Adoption is the legal form of transferring a child to a family for upbringing based on a court decision, which results in personal non-property and property rights and obligations equated with the rights and obligations of relatives by origin. Find out more information about the adoption procedure and conditions in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Foster care is a form of upbringing in which orphaned children, children left without parental care (parent) are transferred to foster care in families under an agreement concluded by a body performing the functions of guardianship or custodianship and a person who expressed a desire to take a child (children) for upbringing.

Guardianship is a legal form of protection of the rights and interests of children under the age of 14 and persons recognized by the court as legally incompetent.

Custodianship is a legal form of protection of the rights and interests of a child (children) aged from 14 to 18 years, as well as adults who are limited in legal capacity by the court due to alcohol and drugs abuse.

Thus, depending on a situation, it is worth thinking about an adoption, if you want to accept a child into the family and bear full responsibility for him/her, treat a child as if he/she is an own child and if you are ready that a child will acquire property rights. Moreover, you also undertake all the expenses on a child.

To a greater extent, guardianship and custodianship involve property rights, but this does not mean that a guardian or trustee should not take care of a child. The major differences between guardianship/custodianship from adoption are such aspects as limitation of legal capacity and age. In other words, it is assistance to those who, due to age or health, cannot live independently, protect their rights and dispose of property.

If you want to raise a child without acquiring kinship and property rights, then in this case it is worth thinking about a foster care. In this case, the relationship with a child is regulated by an agreement with a guardianship and custodianship authority and foster care is carried out on a on a paid-for basis and for a certain period. It means, that a person is not obliged to support a child at his/her own expense, moreover, such a person will also get a salary.

Foster care is suitable for many couples and families. Foster care gives the a child an opportunity to be brought up in a warm family atmosphere, and the foster carers take care of a child and cultivate better human qualities in him/her. It often happens that couples who do not have children, or whose children have grown up and live an independent life adopt children for foster care. Foster care is also a chance to fulfill one`s social duty by helping one child grow up in a favorable family environment.

The main advantage of foster care is that a child, getting into a family environment, receives an appropriate care and attention, acquires the experience of living in a family, skills of independent living. This format allows arranging the future of many children deprived of parental care. The main purpose of this format is socialization of a child and gaining experience of life in a family.

A foster carer is not employed into Education Departments or into organizations for orphans and children left without parental care, no employment order is issued.

Foster carers provide services for the maintenance, upbringing and training of a child transferred to him/her based on the agreement on transfer of children to foster care.

Orphans and children left without parental care are in particular need of support, education and protection of their rights and interests. It is for these purposes that guardianship, custodianship and foster care are established. Guardianship and custodianship imply the protection of property and non-property rights and interests, while foster care implies greater involvement into the upbringing of a child.

Guardianship or custodianship in the form of foster care is established over minor orphans, children left without parental care, including those who are in educational, medical or other organizations.

  Thus, one can become a foster carer:

• for a child: an orphan or a child left without parental care;

You can become a guardian or trustee for an orphan or a child left without parental care who is in a hospital, orphanage, or other organization and is registered with the guardianship and custodianship authorities.

Only adults can become foster carers, except for:

1. individuals recognized by court as legally incompetent or with limited legal capacity;
2. individuals deprived by the court of parental rights or restricted by the court in parental rights;
3. individuals relieved from the duties of a guardian or trustee for improper performance of the duties assigned to them by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4. former adoptive parents, if the adoption was canceled by the court due to their fault;
5. individuals who, for health reasons, cannot perform the duties of a guardian or trustee;
6. individuals who do not have a permanent place of residence;
7. individuals who have an outstanding criminal record for committing an intentional crime at the time of establishing guardianship (custodianship), as well as persons specified in subclause 12) of this Clause;
8. stateless individuals;
9. males who are not in a registered marriage, except for cases of actual upbringing of a child for at least three years due to the death of a mother or her deprivation of parental rights;
10. individuals who, at the time of establishing guardianship or custodianship, do not have income that ensures a subsistence rate established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
11. individuals registered in narcological or neuropsychiatric dispensaries.
12. individuals who have or have had a criminal record and have been subjected to criminal prosecution (except for individuals whose criminal prosecution was terminated on the basis of subclauses 1) and 2) of part one of Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan) for criminal offenses: murder, intentional injury to health, crime against public health and morality, sexual integrity, extremist or terrorist crimes, human trafficking;
13. citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan who have not undergone psychological training in accordance with Clause 4 of Article 91 of the Code on Marriage and Matrimony (except for close relatives of a child).

