Costa Rica Adoption

Spence-Chapin is honored to announce the opening of our Costa Rica Adoption Program! Costa Rica has a long-standing history of bringing families together through international adoption. Read on to learn more about the children in who are in need of adoptive families, eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parents, and the adoption process.

Children In Need for Adoption

The children in need of adoption in Costa Rica are typically between ages 2–10 at referral, with most children aged 7 and older, and include boys and girls from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Many children are part of a sibling pair have experienced trauma, abuse, or neglect, may have medical or emotional needs, and are most often living in group-care settings prior to adoption. Read more below for details.

Ages: Spence-Chapin’s Costa Rica program places children ages 2-10 years old at the time of referral. The majority of children eligible for international adoption from Costa Rica are aged 7 and older. Adoptive families can specify a narrower age range within those parameters.

Sex: Boys and girls are equally represented within adoptive placement statistics from Costa Rica. Costa Rica permits prospective adoptive parents to specify a gender preference during home study.

Race/Ethnicity: Families adopting from Costa Rica must be open to parenting a child of any race or ethnicity. Costa Rica’s population is predominantly Mestizo (a mixture of European and Indigenous descent). Costa Rica also has minority ethnic groups including those of African, Indigenous, and Afro-Caribbean heritage.

Sibling Pairs: Costa Rica has a great need for families willing to adopt sibling pairs. Prospective adoptive parents should keep in mind the broad range of ages if considering adopting a sibling pair.

Special Characteristics: All children placed through this program have complex backgrounds. Children who are eligible for adoption through Costa Rica’s child welfare authority have a history of trauma, abuse, or neglect. Additionally, children may have medical needs or other emotional/behavioral needs. Children receive comprehensive medical and mental health assessments and treatment while in the care of the child welfare authority.

Living Environments: The vast majority of children who are eligible for adoption are living in group-care settings (commonly referred to as a children’s home or institution) before placement with an adoptive family.

Spence-Chapin also advocates for children who are urgently waiting through our Waiting Child Program. These are children for whom no adoptive family has currently been identified and are the most in need of parents today. Spence-Chapin regularly receives a list of Waiting Children from Costa Rica’s Adoption Authority and can discuss such cases with the families in our program.

Adoptive Parent Eligibility

Costa Rica welcomes adoptive parents from across the United States, including single applicants and married couples, who meet the country’s legal, age, family composition, and health guidelines. Each application is reviewed thoughtfully and holistically, with medical and mental health histories considered on a case-by-case basis.

Marital Status: Costa Rica welcomes applications from single applicants as well as married couples living throughout the United States. If married, the couple must be married for a minimum of three years, with no more than two divorces combined.

Sexual Orientation: Same-sex couples are welcome to adopt through Spence-Chapin’s Costa Rica adoption program.

Age: Applicants 25-60 years old, with no more than 15 years between the age of the youngest parent and the child to be adopted, are welcome to apply.

Family Composition: Costa Rica welcomes families who are already parenting as well as families who are not yet parenting. Couples may not have more than 5 children and singles may not have more than 2 children.

Medical History: Many successful adoptive parents have medical diagnoses. If you have a medical diagnosis and/or are prescribed medication, ensure this is disclosed during the application process so that Spence-Chapin can prescreen to ensure eligibility in light of the specific history.

Mental Health Diagnoses: Costa Rica reviews mental health history, diagnoses, and prescriptions on a case-by-case basis. Please ensure all mental health history is disclosed during the application process so that Spence-Chapin can prescreen to ensure eligibility in light of the specific history.

Citizenship: For all international adoption processes in the U.S., at least one adoptive applicant (or the sole applicant) must hold U.S. citizenship.

Wait Time & Travel

Predicted wait time to be matched with a child: Approximately 9-18 months after dossier submission. Please note that in all international adoption programs, wait times are estimates and can change

Travel: In order to complete the adoption process, families will be required to make one trip to Costa Rica of approximately 5-7 weeks in length. Couples must both travel to country and be present for finalization in court. You’ll be accompanied to all appointments by a bilingual companion and will have support from Spence-Chapin’s staff and our in-country partner throughout you full time in Costa Rica.

Fees

Spence-Chapin prides itself on transparency of fee disclosures. In any intercountry adoption process, families will incur professional service fees from their primary adoption service provider as well as third-party and travel costs. Spence-Chapin’s professional service fees reflect the work and support dedicated to your family. Spence-Chapin’s professional service fees are paid in installments as your case reaches new milestones.

Fees for Costa Rica Adoption Program

	Local Families:	Non-Local Families
Spence-Chapin Professional Services Fees	$16,115	$16,615
Home Study Fees	$2,500 (home study) $1,000 (home study update)	$2,050-$5,000
Post-Adoption Supervision Fees	$550/visit	$3,500-$4,025
Total Estimated Third-Party Fees, Country Fees, & Immigration Fees	$14,534-$18,384	$14,534-$18,384
Estimated Travel Expenses	$8,500-$10,000	$8,500-$10,000
Total Estimated Cost of Adoption Before the Federal Adoption Tax Credit*	$45,499-$52,849	$45,199-$54,024

*The Federal Adoption Tax Credit is an income-dependent tax credit for qualified adoption expenses which can be taken as credit when you file taxes for the year of adoption finalization; in 2026 the maximum adoption tax credit is $17,670 per child. Read more here.

