I Want to Act and Get Support.
What you’re entitled to, how to take steps forward, and where to find legal, therapeutic and community help.
This guide moves from theory to action.
Introduction
You have the right to know where you come from. You have the right to access your file. You have the right to legal recourse when the system failed you. You have the right to psychological support, to community, and to information about what has been done in countries that have gone further than yours.
This guide is organised around the concrete situations adoptees and people born under anonymous birth laws actually face.
This guide is produced by a French collective and gives significant space to French and European resources. But it also points to international organisations and models from other countries. It is constantly growing.
I. Searching for your origins
Searching for biological family is a fundamental right, not a favour granted by institutions. Yet no state body is truly responsible for supporting this process. This gap creates the conditions for a parallel market where private intermediaries, sometimes unscrupulous, offer their services to vulnerable people. The resources listed here have been carefully selected to direct you toward trustworthy actors. The encountered difficulties vary widely by country and adoption context, but the process always starts with the same first steps.
International
Association
Intercountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV)
Largest international adoptee-led network
ICAV is the largest international network led by and for intercountry adoptees. Their website hosts practical guides on searching for origins, accessing files, understanding legal frameworks, and navigating reunion. They have produced Perspective Papers on every aspect of adoptee experience. Start with their origin search resource page.
Association
Raíces Perdidas
An association working on the search for origins for internationally adopted people, particularly those from Latin American countries where adoption fraud was documented.
France
Institution
National Council for Access to Personal Ancestry (CNAOP)
French national body for access to origins.
The CNAOP is the French institution responsible for managing requests from people seeking their origins. It receives and processes requests from people born under anonymous birth laws and internationally adopted people. It can contact birth families to ask whether they agree to reveal their identity. Free of charge. Accessible directly online.
Association
Practical guide
Collective of French Adoptees in Mali (AFM)
French association for adoptees from Mali
The AFM was created by French adoptees of Malian origin to support each other and conduct searches. They have produced a practical guide for searches from Mali: one of the most concrete resources available for this specific context.
South Korea
Association
KoRoot
Seoul-based support center for Korean adoptees visiting or searching
KoRoot offers logistical and emotional support to Korean adoptees who travel to Korea for searches. They can help with practical matters (translation, navigation) as well as connect adoptees with communities during their visit.
China
Paid service
Research China
A US-based service that helps Chinese adoptees and their families research their origins in China, providing access to historical records, DNA analysis and on-the-ground contacts in China.
Sri Lanka
Association
Back to the Roots
Back to the Roots is a Swiss association founded by Sarah Ramani Ineiche, herself an adoptee from Sri Lanka, to support Sri Lankan adoptees in Switzerland in their search for biological origins.
Paid service
Asela’s Family Search Service
Support for adoptees of Sri Lankan origin searching for family
Asela’s Family Search Service is a Sri Lanka-based search service run by Asela Aranga, helping internationally adopted people from Sri Lanka to find their biological families.
Ethiopia
Paid service
Beteseb Felega (Ethiopian Adoption Connection)
A US-based organisation supporting Ethiopian adoptees in searching for their biological families in Ethiopia, providing practical search assistance, contacts and resources.
Paid service
Ethiopian Family Search
Ethiopian Family Search is an organisation dedicated to helping Ethiopian adoptees find their biological families in Ethiopia, providing practical search assistance, DNA support and on-the-ground contacts.
Chile
Association
Chilean Adoptees Worldwide (CAW)
Chilean Adoptees Worldwide supports adoptees in searching for their origins, advocates for state recognition of adoption abuses in Chile, and campaigns for legal remedies and reparations. Essential for Chilean adoptees or their families seeking to understand or challenge the conditions of their adoption.
Russia
Association
Russian Roots
Russian Roots is a bilingual French-English organisation providing resources and support for people adopted from Russia and other former Soviet countries, navigating origin searches and the specific challenges of Russian adoption including closed records, political barriers and the complexity of cross-national searches.
Haïti
Association
Plan Kiskeya
Haitian organisation working on family tracing
A Haitian organisation supporting Haitian adoptees and working for reunification with biological families. It provides on-the-ground support in Haiti for adoptees searching for their origins.
