International Adoptions in the Dominican Republic

According to Law No. 136-03 (Code of Fundamental Protection and Rights for Children and Adolescents), adoption is an exceptional measure made only through the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI), which means that private adoptions cannot be done in Dominican Republic.

There are several requirements to allow an international adoption under Dominican legislation, including the following:

a. The adopting parents must be heterosexual couples who have been married for five years or more.

b. The adopting parents must be thirty years old or older and no more than sixty years old.

c. The age difference between the adopting parents and the adopted child must be at least fifteen years.

c. The child’s parents must consent to the adoption. In case of orphans, the authorization is obtained from the Court of Children and Adolescents.

d. Children twelve years old or more must approve their own adoption.

e. The adopting parents’ biological children who are twelve years old or older must give their opinion on the adoption.

The adoption process is comprised of an administrative and judicial phase. To begin the administrative phase, prospective adoptive parents must initiate contact with CONANI to submit their petition file.

If CONANI finds the applicants are fit for adoption, it will assign them a child as soon as one is available. Adopting parents must cohabitate with the child under Conani´ s supervision for at least 60 days and only 30 days if the child is twelve years old or older.

If cohabitation with the child is successful, CONANI will issue a Certificate of Suitability stating the applicants have been found to be fit to adopt the child. The decision by CONANI must be reviewed and approved by the Court for Children and Adolescents of the Dominican Republic which subsequently issues a Final Order of Adoption.

Finally, the decision by the Court is reviewed by the Civil Registry Division of the Junta Central Electoral which authorizes the issuance of a new birth certificate.

Answering some questions

Hi Miss Alvarado, I’ve been reading your blog and I find it very interesting. I would like to take the opportunity to ask you about two things: 1. One of my employees will go through a surgery next month and will be unable to work during at least 25 days. I want to know if I still have to pay him during his license period or not. 2. What are the rights of a domestic worker according to the Labor Code in DR? JE

First of all, you do not have to pay him salary during his period of license. However, labor legislation in Dominican Republic establishes that in the event of incapacity or death of the employee, the employer shall pay the employee, or his heirs, an economic assistance, depending on the period of time of his contract. You will have to pay him an amount of 5 days of salary if he has been working during a period of 3 to 6 months; 10 days of salary for a period of 6 to 12 months and 15 days of salary if he has been working for over 1 year.

In the case of the domestics, they do not benefit from many of the provisions of the Labor Code. They are not subject to any regular work hours although every domestic must have a minimum of nine hours per day of uninterrupted rest and a weekly rest of 36 hours without interruption. Domestics do not have the right to receive severance pay when dismissed. However, they do have the right to two weeks of paid vacation a year after their first year at work and to receive a Christmas salary as regular workers do.

Because of the particularities of each case and the strong protection to the rights of the individual employee in DR, I strongly recommend you to personally contact a legal expert and explain him every detail of your cases.

Hello, I found your blog in the internet and it seems that you are very good in helping people with their legal problems. I just have one simple question. When buying an apartment, who pays the realtor commission and legal steps to make the transference?

Some people say that at the end the buyer always pays the commission because it's typically part of the sales price, but normally, the seller is the one who is in charge to pay the commission. Now, the contract that is signed can dictate certain terms, which might alter the hiring person's liability and responsibility to pay certain portions of the commission.

The lawyer for the buyer makes the contract and all the other legal steps and thus the buyer pays for that. If the seller wants a lawyer to represent his interests he is the one that will have to pay for his service. To transfer the title from one individual to the next, the buyer pays approximately 3% of the declared value.

You can always negotiate with the seller a reduction of the price because of the taxes and other expenses you will have to pay.

Thank you all for your questions and flattering words. If you have any other problem or question, don’t hesitateto contact me.