"The government focuses on identifying 'false fathers'."
Through false parentage confirmations, a significant number of families are granted residency in Germany each year. The federal government aims to tackle this issue more effectively. In the future, registrars will need to directly cooperate with foreign authorities.
The coalition government wants to crack down harder on "fake parentage": a draft law passed by the federal cabinet. German men, at times for money, confirm paternity with individuals they have no connection to. This allows the child to acquire German citizenship. The mother and, if applicable, siblings can then receive a residence permit and thus become eligible for social benefits in Germany.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the SPD and Liberal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann aim to introduce a more thorough review process with their proposed legislation. From now on, the confirmation of a child should not be possible without the approval of the foreigners' authorities in cases of suspected abuse.
"We're erecting a strong barrier to deception and legal exploitation to obtain a residence permit in Germany," said Faeser following the cabinet's decision. "Sham parentage has always been detrimental to the affected children. There is no tolerance for this. We must shield kids from being used by fraudulent fathers."
Justice Minister Buschmann reiterated, "We've discovered a solution to end the scheme of fake parents." A new process will be implemented to ensure that "fraudulent confirmations can be effectively detected and prevented."
Between January 2018 and December 2021, the Ministries of Justice and the Interior dealt with 1769 potential cases of abuse. Around 290 of these were deemed sham parentage confirmations. Another 1800 cases were investigated at Germany embassies overseas. Both ministries estimate that many cases of fake parentage remain undetected.
To date, the recognition process can be suspended if there are clear indications of abuse. However, these cases are not always recognized in a timely manner. This is due to the fact that the authorities responsible for confirming paternity are primarily those who manage paternity records, such as youth welfare offices or notaries. Consequently, misuse cases are often only identified too late. Once a paternity confirmation has been given, it cannot be retrospectively corrected.
Under the new proposal, the registry office would determine if a potential case of abuse is relevant to the foreigners' authorities. This would automatically be the case if the father and mother have different residency statuses, e.g., one has German citizenship, and the other only a tourist visa.
