Dear Ms Powell, I am a Jamaican-born citizen of Canada. My sister died recently, leaving my niece. I would like to adopt my niece as currently, she is staying with a friend who I'm paying to keep her. Can you please guide me with the steps to adopt her and take her to Canada? How long would this take? Do I need a lawyer, or are there just online forms I can fill out? What documents will I need? - B.N. Dear B.N., I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your sister, and I commend you for taking steps to assist your niece. Inter-country adoption can sometimes be a challenging process as you will be required to work with government agencies in Canada and in Jamaica to get approved. While you do not need a lawyer to assist you in the process, I strongly recommend that you get one as the process is not a simple completion of online forms. As part of the application process, you will get an adoption order from the courts in Jamaica which state that you are the permanent parent ...
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