An authority transfers orphans and children left without parental care to relatives, stepfathers (stepmothers) for foster care in accordance with the requirements of Clause 1 of Article 122 of the Code on Marriage and Matrimony

Unlike a guardian/trustee, a foster carer receives a salary in addition to the payments intended for a child. A child in foster care retains the right to receive alimony from his/her parents, and in the event of their death, allowance for the loss of a breadwinner and other social benefits. Also a child is entitled to benefits provided for a relevant category (disabled child, orphan child or child left without parental care), such as free public transportation, meals at school, summer holidays. Moreover, a foster carer is paid money for the maintenance of a child, from the date of decision on appointment of funds based on a standard agreement on transfer of a child (children) to foster care between a foster carer and a guardianship and custodianship authority. Payment to foster carers is made on a monthly basis in the amounts of 9 MCI for one child of pre-school age and 10 MCI for one child of school age. 

1. Acceptance of applications and issuance of the public service delivery result is carried out through the e-Government portal (www.egov.kz) (hereinafter: portal).

Required documents:

1. application for transfer of a child (children) to foster care and appointment of funds in the form of an electronic document signed by a service recipient's digital signature or certified with a one-time password, when registering and connecting a service recipient's phone number to an account on the portal;
2. electronic copy of a spouse's consent(s), if a service recipient is married;
3. electronic copy of marriage certificate, if a service recipient is married and there is no information in the Civil Registry Office IS (hereinafter: Civil Registry Office) or outside the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4. electronic copy of documents confirming the right to use a housing of a service recipient and (or) spouse
5. (in case of lack of title for housing); 5)electronic copy of health certificate issued to a service recipient and spouse, if a service recipient is married, confirming the absence of diseases stated in the list approved by the Order of the Minister of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of August 28, 2015 No. 692 "On approval of the list of diseases in the presence of which a person cannot adopt a child, take him/her under guardianship or custodianship, foster care" (registered in the Register of State Registration of Regulatory Legal Acts under No. 12127), as well as certificates confirming absence of registration at narcological and psychiatric dispensaries in accordance with the form approved by the Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of May 18, 2020 No. KR DSM-49/2020 "On certian issues of public service delivery in the field of healthcare" (registered in the Register of State Registration of Regulatory Legal Acts under No. 20665);
6. electronic copy of documents about education;
7. electronic copy of certificate of training of persons willing to take orphaned children and children left without parental care (except for close relatives of a child);
8. electronic copy of an agreement on establishment of a current account in a second-tier bank or in an organization licensed by the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan to carry out certain types of banking operations;
9. electronic copies of documents confirming the kinship of relatives, stepfather (stepmother) to a child (children).

         The guardianship or custodianship authorities perform transfer of orphans and children left without parental care to relatives, stepfathers (stepmothers) for foster care in accordance with the requirements of Clause 1 of Article 122 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Marriage (Matrimony) and Family".

1. The guardianship and custodianship authorities Based on the results of documents verification, a service provider conducts a housing inspection within 2 (two) working days and based on the inspection results, a service provider draws an act on inspection of housing and living conditions of individuals willing to adopt a child (children) for foster care. If a guardianship and custodianship authority decides to refuse, it should provide a substantiated refusal in writing to a person who expressed a desire to take a child for foster care and returns the documents to such a person.
2. Preliminary selection of a child for transfer to foster care in agreement with the authority and administration of an organization in which a child is being held.
3. Conclusion of an agreement between a foster carer and a guardianship and custodianship authority. The authority decision based on an agreement to transfer a child for foster care.

An agreement provides for:

• conditions for maintenance, upbringing and education of a child (children);
• rights and obligations of foster carers;
• duties of an authority in relation to foster carers;
• grounds and consequences of an agreement termination.

  4. Transfer of children to foster carers. Provision of mandatory documents:

• birth certificate of a child (children);
• medical documentation, vaccination card;
• education document;
• copies of death certificate, sentence or court decision, certificate of illness or search for parents and other documents confirming the loss of parental care by a child (children);
• information on presence and location of siblings;
• inventory of a property belonging to a child (children) and information about the individuals responsible for its safety;
• document confirming that a child (children) has a housing;
• other documents available in the personal file of a child (children).

5. Child care, upbringing and education of an entrusted child. Provision of reports once in 6 month to the guardianship and custodianship authority regarding a child`s state of health and upbringing process.