Filenews 28 January 2026 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
A bill discussed today in the Legal Committee of the Parliament changes the data with adoptions, modernizes the framework on the basis of the regime that applies in Europe and takes into account only the best interests of the child.
According to its provisions, as explained by the representative of the Social Welfare Services, the placement of a child by private arrangement is abolished as was the case until today. As he explained, today a natural mother can give birth to a child and simply informs the Services that she will give it to such and such a couple. " We as Services receive a phone call from a family stating that this child has been found in our way and we want to adopt him. In most cases there is no relationship between mother and adoptive parents, but there are mediators," he said.
As the senior officer of the SWS pointed out, we are one of the few countries that allow private adoption and it is considered that this is a violation of the rights of the child. At the same time, the bill gives the possibility for the issuance of two types of adoption decrees, namely full care and simple adoption. It allows under certain conditions the communication between the natural parent and the child. Registries are created for prospective parents and for children for adoption, while interstate adoption is also regulated.
The Adoption Advisory Committee is also established and compulsory education is introduced in programs for prospective parents and caregivers. A minimum and maximum difference between a child and an adoptive parent is also determined. Today the legislation only sets a minimum threshold that someone can adopt a child, at the age of 21. The maximum is 68 years old and he will be able to adopt a child 18 years old and over, he will not be able to receive an infant.
The bill was welcomed by all the organizations involved in the issue. The president of the Cyprus Confederation of Organizations of the Disabled, Themis Anthopoulou, said that with the existing framework, people with disabilities were not given the opportunity to become foster parents. "I am a mother with a disability and I am raising a two-year-old child, I did not adopt him, but I am doing fine. It must be clear, he said, that people with disabilities under certain conditions are entitled to adopt.
An officer of the SWS, a member of the Equality union, said that the problem is who will implement the legislation, because there is no staff, which is why the Services must be properly staffed. According to her, we now have two officers for the whole of Nicosia on this issue. He also said that the criteria for evaluating the parental role are not defined. On behalf of the Pancyprian Association of Psychologists, concern was expressed about who evaluates and how the best interests of the child are determined.
In her statements, after the meeting of the Committee, DISY MP Fotini Tsiridou stated that with the bill Cyprus will be in line with European tactics and European legislation on the issue of adoptions. "Today, unfortunately, we do not have a framework that fully protects the best interests of the child," he said, giving as an example that today the direct agreement of a mother with a couple is not prohibited, while with the new framework it will be prohibited, since the focus will be on the best interests of the child, who is the right family with criteria and specifications.
For his part, the MP of ELAM, Sotiris Ioannou, raised the dimension of the need "for every child to grow up with a mother and father in a normal and correct environment".
As he said, through the bill, gaps are left for the adoption of children by same-sex couples. "Any attempt to get this through the back door will find us opposed," he said. As an example, he said that it is provided that a man and a woman couple who have entered into a marriage or civil partnership in the last three years have the right to adoption and wondered what will happen if a person changes gender afterwards. He also said that "men can go to Greece, which approved the legislation for the adoption of same-sex couples, to adopt and we will recognize it. We are against these practices," he said, adding that each political space must express its positions.
