Adopting A Child In Singapore: The Process After The 2024 Law Change

Want to adopt a child in Singapore? Congratulations! Before you begin, here's a checklist that's required by the Singaporean adoption law and a list of organisations that can provide valuable services and information throughout the adoption process.

Adoption in Singapore changed substantially on 15 October 2024, when the Adoption of Children Act 2022 came into force and replaced legislation that had been in place for decades.

If you’ve read about adopting here before, some of what you learned no longer applies, in particular the order in which things happen. The new Act front-loads the assessment, and that single change reshapes the whole process.

The most important rule to understand first.

Under the Act, you must obtain a favourable Adoption Suitability Assessment before you identify a child. With narrow exceptions for stepchildren, relatives and foster children, you can’t have the child in your care before that assessment is favourable.

This reverses how a lot of people used to go about it. Finding a child first and sorting the paperwork afterwards is no longer the path.

Who can adopt

Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and foreigners adopting alongside a Singaporean spouse. That’s the default position under the Act.
You must be at least 25, and at least 21 years older than the child.
You must have lived in Singapore continuously for at least a year before applying.
If you’re married, your spouse must consent.

Some criteria can be relaxed where there are special circumstances, most commonly where the adopter is a blood relative of the child. That’s a decision for the authorities and the court, not something to assume.

The six steps in order


	Step	What it involves
1	Mandatory briefings	A Pre-Adoption Briefing and a Disclosure Briefing. Both are compulsory before you can even apply for the assessment. The disclosure one is about telling a child they’re adopted: when, and how.
2	Adoption Suitability Assessment	The ASA, which has taken over from what used to be called the Home Study Report. Carried out by an MSF-accredited agency.
3	Identify a child	Only once your ASA is favourable.
4	Dependant’s Pass	Only if the child isn’t a Singaporean. In-principle approval is needed before placement.
5	Application to court	Filed with the Family Justice Courts.
6	Hearing, then the Adoption Order	Once granted, the child’s legal ties to their birth parents end and you assume full parental rights and responsibilities.

Most adoptions take somewhere in the region of five to nine months, and longer where a foreign-born child is involved.

What the assessment looks at

The ASA isn’t a formality, so go in with realistic expectations. A social worker from an accredited agency will look at:

Your finances and housing
Your health, including mental health history
The state of your marriage, if you’re married
Your attitudes to parenting, and your understanding of what adopting a child involves
Background and criminal record checks

Expect a home visit, interviews with members of your household, and possibly conversations with people who know you well.

An ASA is valid for two years, and you can apply to extend it from three months before it expires. If it lapses before you complete the process, you’ll need to deal with that instead of discovering it late.

What it costs


Assessment type	Fee
Adopting your biological child or a stepchild	$1,100, plus $315 for each additional child
Adopting an unrelated child, or a relative’s child	$2,000

These are the assessment fees. They aren’t the whole cost of adopting: court filing fees, legal representation and, for a foreign-born child, immigration and travel costs all add to it. Budget well beyond the assessment figure.

The safeguards in the new Act

Several of the Act’s provisions exist because of things that went wrong under the old regime, and they’re the parts most likely to catch people out.

Payments are regulated. Agencies must publicly disclose every payment made in consideration of an adoption or for an adoption-related service, and can’t accept payments unless permitted or approved by the Guardian-in-Adoption. If someone is asking you for money outside a disclosed, approved fee, that’s a serious warning sign.
Consent can’t be pressured. It’s an offence to use duress or other improper means to obtain a birth parent’s consent.
You can’t publish identifying information, including photographs, about a child in adoption proceedings without the required consents.
The child can’t be placed with you before a favourable ASA, outside the narrow exceptions noted above.

Taken together, these largely close off the informal route that used to exist, where prospective parents found a child through classifieds or online groups and regularised it afterwards. Go through an accredited agency. It’s slower, and it’s the route that won’t collapse on you or the child later.

Adopting a foreign-born child

It remains possible, and it’s more involved. You’ll need to satisfy the requirements of the child’s home country as well as Singapore’s, and to obtain in-principle approval for a Dependant’s Pass before the child can be placed with you. Timelines run longer.

Country-of-origin rules change, sometimes at short notice, so take current advice instead of relying on what a friend did a few years ago.

Where to start

MSF is the authority on the process and publishes the current steps, fee schedule and list of accredited agencies. Start there.
The Family Justice Courts handle the application and the Adoption Order.
Accredited agencies conduct the assessment and support you through it.
An Adoption Handbook for applicants is published and free to read.

If you’re considering adoption while also weighing up fertility treatment, our guide to stress and infertility may help alongside this.

Frequently asked questions

Who can adopt a child in Singapore?

Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and foreigners adopting together with a Singaporean spouse. You must be at least 25 years old, at least 21 years older than the child, and have lived in Singapore continuously for at least a year before applying. A married applicant needs their spouse’s consent. Some criteria may be relaxed in special circumstances, most often where the adopter is a blood relative.

What changed under the Adoption of Children Act 2022?

The Act came into force on 15 October 2024. The most significant change for prospective parents is sequencing: you now need a favourable Adoption Suitability Assessment before identifying a child, and can’t have the child in your care beforehand except for stepchildren, relatives and foster children. It also regulates payments connected to adoption, requires agencies to disclose them, makes it an offence to pressure a birth parent’s consent, and restricts publishing identifying information about a child in proceedings.

What’s the Adoption Suitability Assessment?

The ASA has taken over from the Home Study Report. An MSF-accredited agency assesses your suitability and readiness to adopt, looking at finances, housing, health including mental health, the state of your marriage, your understanding of adoption, and background checks. It involves a home visit and interviews. An ASA is valid for two years and can be extended from three months before expiry.

How much does adoption cost in Singapore?

The assessment fee is $1,100 for adopting your biological child or a stepchild, with $315 for each additional child, and $2,000 for an unrelated child or a relative’s child. That’s only the assessment. Court filing fees, legal costs and, for a foreign-born child, immigration and travel expenses are all additional.

How long does adoption take in Singapore?

Commonly around five to nine months, and longer where a foreign-born child is involved, since you must also satisfy the requirements of the child’s home country and obtain in-principle approval for a Dependant’s Pass before placement.

Can single people adopt in Singapore?

Eligibility turns on the criteria in the Act, not on marital status alone, and applications are decided case by case with the child’s welfare as the governing consideration. Because this is exactly the sort of question where general guidance is a poor substitute for your own circumstances, check the current position with MSF or take legal advice before making plans.

Can I find a child to adopt through an online group?

This is the route the current Act is designed to close off. You can’t have a child placed in your care before a favourable ASA, payments connected with adoption are regulated and must be disclosed, and pressuring a birth parent’s consent is an offence. Going through an accredited agency is slower and is the route that won’t unravel afterwards, for you or for the child.

The main points

Briefings first, then the assessment, then the child, in that order, and the order is the law now, not a recommendation.

Budget beyond the assessment fee, expect five to nine months, and use an accredited agency. If anyone is offering a faster route involving a payment you can’t see disclosed, that’s the moment to stop.