**Local families are families who live in New York, New Jersey, or Arizona and within 100 miles of Spence-Chapin’s Manhattan office, for whom Spence-Chapin is providing home study and post-adoption reporting services. See full fee disclosures here for Local Families.

***Non-local families are families who live more than 100 miles from Spence-Chapin’s Manhattan office, or who live outside of New York, New Jersey, or Arizona, who will have their home study and post-adoption reporting services completed by an agency licensed in their jurisdiction. See full fee disclosures here for Networking Families.

Did you know that the Adoption Tax Credit is available to families adopting internationally? In 2025, the Adoption Tax Credit was up to $16,810 per child. This tremendously offsets the cost of adoption as most families are eligible.

Additionally, Spence-Chapin partners with the Adoption Finance Coach to provide our families with FREE access to experts, tools and content that can take the worry out of financing your adoption. Families who use the Adoption Finance Coach typically raise $5,000-$15,000 for their adoptions.

What are the steps for adopting from Costa Rica?

Learn More and Apply

Attend our Introduction to Adoption from Costa Rica Webinar to learn more about the process, timelines, and eligibility requirements, then take the next step by completing our application.

Home Study and Training

All families must undergo a home study which is designed to prepare you for adoptive parenthood and assess your ability to parent an adopted child. For families living in New York, New Jersey, or Arizona, Spence-Chapin will complete your home study. For families living outside of that area, you will work with a local agency on your home study and Spence-Chapin will guide that agency to ensure that the home study they prepare meets all of the requirements of Costa Rica. The home study includes paperwork, clearances, interviews with a social worker, and at least one visit to your home. For all families, Spence-Chapin will provide a pre-adoption training plan which will help you prepare for the unique considerations of adoptive parenthood. Our social workers facilitate training on trauma, attachment, bonding, transracial parenting, how to talk to your child about adoption, and more.

Dossier

Once you’ve completed your home study, Spence-Chapin will guide you in obtaining all documents required to be submitted to Costa Rica as part of your “dossier.” Spence-Chapin submits your dossier to the child welfare authority of Costa Rica, Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI.) PANI will review your dossier. Over several months, PANI will take careful review to get to know your family; this may include receiving requests designed to help PANI better understand your family for matching purposes. Once your dossier is approved by PANI, you are officially eligible to receive a referral!

Wait Time

The wait time to receive a referral is dependent upon the level of openness of the prospective adoptive parents. The typical wait time to receive a referral from Costa Rica can be 9-18 months after submission of your dossier. For families with more restrictive levels of openness, the timeframe may be longer. Our social workers are here to support you during the wait!

Please note that depending on how long you wait for referral, you may need to complete a home study update and update select documents – we will keep track of those timelines and guide you through the process should that be necessary.

Referral and Pre-Travel

PANI issues referrals in consideration of what characteristics your family is open to. When we receive a referral for your family, after careful review by our team, we will share all information provided with you. A referral will contain photographs of the child, medical information on the child, details of the child’s legal process by which he/she became eligible for international adoption, and any known social information on the child and biological family. You are welcomed and encouraged to ask any questions you have about the child and information provided before making a decision on whether to accept the referral.

After you accept a referral, there will be further governmental approvals to obtain within Costa Rica and within the United States before you will travel to meet your child. Spence-Chapin and our in-country team will ensure that all necessary approvals are obtained. Please anticipate several months between when you accept a referral and when you travel to meet your child. During this time, we will prepare you with specific training tailored to the known needs of your child. We will guide you with all logistics for your adoption travel, so you feel confident and prepared for this life-changing experience.

Travel

In order to complete the adoption process, adoptive parents must take one trip to Costa Rica. The trip length is anticipated to be 5-7 weeks. Your child will be placed into your custody soon after your arrival to Costa Rica and you will begin caring for your child 24/7. This time will provide you a chance to experience Costa Rica and spend time bonding with your child and getting to know one another. Several weeks after you have taken custody of your child, you will finalize your adoption in a court in Costa Rica, accompanied by our in-country team.

After your adoption has been finalized, Spence-Chapin and our in-country team will walk with you through every step of obtaining your child’s passport and visa. Once you have obtained your child’s visa, you will be ready to fly home with your child!

Throughout your whole time in Costa Rica, Spence-Chapin and our in-country team are available to you around the clock. A member of Spence-Chapin’s in-country team will accompany you to all appointments and be available to your family to check-in and offer support.

Post-Adoption Visits

Within the first 2-4 weeks of your arrival home, a post-adoption home visit will be scheduled by your social worker; this is designed to support your family during this significant transition and is a Spence-Chapin requirement. Additional post-adoption visits will be conducted at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months, and 36 months post-adoption. These visits are required by the Costa Rican Central Authority (PANI).

Safeguards and Ethical Practices

Costa Rica and the United States are both parties to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. This ensures that safeguards are in place throughout every step of the adoption process to ensure that ethical, transparent practices are followed and the best interest of children are preserved. Spence-Chapin is Hague-accredited and has maintained that certification since the onset of such accreditation processes.