Association
Voie d’espoir
A French association working with Haitian adoptees and their families, providing support around the specific issues of Haitian adoption in France: access to origins, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake adoptions.
DNA testing
In France, civilian DNA testing for genealogical purposes is prohibited (Article 16-10 of the Civil Code). Tests must be ordered through a French laboratory for medical or legal purposes only. Sending a DNA kit abroad (23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage) is technically illegal for French residents, though enforcement is effectively nil.
Many French adoptees choose to test through a family member in another country, or use a Belgian or Swiss address.
DNA
Paid
International
MyHeritageDNA
Large European database. Strongest coverage for European and Middle Eastern origins
MyHeritage has the largest DNA database in Europe and tends to be the strongest for people of European, Middle Eastern, and North African descent. Good complement to Ancestry for adoptees with unknown origins.
DNA
Paid
International
Ancestry DNA
Large Overall database. Best for North American and Western European
Ancestry has the largest DNA database in the world, making it the strongest for finding biological relatives. Essential if your biological family may have tested anywhere. Results can be uploaded to GEDmatch for cross-platform matching.
DNA
Paid
International
GEDmatch
Free cross-platform DNA matching · Upload results from any testing company
GEDmatch allows you to upload raw DNA data from any testing company and match against other users across platforms. Free tier available. Particularly useful for adoptees who have tested on multiple platforms and want to consolidate matches.
II. Accessing your file
You have the right to access your adoption file. In most countries this is guaranteed by law. The process varies by country, the type of adoption, and which body holds the record.
France
Institution
National Council for Access to Personal Ancestry (CNAOP)
French national body for access to origins.
For adoptees adopted through French channels, the CNAOP coordinates access to files held by various institutions. They can identify where your file is held and facilitate its transfer to you. The process can be long (months to over a year) but is the official route.
Institution
Mission de l’Adoption Internationale (MAI)
French national body for access to origins.
It holds archives on adoptions carried out through French accredited agencies and can, in some cases, facilitate access to information contained in adoption files. It is a useful first point of contact for adoptees trying to identify which body holds their file and how to access it.
Independent
Commission on Access to Administrative Documents (CADA)
French independent body for access to administrative documents
If a French administration refuses to communicate your file, you can file a complaint with the CADA. This body rules on the legality of refusals and can order communication of documents. Free process. Effective lever when institutions delay or refuse without legal basis.
Belgium
Institution
Steunpunt Adoptie
Belgian reference organisation for post-adoption support and file access
Steunpunt Adoptie is the Belgian reference organisation for post-adoption support, including guidance on how to access adoption files in Belgium. They also provide support for origin searches and have expertise in Belgian adoptions from multiple sending countries.
Netherlands
Institution
Fiom
Dutch expertise centre on origins and family tracing
Fiom is the Dutch expertise centre on questions of origins and family tracing. They assist adoptees who were adopted through Dutch channels and people born through anonymous birth laws. The Netherlands has relatively strong legal frameworks for access to origins.
United Kingdom
Institution
UK Adoption Records
Access to adoption records in England and Wales
In England and Wales, adopted adults have the right to access their original birth certificate and adoption file. The process is explained on GOV.UK. For intercountry adoptees, the process depends on what records were kept in the UK at the time of adoption.
United States
Organisation
Adoptees United
US-based advocacy organisation working to reform adoption law and practice in the United States. It campaigns namely for adoptee access to original birth certificates.
III. If your adoption was illegal or irregular
Illegal or irregular adoptions are not exceptional cases. They have been documented at scale in at least twenty sending countries. If you suspect your adoption involved falsification of documents, corruption, coercion of biological parents, or trafficking, you have legal options, even if the events occurred decades ago and in another country.
International
Association
Inter Country Adoptees Voices (ICAV)
Practical guides and legal frameworks by country
ICAV maintains a resource page specifically on illegal and irregular adoptions, with country-specific guidance and links to official inquiries. Useful to understand what has been documented in your country of origin and what legal avenues exist in your country of adoption.
