I am South African and living here in Switzerland. I am trying to find out whether I can adopt a child from South Africa. I have spoken to the South African side and they tell me that they do not have a working relationship with Switzerland but that if the Swiss authorities are open to the adoption they can work out a memorandum of understanding and proceed. The problem is I cannot figure out how to find out from the Swiss side if this is a possibility. Can anyone advise on whether this is possible and who I can contact in the Swiss authorities please?
It has been done before. A check of Swiss governmental statistics show one citizenship naturalization of a South African by adoption in the past five years. This occurred in the period 01.04.2011 to 31.03.2012.
According to the below link, the Geneva authorities responsible for adoptions are:
DIP - Office de la jeunesse
Service d'autorisation et de surveillance des lieux de placement
Autorité centrale cantonale en matière d'adoption
Thank you so much for your quick replies! This is really helpful information, we will definitely get in touch with the SA embassy and the authorities in Geneva to find out more. I can't say enough how much I appreciate your help - we have been making enquiries for weeks without getting anywhere - now we have some clear steps forward!