International adoptions have been occurring from Saint Lucia to the United States, albeit in small numbers. International adoptions from this island nation are most appropriate for kinship adoption cases, and only if the adopted child’s background will meet the US Immigration requirements for orphan status.

A Family in Bloom Adoption has had a presence for international adoptions in the Caribbean for over a decade. Our agency conducts adoptions and maintains adoption programs in the neighboring Windward chain islands of Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Trinidad and Tobago farthest to the south.

Attorneys in St. Lucia are crucial to the adoption process, as they handle all legal work to be presented to the High Court for the final decision making. A Family in Bloom Adoption has Foreign Supervised Provider attorneys that are licensed in Saint Lucia. St. Lucia’s Social Services Department receives the application from prospective adoptive parents. They also handle the child study, to determine if a prospective child is available for adoption and the appropriateness of a given adoptive placement.

A separate entity called the Crown Counsel situated in the government’s Attorney General’s office, functions in a similar way to a Guardian ad Litem, by advocating for the best interest of the child. The intention specifically is to give a voice to the child in the process, including an older child’s consent to an adoption.

International adoptions from St. Lucia can either be finalized abroad or a guardianship arrangement is granted for finalization to occur in the United States. The US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados is responsible for the final adjudication and visa issuance for international adoptions from St. Lucia.

Like many of our agency’s smaller international adoption programs or Primary Provider work, A Family in Bloom Adoption’s target population for international adoptions from St. Lucia would be dual-citizen nationals, who are well-suited to support an adoptive child’s cultural ties and heritage. Our agency’s main focus is to support relative adoption cases from St. Lucia. This country does have some children’s homes. If the government of St. Lucia determines at some point in the future that they would like to support international adoptions for children from children’s homes, our agency would explore that at a future date with the St. Lucian foreign supervised provider attorneys.

While there are no post-adoption foreign country requirements from the St. Lucian government, A Family in Bloom Adoption requires a minimum of two home visits and reports within the first six months or in accordance with the guidelines from the US State of residency for the adoptive parents, whichever is greater.

Who Can Adopt

The eligibility requirements or preferences for prioritization from Saint Lucia for adoptive parents involved:

• RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adoptive parents who are not St. Lucian citizens must have resided in St. Lucia for at least six consecutive months prior to the date of the application for adoption.
• AGE REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 years of age and must be no less than 21 years older than the child to be adopted
• MARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS: Both married and single people may adopt St. Lucian children.

A Family in Bloom Adoption believes the best fit for international adoption from Saint Lucia:

• A prospective adoptive family that originates from or has dual-citizenship status with the US and St. Lucia.
• American citizens that have spent extensive time in the country, and have a good understanding in connection with the country and culture.

About Saint Lucia

St. Lucia’s motto, “The Land, the People, the Light”, intertwines the islands physical beauty while imparting spirituality. Color is intrinsic to daily life and the natural surroundings, be it at the market with a visual panoply of brightly hued fruit, to bejeweled hummingbirds flitting between the myriad of flowers. This is a country with two annual flower festivals, La Rose, held in August, and La Marguerite (in the aster family), celebrated in October. The National Bird is the St. Lucian Parrot or Jacquot in the colloquialism, striated with red, green and blue, whose recovery is a source of countrywide pride. The Pitons are perhaps the most recognizable of the country’s landmark, “twin volcanic spires majestically soaring out of the sea”.

Another allegorical reference for the islands is “Helen of the West” because the country switched ownership between France and England many times in its colonial history. Originally the islands were settled by the Amerindian peoples, first the Arawaks and Caribs, who called their homeland Hewanorra, meaning “Island of the Iguanas”. Independence in the last century came in 1979, although St. Lucia has remained part of the British Commonwealth. Today, St. Lucia is part of several key national organizations for solidarity and economic growth, including the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with its closest island neighbors.

The United States is the major trading partner of St. Lucia. Agricultural products, particularly bananas, but also diverse fruit, root vegetables, and small livestock comprise the main staples. Tourism is by far the largest contributor to the island’s economy, followed by actual banking and growing manufacturing sector. St. Lucians have emigrated to other English-speaking nations, with sizable communities to be found in the United States, Canada and England.

Please contact us to learn more about our international adoption services.