|
| Dear _______, Given the unusual circumstances and difficulties we face with our adoption in Colombia it has been suggested that we write to you personally. I am an Irish citizen and have been a resident in Spain for the past 16 years. My wife, also a Spanish resident, is British. We have been approved by the "Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar" and have been on a waiting list to adopt two Colombian children (siblings) since April 2nd 2004. All the paperwork, including the home study, has been done through the Junta de Andalucía here in Spain, the country of our residence, as stipulated in agreements concerning international adoption. In May last year, we were informed of the case of a British couple also residents in Spain, who, after successfully completing the adoption procedure in Colombia, as non-Spanish nationals, were refused entry visas by the Spanish government for their children. At no point had they, or we, been warned of this. Despite our considerable efforts to find a solution through the Spanish authorities, the most recent communication we have received from the Spanish Foreign Office leaves no doubt that we will be faced with the same problem: our children will be refused entry to Spain until they have either British or Irish passports. In Ireland we have consulted Sean Fleming TD, Olwyn Enright TD and made our case known to Liam Hyland and Mary Banotti, both members of the European Parliament at the time. Our solicitor in Ireland has also made enquiries on our behalf but the replies are clear: the Department of Justice refers us to the Irish Adoption Board who in turn outline clearly how they cannot recognise the adoption. Until the children are registered in Spain which, given that they have not been born in Spain and neither parent is Spanish, is impossible, the Irish Adoption board say they cannot recognise the adoption and therefore the Children cannot apply for Irish citizenship. In the Summer my wife was able to speak to Mr Tony Dalton, Chief Caseworker at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and Lorna Fitzsimons, MP for Rochdale, also contacted on our behalf both the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They have assured us that the children will be registered as British citizens as quickly as possible but as the process normally takes months we are not sure how long it will actually take. If we do have to wait weeks or months we then face the problem of asking for entry visas for the children to enter either Britain or Ireland. Ten months of non-stop work has only served to clarify the problems above. It is a legal limbo with each county, each ministry and authority involved, unable to move until another does. We firmly believe that at this stage, with time going by, we need to look at any possible solution, however unlikely it may seem, or we may not be able to adopt when we are assigned our children. We are writing to you to ask you to consider the following: - is there any means by which the Irish Adoption Board can recognise the exceptional nature of our case and thus recognise the adoption? - Is there any means by which the Irish Government, again given the exceptional nature of the case, could give Irish nationality to the children? - Is there any means by which the Irish Government could at least guarantee entry visas to Ireland should that be necessary? - Given that we understand Irish adoption law is in the process of being modified, and taking into account that an Irish couple living in Spain could not complete an international adoption as neither Ireland or Spain will concede nationality to the children, is there any way this situation can be taken into acocunt in future law and for future couples who may find themselves in this situation? - Is there any type of diplomatic avenue which could be explored so that the Spanish authorities will at least allow us to return to Spain with our children while we finalise their nationalisation as Irish or British citizens? We have been on the waiting list to adopt two children (siblings) since April 2004. The normal wait at the moment is of eighteen months but as we may be adopting two children that timescale is much more flexible and it is harder to predict how soon our children may be assigned. It took the Spanish authorities eight months to give a partial solution which has since proved useless: we were told in late 2004 that a letter from the Irish or British governments promising to grant nationality to the adopted children at a future date would be sufficient to obtain entry visas to Spain. Nevertheless, on producing such a letter from the British authorities the Spanish Foreign Ministry continues to refuse to accept this solution and reiterates that our adopted children will only be allowed to enter Spain on Irish or British passports. Any help you can give or any advice on approaches which could be taken would be more than welcome. We would also welcome the opportunity to meet and explain the case personally if that were possible. Initially, we are in Ireland from the 12th. to 17th. of April but would be more than willing to make the journey at any point. I thank you in advance for your time and effort in helping us to overcome the serious obstacle we are faced with. |
|