Since September 16, 2014, Vietnam has allowed the United States to process Hague Convention adoptions for children with special needs, aged five and older, and children in biological sibling groups through the U.S.–Vietnamese Special Adoption program. In January 2015, Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice’s Department of Adoptions (MOJ/DA) updated the criteria.

The MOJ/DA specified that children must be officially registered as “List 2” to be eligible for intercountry adoption. This means that a provincial Department of Justice has verified that the child lives in government child care facilities, has special needs, is age five or older, or is part of a biological sibling group. No child who is healthy and living outside an orphanage will be eligible for adoption. Health conditions that make children who are not “List 2” eligible for adoption on a case-by-case basis include disabilities, life threatening diseases, and HIV/AIDS.