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This is a legal process where parental rights over a child are conferred to the applicants, whom one or both are not the natural parents of the child. The Court will appoint a Guardian in Adoption (GIA) for the child, whose role is to safeguard the child’s legal interest before the Court. The GIA will investigate the circumstances of the adoption and report to the Court. The Court would only grant an adoption order after it is satisfied that the requirements of the Adoption of Children Act (Cap 4) have been complied with and that it is in the best interests of the child to be adopted. |
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One of the requirements before an adoption order can be made is that the consent of the natural parent is given in the prescribed form. By signing the prescribed form, you would be stating under oath that you understand the nature and effect of an adoption order; in particular, you will be deprived of your parental rights to the child. All your rights, duties, obligations and liabilities to the child are extinguished. Once the adoption order is made, the parental ties between you and the child are severed and you will not be able to see your child. |
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Once the adoption order is made, you take on all parental rights, duties, obligations and liabilities in relation to the child: e.g. you will have to maintain the child and look after his physical, mental and social well-being. You will have the right to make decisions in relation to the child: e.g. education, religion and medical treatment. |
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- Complete the electronic template in EFS by filling in the mandatory and relevant information: e.g document details, party details and the other details column.
- Ensure that you have included the following prayers:
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that the Director of Social Welfare may be appointed Guardian in Adoption of the infant, whose original name shall be stated; |
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that an Order for the adoption of the infant, specifying the applicant’s intended name for the infant, may be made in pursuance of the Adoption of Children Act (Cap 4), with all necessary directions; |
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that the costs of the application may be provided for as the Court may direct; |
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that any of the consents required under section 4 of the Act be dispensed with, where applicable; |
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that service of the Originating Summons and the supporting affidavit on any persons as required under rule 4 be dispensed with, where applicable. |
- Preview the completed template before submission.
- Submit the template electronically and EFS will auto-generate the OSA.
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- Complete the electronic template in EFS by filling up the relevant fields.
- Preview the completed template before submission.
- Submit the template electronically and EFS will auto-generate the AS.
Ensure that the particulars of the infant and the natural parents(s) correspond with the particulars in the child’s birth certificate. |
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The affidavit in support of the OSA is to be filed within 7 days of the filing of the OSA. The affidavit must state the following and exhibit the following documents:
- A paragraph that states that “the Statement exhibited therein is the same Statement auto-generated by the EFS, and the contents entered into the EFS, and which now appear in Statement are true and accurate”;
- the auto-generated AS in Form 151 labelled as the first exhibit;
- a copy of the birth certificate and a copy of the certified translation (if the birth certificate is in a foreign language) or other means of identification of the infant;
- the dependant’s pass of the infant (if the child is not a Singapore citizen);
- the letter from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) which states that it has no objection to the adoption where the child although born in Singapore is not a citizen of Singapore; or confirming that the department will grant an in-principle approval for an adoption application (if the child is a citizen of a foreign country);
- the identity card or other means of identification of the applicant(s);
- the marriage certificate of the applicant(s), if applicable;
- the consents of the natural parent(s) and natural grandparent(s), where applicable. The consent of every person whose consent is necessary is required to be filed in prescribed Form 152 of the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R5, 2006 rev Ed);
- foreign adoption order (if applicable);
- foreign divorce order (if applicable) in respect of the natural parents (in order for the court to ascertain the legal rights of the divorced natural father in relation to the child);
- the grounds in support of the prayer for dispensation of consent of and service of documents on the natural parent(s) and/or grandparent(s); and
- all other documents for proving the averments in the application for an adoption order.
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You are required to file a summons to obtain the court’s leave (permission) to file the affidavit out of time. The summons must be supported by an affidavit to explain why you were unable to file the affidavit within 7 days of filing of the AS. Once the Court grants leave, the affidavit must be filed within 14 days of the date. |
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Yes, the consent must be filed separately. The original consent can be filed at the same time as the OSA and AS. |
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Yes, if the natural parent(s) is below the age of 21. Both grandparents’ written consent in the prescribed form must be obtained, unless the grandparent is uncontactable or there are good reasons why the grandparent’s consent cannot be obtained. An affidavit must be filed explaining the circumstances if this is the case. |
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You will need to ask the court to dispense with their consent. An affidavit must be filed to explain the attempts made to obtain the consent of the natural parents. The Court may direct the Guardian in Adoption to investigate into the circumstances of the natural parents’ refusal to give consent. The prayer to dispense with their consent will be adjourned to be heard with the final hearing. |
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Yes, the Originating Summons for Adoption and other relevant documents are to be served on the Director of Social Welfare. The Director of Social Welfare would go through the documents and correspond with you or your counsel on whether they have any objections to the application. If the Director of Social Welfare consents to act as the GIA for the child to be adopted, he will issue a written consent to act as the GIA. |
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You are required to file this written consent in court at least 7 clear days prior to the hearing date of the prayer for the appointment of the Guardian in Adoption. |
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You are required to serve the documents on the natural parent(s); maternal / paternal grandparent(s) (where the natural parent is below 21 years old); or the guardian of the child e.g. an authorized person from a welfare home / orphanage / Director of Social Welfare (in the case of an abandoned child). You may apply to the Court to dispense with the service of documents on the above persons. Your application must be supported by affidavit.
