back to questions ] Why are domicile, habitual residence and Indefinite Leave to Remain status important?

• Firstly, where a prospective adopter is not a British citizen they must have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK to be able to sponsor an entry clearance application for a child. Further information is available from the Home Office website. In addition, any prospective adopter’s eligibility to adopt a child from abroad will depend on their habitual residence and domicile status in the UK, regardless of their citizenship; this is because: To be able to adopt a child in the UK courts, at least one of the prospective adopters (or the prospective adopter in the case of a single person) must be domiciled in the UK or both of the prospective adopters adopting (or the prospective adopter in the case of a single person) must have been habitually resident in the UK for not less than one year ending with the date of their application. In the vast majority of cases, where a person has habitual residence status they would also have domicile status (please seek independent legal advice ...  more