Association
Against Child Trafficking (ACT)
International advocacy organisation that works to expose and combat child trafficking in intercountry adoption, providing legal support, documentation and advocacy for adoptees who discover they were victims of trafficking disguised as adoption.
France
Association
Illégalement Adopté Monde (IAM)
A French association for people who have discovered that their adoption was illegal or fraudulent, providing mutual support, legal information and collective advocacy. It represents adoptees whose experiences fall outside the framework of officially sanctioned adoption and who need specific resources to navigate the legal and emotional consequences of this discovery.
Association
International Network of Adopted People in France (RAIF)
A French association for people adopted internationally, created to advocate for their rights and provide mutual support. It works on access to origins, recognition of illicit adoption practices, and representation of adoptee voices in French political debates.
Association
Collective of French Adoptees in Mali (AFM)
French association for adoptees from Mali
The AFM was created by French adoptees of Malian origin to support each other and conduct searches. If you are of Malian origin and suspect your adoption was irregular or illegal, the AFM can support you in your search and connect you with other adoptees in the same situation.
Denmark
Association
Danish Korean Rights Group (DKRG)
A Danish organisation specifically advocating for the rights of Korean adoptees in Denmark, working on recognition of adoption abuses, accountability of Danish and Korean institutions, and the specific legal and political demands of Korean adoptees in the Nordic context.
Chile
Association
Chilean Adoptees Worldwide (CAW)
An NGO founded by and for Chilean adoptees who were adopted internationally, many of whom have discovered that their adoptions were illegal or obtained through fraudulent documents. The organisation advocates for state recognition of adoption abuses in Chile, and campaigns for legal remedies and reparations.
Colombia
Association
Alianzaca
Alianzaca is a Colombian adoptee-led organisation working for the rights of people adopted from Colombia, particularly around recognition of adoption fraud, access to origins and accountability of adoption agencies.
IV. If you were born under anonymous birth laws
France, Luxembourg, Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria are the very few countries that still allows anonymous birth, where a biological mother can give birth without disclosing her identity and relinquish parental rights entirely. Partial variants do exist in Germany and Switzerland.
If you were born under this system, your rights to origin information are real but procedurally specific. Support structures vary sharply and many countries offer little beyond a court process.
France
Institution
National Council for Access to Personal Ancestry (CNAOP)
The only body that can contact your biological mother on your behalf.
For adoptees adopted through French channels, the CNAOP coordinates access to files held by various institutions. They can identify where your file is held and facilitate its transfer to you. The process can be long (months to over a year) but is the official route.
Association
La Cigogne Anonyme
A a French support and advocacy organisation for people born under the French anonymity law (naissance sous X), founded and run by people directly concerned.
Association
Collectif des Né(e)s sous X d’Ici et d’Ailleurs
French collective for people born under the French anonymity law (naissance sous X), created and run by people directly concerned. It advocates for legislative reform, for greater access to origins, and for the recognition of the specific experience of people born under X in France.
Germany
Institution
Bundesamt für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben (BAFzA)
The central agency that maintains the records of origin (Herkunftsnachweis) for children born through confidential childbirth. Local counseling centers (Beratungsstellen) collect the mother’s identifying information in a sealed envelope and forward it to the BAFzA for secure storage.
V. Citizenship, deportation, and statelessness
A significant number of internationally adopted people and, primarily in the recent United States, were never properly naturalised by their adoptive parents and face deportation as adults to countries they have never known.
International
Association
Inter Country Adoptees Voices (ICAV)
Guides and advocacy resources on adoptee citizenship globally
ICAV documents cases of stateless and deported adoptees globally and maintains a resource page with guidance and links to legal support in multiple countries.
United States
Association
Adoptee Rights Law Center
US-focused legal centre for adoptee citizenship and deportation cases
The Adoptee Rights Law Center is the leading legal resource for intercountry adoptees facing citizenship issues, deportation, or statelessness, primarily in the US context. They provide legal assistance, advocacy, and public documentation of cases.
