We are no longer accepting applications for Belize unless the adoptive parent is originally from Belize. But, please contact us if you would like further information about how to contact persons in Belize who can help with an adoption.

Welcome! Belize is a relatively new choice for adoptive parents. Fourteen visas were issued for children entering the US with new parents last year. We hope to provide more opportunities for orphans to find their forever families in the US!

Many US families recognize Belize as a beautiful holiday destination. Flanked by white sand beaches and the second largest barrier reef in the world, Belize has attracted many people over the past centuries. Ethnic and cultural diversity abounds, as does a tradition of hospitality.

First, some historical background

Belize was originally populated by Mayan and other native people of the Caribbean. Archeologists estimate that as many as 1 to 2 million Mayans lived in within modern Belize’s borders. This is called the Mayan Period.

The European Period began when Christopher Columbus sailed along the coast of Central America in 1502, naming the coast the Bay of Honduras. The first European settlers were English Puritans, followed by pirates and loggers, who harvested hardwoods. The Spanish sought to expel the British, but they held fast, and logging became Belize’s principal economy.

To harvest mahogany forests, the British recruited East Indians, Chinese and convicts from Europe. These workers were eventually surpassed by another group -- Africans brought to Belize in the 1700s; part of the African Diaspora.

Over three hundred years, slavery flourished; it was a key part of a triangular trade route, run first by the Portuguese and then by the British. Between 15-20 million Africans were bound for service in the Americas. The trip across the Atlantic was called the “Middle Passage.”

In Belize, the newly arrived Africans worked in the forests instead of on plantations. It was hard, dangerous work requiring skill and judgment. After slavery was abolished in the 1830s, the freed Africans intermarried with European settlers, and became the Creole majority that dominates Belize today.

Modern-day Belize is the most sparsely populated nation in Central America. It compares with the state of Massachusetts in size. About a quarter of the people live in Belize City, which is the principal port, commercial center and former capitol.

Belizeans are multiracial. About half of the population is mixed Mayan and European descent called Mestizo; a quarter are of African and Afro-European ancestry, called Creole; about ten percent are Mayan and about 6 percent are Afro-Amerindian, called Garifuna. The remainder includes European, Chinese, East Indian, Middle Eastern and North American populations.

The Colonial Period in Belize was marked by the emigration of Mexican Mayans escaping war from the north and Garifuna, Kekchi and Mopan Maya in the south, as well as by the decline of slavery and segregation. By the early 1900s, the population had grown to nearly 40,000.

The government office responsible for adoptions in Belize is the Belize Human Services Department, and all adoptions must be approved by Court. The Belize Supreme Court only processes adoptions for Belizean citizen children. According to Section 137 of the Belize Families and Children’s Act, a person who is not a citizen of Belize may adopt a Belizean child if he or she:
1. Does not have a criminal record;
2. Has a current recommendation concerning his/her suitability to adopt a child from his/her country’s probation and welfare office or other competent authority (the home study); and
3. Has satisfied the court that his/her country of origin will respect and recognize the adoption order.

Belizean law prohibits the issuance of a final adoption order unless the non-Belizean prospective adoptive parent resides in Belize with the Belizean child for 12 months, or, the court may issue an interim adoption decree, which the Government of Belize recognizes as permission for the prospective adoptive parent to take the child out of Belize and pursue a subsequent adoption in accordance with the laws of his/her own country. American adoptive parents may apply for an Immediate Relative (IR)-4 visa for the child.

The adoptive parents must obtain a Belize passport for the child which must be issued in the child’s birth name.

During the interim period, the parents must provide quarterly reports, similar to post placement reports, which are filed with the Court by the attorney and a copy is also given to the Belize Department of Human Services. Upon submission of the final quarterly report, the attorney makes an application for the provisional order to be made final in the Supreme Court. The application will be granted based on the recommendation of the US social worker who conducted the quarterly visits and wrote the reports. If the final adoption decree is granted, the Belize Registrar General for Vital Statistics will then place the child’s name in the Adoption of Children Register.

The processing time for adoptions can vary, depending on the circumstances of the case. The Belize Department of Human Services reports that “ward adoptions” (children in the custody of the Department of Human Services) can take up one year or more to process because of the need for home study reports, matching, placement and legal proceedings.

All international adoptions occur before a Supreme Court judge and require the services of a Belize attorney authorized to present cases before the Supreme Court. There are no private adoptions or adoptions through extra-judicial processes.

Generally, the family prepares all the required dossier documents, including the home study and the I171h from US CIS. A complete Dossier instruction guide is provided to parents when they begin their adoption.