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The law relating to children brought from abroad for the purposes of adoption
A recent High Court case, DD v AF [2026] EWHC 247 (Fam), has clearly set out how courts in England and Wales should deal with adoption applications where a child may have been brought to the UK unlawfully for the purposes of adoption. The case involved a 17-year-old girl from Nigeria. A British citizen claimed to have adopted the child in Nigeria, and later brought her to the UK. However, the court found serious inconsistencies in the evidence about the child’s background, the Nigerian adoption, and the reasons she came to the UK. The judge concluded that the girl had been brought to the UK for the purpose of adoption, in breach of section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. He refused to make an adoption order.
The judgment sets out a clear three-stage approach for these cases:
• First, does section 83 apply because the child was brought to the UK in prohibited circumstances?
• Second, if it does, does public policy mean the court should refuse the adoption order?
• Third, if not, is adoption in the child’s best interests pursuant to the usual welfare checklist?
The court also confirmed that there is no separate “most exceptional circumstances” test in these cases. Instead, the court must apply the statutory rules, consider public policy, and keep the child’s welfare as the paramount consideration.
Jeremy Ford, one of the partners here at Cambridge Family Law Practice, comments: “The legal rules for bringing a child to the UK for adoption are strict and are designed to protect children. If those rules are not followed, the court may refuse an adoption order, even where there is an existing relationship between the adult and the child.”