Approval from the Foreigners' office: What does the new law stipulate?
The core of the planned law is a new review procedure for recognizing paternity when this has an impact on the right of residence. In certain cases, paternity will only be legally valid in future if the responsible Foreigners' office has given its Foreigners' office approval.
Such consent is always required if there is a so-called"residence status disparity"between the parents of a child. This is the case, for example, if one parent—often the father—has German citizenship or a secure Residence permit , while the other parent—often the mother—does not have an independent right of residence in Germany.
The Foreigners' office then examine whether the acknowledgment of paternity may have been made abusively in order to obtain a right of residence. If the Foreigners' office does not give Foreigners' office consent, paternity is not considered to have been acknowledged. As a result, neither the mother nor the child can obtain a Residence permit social benefits derived from the father's status.
With this regulation, the federal government aims to prevent so-called "sham paternity."This refers to cases in which men with German citizenship or a secure Residence permit acknowledge Residence permit even though they are neither the biological father nor do they actually want to take responsibility for the child or build a family relationship.
This is intended to prevent the mere acknowledgment of paternity from being used to obtain a right of residence for the mother or child, even though there is actually no entitlement to this under residence law.
What does the Foreigners' office check?
Under the new procedure, the Foreigners' office checks whether there are any indications of abuse. In doing so, the authority focuses primarily on whether the father actually plays a role in the child's life or whether paternity is only recognized in order to obtain a right of residence for the child or the mother.
For example, it can be examined whether there is a genuine family relationship, whether the father is taking responsibility for the child, or whether there are special circumstances that, in the opinion of the authorities, could indicate abuse.
Exceptions in cases of biological paternity and existing family ties
However, not every recognition will require the approval of the Foreigners' office in future. Exceptions include cases where abuse can be ruled out from the outset.
This is the case, for example, if it is clearly established that the man is the biological father of the child, for example through a genetic test. Even if there is a social relationship between the father and the child or if the father actually takes responsibility for the child, this can be Foreigners' office important indication for the Foreigners' office . In such cases Foreigners' office the Foreigners' office should review Foreigners' office , but usually grant approval quickly.
Approval from the Foreigners' office also not necessary if at least one of the following points applies:
- The parents married after the birth of the child and the marriage is registered in a German registry.
- There is already a sibling who has the same man listed as the father in a German birth register.
- The parents have been living together at their shared primary residence for at least 18 months and have reported and confirmed this accordingly.
According to the federal government, the new regulation is intended to ensure that genuine and active family relationships are not unnecessarily complicated.
Background: How has paternity been recognized up to now?
The recognition of paternity is deliberately kept simple in German family law. A man can acknowledge paternity, the mother agrees, and both declarations are publicly certified—for example, at the youth welfare office, registry office, notary, or court. The original aim of this regulation was to simplify the process for mothers and children.
To prevent abuse, a so-called "preventive approach"was introduced in 2017: if the authority registering paternity notices concrete indications of abuse, it should stop the procedure and Foreigners' office the Foreigners' office . The latter should then check whether paternity is only being recognized in order to obtain a right of residence – and could refuse recognition.
Under the new law, the Foreigners' office will Foreigners' office automatically investigate certain situations, rather than only doing so when there is suspicion. For example, if only one parent Residence permit a secure Residence permit and the other does not.
Test procedures should be carried out quickly
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice, the planned abuse review by the Foreigners' office carried out swiftly. Acknowledgments of paternity where there is no abuse should not be unnecessarily delayed.
The background to the reform is the federal government's assessment that the previous law was insufficient to effectively prevent abusive recognitions.
According to the draft law, tens of thousands of cases could be affected by the new regulation each year. Experts estimate that abusive recognitions have resulted in high costs in the past, for example for advance maintenance payments and other social benefits.
Abuse of the right of residence to be punished in future
In addition to consent, the new law also provides for subsequent checks by the Foreigners' office penalties for abuse.
This means that if it subsequently transpires that the approval of Foreigners' office was obtained Foreigners' office fraudulent misrepresentation, bribery, threats, or deliberately false information, it should be possible to revoke it.
In this case, paternity is legally considered as if it had never been recognized. Residence permit social benefits that were only granted because of this paternity can then be retroactively revoked.
In addition, fraudulent acknowledgment of paternity will be expressly punishable by law in future. This means that anyone who deliberately deceives or provides false information in order to obtain a right of residence through paternity is committing a criminal offense and also risks having their residence permit revoked .
Criticism from politicians
The draft bill was approved by the Federal Cabinet (i.e., the federal government) this week. The next step is for the bill to be debated and voted on in the Bundestag and Bundesrat. Only then will the new regulation officially come into force.
Criticism of the reform comes primarily from the opposition. Representatives of the Green Party warn that many international families would be placed under general suspicion. They point out that the number of actual cases of abuse has been comparatively low in recent years. According to their information, around 1,700 suspected cases were investigated nationwide between 2018 and 2021, only a fraction of which were classified as abusive.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, the federal government considers the reform necessary. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Justice, there are organized business models in which acknowledgments of paternity are specifically used to obtain Residence permit social benefits.
With the planned law, the federal government wants to crack down harder on the abuse of paternity acknowledgements. In future, immigration authorities will, in certain cases, check earlier and more specifically whether an acknowledgment is based on a genuine family relationship or is only intended to obtain a right of residence or social benefits.
At the same time, responsible fathers and genuine families should not be disadvantaged. For this reason, exceptions are provided for, for example in cases of biological paternity or existing family relationships.