It is usual when obtaining the written consent of the above persons to the adoptions, to obtain their consent to the dispensation of service of documents on them as well. |
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Yes, the original birth certificate and the original translation of the birth certificate (if any) of the infant shall be submitted to the Adoptions Counter of the Family Registry at least 7 clear days prior to the hearing of the prayer for the appointment of the Guardian in Adoption accompanied with a cover letter in the prescribed format in Form 38 of Appendix B of the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R5, 2006 Rev Ed).
If you do not have the original birth certificate, you have to file an affidavit explaining why this is so and why you are unable to obtain a certified true copy of duplicate of the birth certificate. |
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The Dependant’s Pass is an endorsement (stamp) in the child’s passport. It is not a card or a separate piece of paper. |
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Yes, leave is required if you wish to amend the OSA. You are required to file a summons supported by affidavit for leave to amend. Upon obtaining leave for the said amendments, you are required within 14 days, to amend the relevant fields of the electronic template. There is no necessity to extract the order of court for amendment. |
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No, leave is not required as the AS is not a pleading. You may amend the relevant fields in electronic template, and the EFS will auto-generate the amended AS. Within 7 days of amending the AS, you are required to file an affidavit stating that “the amended statement exhibited therein is the same statement generated by the EFS, and the contents entered into the EFS, and which now appear in the amended statement are true and accurate”. The affidavit shall also exhibit the auto-generated amended statement and the reasons for the amendment.
Within 3 days of amending the AS, the applicant (s) shall give written notice to the Family Court in the prescribed format in Form 37 of Appendix B of the Subordinate Courts Practice Directions.
The affidavit exhibiting the amended AS shall be served on the GIA within 7 days of filing of the same. |
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Once your lawyer receives the affidavit from the GIA (a Child Welfare Officer at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports), he should file the Notice of Final Hearing and the affidavit in Court. A hearing date will be given within 2 weeks of the filing of the said Notice.
Before the hearing date, check that the child’s Dependant’s Pass (if any) is still valid. If the pass has expired, you are required to file an affidavit exhibiting the renewed Dependant’s Pass.
At the final hearing, if the Court is satisfied that all the requirements of the Adoption of Children Act are complied with and it is in the best interests of the child to be adopted by you, the Court will grant the Adoption Order. |
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Yes, you are required to file a summons supported by affidavit to seek the leave of court to amend the OSA, and the Adoption Order. Leave is not required to amend the AS (please see question 14 above). |
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You may apply to change the name of the child, provided the Adoption Order has not been extracted and finalized. Once the adoption is final, the Court has no jurisdiction to hear any applications relating to the adoption unless they relate to the amendment of clerical or typographical errors. |
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Yes, the document will be rejected and you have to obtain leave of court to file the document out of time. The amended order is to be filed within 14 days of the date of the order or within such period as directed by the Court. |
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Yes, it will be rejected.
Under the Practice Direction, the affidavit must contain at the top right hand corner, certain information:
“[party, e.g. applicant (s) ]: [party name]:[no., i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.] affidavit: date of filing of affidavit: [OSA/Summons hearing]: [SUM No. (if applicable)]”
For example:
“Applicant: Tan Ah Kow: 1st affidavit: 14 April 2005: OSA hearing”; and
“Applicant: Tan Ah Kow: 2nd affidavit: 14 April 2005: Summons hearing: SUM no. 1234 of 2005”
Please refer to the Subordinate Courts Practice Directions for further information. |
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Please note that all Court documents must be filed or sent to the Court using the Electronic Filing System (EFS). You can file documents through the EFS at the LawNet/EFS Service Bureau. There are two Service Bureaux in Singapore:
Supreme Court LawNet / EFS Service Bureau
1 Supreme Court Lane
Level 1, Supreme Court Building
Singapore 178879
6337 9164
Apollo Centre LawNet / EFS Service Bureau
2 Havelock Road
#06-01/11 Apollo Centre
Singapore 059763
For more information on the LawNet/EFS Service Bureau, you may wish to visit the EFS website. Family Court staff will be able to direct you to the Apollo Centre LawNet / EFS Service Bureau, but will be unable to give you any specific information on procedures and charges adopted by the Service Bureau. |
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