Issymum · 19/01/2007 14:54

Sue could try getting a tourist visa for Daniel from other countries, but I suspect that most countries close to the UK will be reluctant to grant a visa in what is clearly an inter-country adoption.

Sue needs to be very careful about bringing Daniel into the UK without the appropriate visa as I have a horrible feeling that it's a criminal offence to do so and could cause a terrible tangle if she needs to re-adopt Daniel through the UK courts. I haven't checked those issues, so I could be wrong.

Issymum · 19/01/2007 14:55

Uwila: It's a good idea but I'm not sure that the government has failed here. There has just been a genuine misunderstanding on Sue's side about the process.

uwila · 19/01/2007 15:00

Why does he need a tourist visa into another country (EU country) if he has a UK passport?

I think the inability for the government to get it together and expedite the form for two UK citizens is a failing.

Whizzz · 19/01/2007 15:02

Not got any advice but just having read Sues posts - I wanted to wish her well & send her positive thoughts

bluejelly · 19/01/2007 15:03

I agree with issymum-- contacting the media and david cameron may just get people's backs up at this stage. It doesn't seem to be a miscarriage of justice type case at this stage...
Poor sue!

Issymum · 19/01/2007 15:04

Uwila: I don't think that Daniel will have a UK passport. He'll have a passport from Kaz. The Embassy will then endorse an adoption visa into that passport and when he arrives in the UK Sue will re-adopt him through the UK Courts (so far the adoption is only valid in the Kaz courts), then he'll get a UK passport. I think (not sure of the status of Kaz for adoption).

uwila · 19/01/2007 15:12

Perhaps I misunderstood, but I believe he has been given a UK passport and only needs the DfES to grant clearance, which they are refusing to do because they don't have the form. It's about a form. Why can't they send her the form, she can fill it out and fax it back on the same day. Why why why is that so difficult?

quokka · 19/01/2007 15:19

I think if he has a uk passport she tries to fly back to uk then gets it sorted here at customs. That way at least shes back in the UK?

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