The Ampel alliance aims to implement tougher measures against alleged fake fatherhood cases.
A stricter approach against surrogate fatherhood is being taken by the traffic light coalition, as a draft law was approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday. Some German men falsely claim paternity over children they have no connection with for financial gain, allowing the child, mother, and potentially siblings to obtain German citizenship and access to social benefits. The justice and interior ministries want to introduce a more stringent verification process through this legislation. Recognizing a child will no longer be possible without foreigners' office approval to prevent potential misuse.
Since January 2018 through December 2021, the foreigners' offices have processed 1,769 potential misuse cases, out of which approximately 290 were deemed to be misuse of paternity recognition. Additionally, 1,800 cases were investigated by German embassies abroad. The ministries suspect a high number of undetected cases of surrogate fatherhood.
Thus far, the paternity recognition process can be suspended if there are clear indications of misuse. However, according to the ministries, many of these cases go undetected. This is because the detection of misuse mainly falls on the organizations responsible for certifying paternity recognition, such as youth welfare offices or notaries, who struggle to access information relevant to misuse. This often leads to misuse cases being identified too late, making it impossible to correct a previously recognized paternity.
