ICAB and Inter-Country Adoption in the Philippines: How It Works Now

If you searched for "ICAB adoption Philippines," you are a little behind on the news — and it is not your fault. In 2022, the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) was officially absorbed into the newly created National Authority for Child Care (NACC). The ICAB brand still appears in older government pages, agency brochures, and forum posts, which is why it continues to drive searches. But the institution that handles international adoption from the Philippines today is the NACC, not ICAB.

What matters more than the name change is understanding how the process actually works under the current framework, and whether you or the children you hope to adopt qualify.

Why inter-country adoption is a last resort in the Philippines

This is the most important thing to understand before going any further: the Philippines treats inter-country adoption (ICA) as a measure of last resort. Under both the 1993 Hague Convention and Philippine law, every avenue for domestic placement must be exhausted before a child is made available for international adoption.

In practice, this means the children available for ICA are predominantly older children (ages 6 and above), sibling groups, and children with special needs or medical conditions. Families hoping to adopt an infant or very young child through an international pathway will find the wait measured in years, and matching is not guaranteed. The Philippines issued 449 inter-country adoption orders in 2025, compared to 1,311 domestic adoption orders — a ratio that reflects the system's strong preference for keeping children within Filipino families.

What NACC does and who applies to it

The NACC's ICA division took over all of ICAB's functions. For prospective adoptive parents residing outside the Philippines, the process works as follows:

Foreign nationals and Filipinos permanently residing abroad must apply through an accredited Foreign Adoption Agency (FAA) in their country, or through their country's Central Authority if the country is a Hague Convention signatory. You do not contact the NACC directly as an individual applicant — your FAA is your channel.

Accredited agencies in the United States with current NACC authorization include Holt International, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, and Madison Adoption Associates, among others. The list changes — verify current NACC accreditation status before engaging an agency.

OFWs and Filipinos abroad who want to adopt a relative in the Philippines may qualify for a relative adoption pathway, which is handled differently from the standard ICA program. Relative adoption through NACC can be significantly faster because it bypasses some of the standard CDCLAA and matching requirements.

Requirements for inter-country adoption

The NACC's ICA requirements include:

• The petitioner must be at least 27 years old and no more than 45 years older than the child
• For the primary receiving countries (US, Canada, Italy, Spain), minimum annual income is USD $40,000
• The couple must have been married for at least three years (exception: a single woman may qualify)
• No history of child abuse, domestic violence, or substance dependency
• The petitioner's country must have a bilateral agreement or be a Hague Convention partner with the Philippines

A Home Study Report must be completed by a licensed social worker in the petitioner's home country, approved by the relevant Central Authority, and submitted as part of the dossier to NACC through the FAA.

The inter-country adoption process

Step 1 — Engage an FAA Select and engage a NACC-accredited Foreign Adoption Agency in your country. They guide the home study process, compile your dossier, and submit it to NACC.

Step 2 — Home Study A licensed social worker in your home country conducts the home study. This involves home visits, interviews, background checks, and a psychological assessment. The home study report must be approved by your country's Central Authority before it goes to NACC.

Step 3 — Dossier submission Your FAA compiles the full dossier — home study, financial documents, clearances, medical certificates, marriage/birth certificates — and submits it to the NACC. Documents must be apostilled.

Step 4 — Matching NACC's Inter-Country Matching Committee reviews your dossier. You do not select a specific child; the committee matches based on the child's profile and the family's assessed capacity. For children with special needs or sibling groups, matching can happen faster. For healthy younger children, the wait is substantially longer.

Step 5 — Article 5 / Hague letter Once a match is proposed, your home country's Central Authority issues an Article 5 letter under the Hague Convention confirming the child will be admitted and may reside in the receiving country permanently.

Step 6 — Travel to the Philippines At least one petitioning parent must travel to the Philippines for approximately 5–7 days to meet the child and complete in-country documentation.

Step 7 — Supervised trial custody and finalization The child departs for the receiving country under a guardianship arrangement. After six months of supervised custody in the receiving country, the NACC issues the Consent to Adoption. The family then finalizes the adoption in their local court.

NACC fees for inter-country adoption:

• Application fee: USD $200
• Processing fee (single child): USD $2,000
• Processing fee (sibling group): USD $3,000
• Child Care Support Fund (paid to the residential care facility): USD $1,000

These are NACC fees only — agency fees, home study fees, legal fees, and travel are additional.

The Philippines as a sending country

The Philippines' primary receiving countries are the United States, Canada, Italy, and Spain, with smaller numbers going to Australia, the Netherlands, and other Hague countries. The country remains a Hague Convention signatory and maintains a strong child protection framework. NACC's coordination with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) adds an additional layer of oversight to international placements.

For families who are genuinely open to older children or sibling groups and want to adopt internationally from a Hague-compliant country with transparent processes, the Philippines remains one of the more structured programs available.

If you are a Filipino family looking to understand whether an OFW relative can adopt a child in the Philippines, or you are navigating the relative pathway from abroad, the Philippines Foster Care & Adoption Guide covers those specific scenarios with NACC's current requirements.

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