The High Court has ruled the strict restrictions on bringing children to the UK for adoption in Section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 do not apply to step-parent adoption.
The judgment was handed down by Mr Justice McDonald, sitting in the Family Division at the Royal Courts of Justice, following an application for an adoption order by the step-father of 19-year-old YB, who resided in a country outside the UK (country X). The application was submitted by YB’s stepfather, EB.
EB, a British citizen, divides his time between the UK and country X. He applied to adopt YB and her younger sibling QB in country X, and both applications were granted.
The family intended YB to accompany EB to the UK in order to study, with the family spending time in both countries. Following their arrival in the UK in September 2024, the family discovered the adoption order from country X was not recognised in the UK and YB was not entitled to a British passport. She returned to country X.
EB gave notice to his local authority of his intention to adopt YB in the UK, which the local authority supported, and issued an application prior to YB’s 18th birthday. During the case management stage, the court invited the secretary of state for education and the secretary of state for the home department to intervene, citing concerns related to the scope of s.83.
Mr Justice McDonald said he was satisfied that s.83 “should be interpreted in a manner that ensures that a person in the position of EB is not caught by those provisions,” and parliament had not intended it to do so.
He continued:
“In this case, the public policy reflected in s.83 of the 2002 Act is that of preventing harm to children arising out of international adoptions involving the exchange of money and the concomitant exploitation of women in disadvantaged and vulnerable socio-economic positions.”
There was no evidence that EB had acted in anything other than good faith when he entered the UK in September 2024, the judge said, and any breach of s.83 had been inadvertent.
The adoption order was made in respect of YB in favour of EB.
B v B and Ors (Section 83 ACA 2002 and Step-Parent Adoption) [2026] EWHC 97 (Fam)