Association
Adoptees United
An adoptee-led advocacy organisation working to reform adoption law and practice in the United States. It campaigns for adoptee access to original birth certificates, DNA testing rights, citizenship protections for internationally adopted people without documentation, and the elimination of harmful adoption practices.
VI. Finding the right therapeutic support
Finding a therapist who truly understands adoption is genuinely difficult. Most mental health professionals have limited training in adoption-related trauma and many still hold outdated assumptions about it.
The resources below can help you find informed support and screen out uninformed practitioners. We have also started listing therapists who are themselves adoptees or have a proven record of understanding the adoptee experience.
VII. Finding your community
Peer support from people who have been through something similar is not a substitute for therapy but it is often what helps first. Knowing that others have felt what you feel, found language for it, and found ways to live with or through it, is its own form of healing.
We have gathered communities, collectives, and organisations where that kind of connection happens, spaces built by and for adoptees, across countries and languages.
VIII. Collective action and political advocacy
The reforms that have benefited adoptees in the last decade did not come from institutions spontaneously becoming more ethical. They came from adoptees: organising, documenting cases, demanding hearings, testifying before parliamentary committees, and refusing to accept silence. Collective action is both possible and effective.
What has been done
Sweden’s independent commission recommended ending international adoption.
Belgium’s parliament passed a resolution recognising illegal adoptions.
Switzerland commissioned a historical investigation into its adoption practices.
France produced its first historical report on illicit adoptions in 2023.
The Netherlands closed its international adoption programme in 2021.
South Korea launched a truth and reconciliation process in 2022, acknowledging decades of falsified documents, coerced relinquishments, and state-sanctioned child trafficking.
Australia issued a formal apology for its role in illegal intercountry adoptions.
Denmark opened an official inquiry into adoptions from South Korea and Colombia.
None of this happened without adoptee advocacy.
Association
Inter Country Adoptees Voices (ICAV)
Tools and documentation for engaging with institutions
ICAV has published multiple advocacy documents designed to be shared with politicians, journalists, and institutions. Their submissions to the Hague Conference on Private International Law are particularly useful for anyone engaging at a policy level.
Association
International Network of Adopted People in France (RAIF)
A French association for people adopted internationally, created to advocate for their rights and provide mutual support. It works on access to origins, recognition of illicit adoption practices, and representation of adoptee voices in French political debates.
Association
United States
Adoptees United
Adoptees United is a US-based adoptee-led advocacy organisation working to reform adoption law and practice in the United States.
Association
Adoptees for Justice (A4J)
A US adoptee advocacy organisation working on systemic reform of the adoption industry, including citizenship rights for deported adoptees, access to records, and accountability for adoption agencies.
Global Network
International Korean Adoptee Associations (IKAA)
The organisation connecting Korean adoptee associations worldwide, coordinating advocacy, cultural events and the triennial gathering of Korean adoptees.
Collective
Europe
Critical Adoptees Front Europe (C.A.F.E)
A European adoptee collective that approaches adoption from a critical and political perspective, challenging the dominant narratives of adoption as rescue and advocating for systemic reform.
Association
South Korea
Solidarity and Political Engagement of Adoptees in Korea (SPEAK)
An adoptee organisation based in South Korea, working to build political solidarity among the adoptee community and advocate for systemic change in Korean adoption policy.
Collective
France
Korean Adoptees’ Rights Collective (DAC)
A French collective advocating for the rights of Korean adoptees in France. It connects Korean adoptees in France and provides a political voice for their specific demands.
Collective
BIPOC Adoptees
A US-based organisation specifically for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who were adopted, providing community, peer support and advocacy centred on the racial dimensions of transracial adoption.
About this guide
THESE RESOURCES AND MANY MORE
This guide draws on a database of over 1,300 resources: associations, legal organisations, therapeutic support networks, peer communities, advocacy tools from Europe and beyond.
The resources listed here are a starting point, not an exhaustive list. If a link is broken, a resource has changed, or something important is missing, please contact hello@adopteesguide.org
ON THE SYSTEM ITSELF
This guide focuses on switching from theory to action. Another guide on Understanding International Adoption addresses the political, historical, economic, and colonial dimensions of international adoption.