On April 30, 2007 I volunteered to keep statistics on how long it takes to submit a dossier and get an appointment for Ukrainian adoption.

I will be updating this page (popping it to the top) when I update the statistics.

I received an email pointing out that each adoption is different. There is no such thing as an average Ukrainian adoption. I agree with this. However as an adoptive parent, I want some guidance. And I think statistics can help with this.

I have received information from 23 American, Canadian and French families. They started their adoptions in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Here are the dossier quotas. Ukraine is limiting the acceptance of dossiers based on the adoptive parent's nationality. And the SDAPRC has a Complex Mathematical Formula that determines the quota.

• America 558


• Belgium 10


• Canada 24


• France 133


• Germany 75


• Ireland 11


• Italy 494


• Israel 103


• Other 188


• Spain 380


• Sweden 13


• Switzerland 11

This is a grand total of 1,812 dossiers that may be accepted during 2007.

Source: Canadian Embassy in Kyiv

I only have this statistic for the American dossier quota and the Canadian dossier quota.

Americans have submitted 239 dossiers as of May 7, 2007. They owe 823 over due post adoption reports.

Canadians submitted 24 dossiers earlier this year. They cannot submit more dossiers unless missing post adoption reports are turned in. Canadians adoptive parents owe 18 over due reports.

Here are the survey numbers so far...

• It took families an average of 6 months (180 days) to complete their dossier. If I leave out the families who started their adoption 2005, the average is 3.8 months (115). I think this second number is closer to reality. The families who started in 2005 had to redo their dossiers several times due to the various changes, changes and more changes.



• It took an average of 1.5 months (46 calendar days) for a facilitator to get the dossier submitted. The average includes the amount of time it took to translate the dossier. The maximum number of days for this activity was 98 days and the shortest was 11 days. The SDA will only accept a maximum of 40 dossiers from Americans per month. More typically the SDA accepts 20 to 32 dossiers from American families.



• On average the dossier was approved 37 calendar days after dossier submission.



• After the dossier was approved, the appointment date was 1.9 months (57 days) in the future.



• Some families have completed their adoptions. On average they were 26 days in Ukraine. This includes the 10 day waiting period after the court hearing.



• 6 families are waiting on average 27 days to submit their dossier.



• 4 families are waiting on average 11 calendar days to be assigned their appointment date (waiting for dossier to be approved).



• 10 family waiting on average another 22 days to travel to Ukraine.

Have you completed a Ukrainian adoption? Are you in the middle of a Ukrainian adoption? I would love to hear from you. I will respect your privacy and will only post average statistics. Here is an example of what I am looking for.

Started Adoption: Nov 2005
Dossier Completed: Jan 2006, Jan 2007
Submitted Dossier: Feb 4, 2007
Dossier Approved/Days for dossier to be approved: March 19, 2007
Appointment Date: June 20, 2007
Adoption Completed: Aug 1, 2007
Nationality: American

Email me at adoptukraineblog@adoptionmail.com if you would like to participate or have questions.