Adoption in Mauritius: Who Can Adopt and How

Adoption in Mauritius is created by a court decision, not by a private handover of a child. The Code Civil Mauricien provides three legal forms—adoption simple, adoption plénière and legitimation by adoption—and each has different conditions and consequences. Domestic and intercountry cases also pass through different institutional checks.

Who may adopt under Mauritian law

For adoption simple, article 343 of the Code permits an application by a person over 30. That age condition does not apply to an adopter who is married and not judicially separated, although the spouse's consent is then required unless the spouse cannot express a decision; two spouses who are not judicially separated may also apply jointly. The ordinary age gap is 15 years, reduced to 10 for a spouse's child, but the Judge in Chambers may accept a smaller gap for proper reasons.

Adoption plénière is narrower: article 364 reserves it to two spouses applying jointly who are not judicially separated. This distinction answers a common source of confusion—a single person may potentially use adoption simple, but not adoption plénière. Eligibility still does not guarantee an order, because the judge must find that the proposed adoption serves the child's interests.

Consents required from parents and the child

Where legal filiation is established to both parents, article 349 normally requires both to consent. One parent's consent can suffice if the other has died, cannot express a decision or has lost parental authority; where filiation exists to only one parent, that parent gives consent. If no filiation is established, or the parents fall within the exceptional situations listed in article 350, the Judge in Chambers gives consent after hearing from the person actually caring for the child.

An adoptee over 15 must consent personally. The prospective adopter and those whose consent is required appear before the Judge in Chambers or a notary to record formal consent. A signed family note or spoken promise is therefore not the statutory act. The Code also gives the judge a limited power to overcome an abusive parental refusal where parental disengagement risks the child's health or morality.

The role of the child welfare authorities

The Adoption Unit of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare is Mauritius's Central Authority for intercountry adoption under the 1993 Hague Convention. The National Adoption Council must inquire into a non-citizen's proposed adoption of a Mauritian citizen before the court application. Those functions are safeguards against irregular placement, sale and trafficking; prospective adopters should approach the official unit before making cross-border commitments or paying intermediaries.

Domestic child-protection concerns may also require involvement by the Ministry's child-welfare services under the Children's Act 2020 framework. Adoption should not be treated as an informal solution to a temporary care crisis. The child's legal status, present carers, parental authority and any protective intervention must be identified before the appropriate route can be chosen.

Applying to the court for an adoption order

The Courts Act gives the Family Division of the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over Code Civil adoption actions. The Judge in Chambers investigates whether the statutory conditions are met and whether the adoption accords with the child's interests. The judge may impose a trial placement of up to six months if further observation is necessary, while the Ministère Public intervenes in status matters such as adoption and may appeal.

A useful first bundle contains recent civil-status certificates for the child, prospective adopter and relevant parents; proof of the present filiation; the formal consents or facts explaining why a consent cannot be obtained; and material about the child's current care. Where parentage itself is uncertain, the separate rules on establishing paternity may need attention before the adoption record can be analysed.

Assessment, reports and home visits

For a foreign child proposed to be adopted by a Mauritian citizen or a foreigner habitually resident in Mauritius, the Adoption Unit's published procedure includes a home study and psychological assessment. Its stated policy considers childless couples or a single person and asks whether the applicant is physically and mentally fit. That administrative policy concerns the intercountry route and should not be confused with the Civil Code conditions for each legal form of adoption.

Applicants should expect questions about household composition, accommodation, health, finances, criminal or child-protection history, motivation and the ability to meet a particular child's needs. Consistency matters: information provided to the foreign Central Authority, the Adoption Unit and the Supreme Court should not conflict. Records about the child's identity and history also require particular care because later access to accurate origins can be important.

Effect of an adoption order on status and inheritance

Under adoption simple, the adoptee remains part of the family of origin and keeps rights there, including inheritance rights. The adoptive link adds parental-authority, maintenance and succession consequences; article 361 gives the adoptee and descendants the same succession rights as a child in the adopter's family, subject to the Code's qualification concerning the adopter's ascendants. A serious-ground revocation is possible under article 363, but it ends effects only for the future.

Adoption plénière instead substitutes the adoptive filiation for the original filiation, while preserving marriage prohibitions based on blood relationship. The child receives the same rights and obligations in the adoptive family as a child born within marriage, and the order is irrevocable. These consequences explain why the form of adoption must be decided before papers are drafted, especially where existing filiation rights or an eventual succession are material.

Intercountry adoption considerations

Mauritius has been bound by the 1993 Hague Convention since January 1999. The Adoption Unit currently states that Mauritius has a cooperation framework with India and considers other origin countries individually. Its published sequence includes a written request, suitability assessments, State authorisation under article 346, processing in the country of origin and, after a foreign order, an attorney's application to the Supreme Court to make that order executory in Mauritius.

Recognition, nationality and immigration are separate steps. The citizenship route depends on the adopter's citizenship and the legally effective order; travel permission alone does not complete Mauritian recognition. Evidence from another country may also need authentication and translation. A reader preparing for the court stage may find the separate guide to evidence in Mauritian courts useful, while the chambers' family-law practice explains the advisory service available.

This article is general legal information for Mauritius, not legal advice. For advice on your situation, consult a barrister.