The German Federal Cabinet approved a draft law on Thursday designed to address the issue of fraudulent paternity acknowledgments – a problem that has long preoccupied authorities.
Developed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, the law is not yet in force but is widely expected to be enacted following parliamentary approval.
Recognising paternity, or Vaterschaftsanerkennung in German, is the formal process by which a man declares he is the legal father of a child, usually when the parents are not married.
The stated aim of the draft law is to prevent situations where men – in exchange for payment – acknowledge paternity for the children of foreign women without any biological or social relationship. In doing so, they enable the mother and child to obtain residence permits and potentially access social benefits in Germany.
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While the government insists the law is necessary to combat organised fraud, critics warn it could subject international families to greater suspicion and bureaucratic hurdles, raising concerns about fairness and unintended consequences.
Official figures, cited by two Green Party members of parliament, indicate that only 1,769 suspected cases were identified in Germany between 2018 and 2021, with just 290 confirmed as abusive.
The draft law assumes that 65,000 cases per year could be affected, according to ARD.
A previous attempt to legislate against paternity fraud, which dates back to 2008, was overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court because of the hardship it would cause children, who could become stateless as a result. A second attempt at reform which required notaries and youth welfare offices to report suspected cases, proved to be ineffective.
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Who will be affected by the new law?
The draft law would introduce significant changes to the process of recognising paternity among unmarried couple in cases where there is a “residence status gap”. That is, when one parent has German citizenship or a secure residence permit, and the other does not.
In such cases, paternity recognition would only be effective after immigration authorities granted their approval.
Authorities would also be given the power to retroactively revoke granted approvals in cases where false information had been provided.
Additionally the law would introduce new criminal penalties for those found guilty of fraudulent paternity recognition.
To avoid undue hardship for genuine binational families, the draft law contains a number of exceptions.
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Approval from Germany’s immigration authorities would not be required if the couple can demonstrate they have lived together for at least 18 months, if they marry after the birth of the child, or if the man is the biological father of another child with the same woman.
But critics argue that international families may still face additional layers of investigation and suspicion as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the new rules.
Reactions and controversy
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Democrats (CSU) described the change as “absolutely necessary,” citing cases where individuals had recognised dozens of children to secure residence permits and social benefits.
However, opposition parties – particularly the Green Party – have voiced strong concerns.
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Migration expert Filiz Polat and legal expert Helge Limburg, both of the Greens, argued that the law “affects many international families and treats them with blanket mistrust.”
They highlighted that most families with a migration background would be placed under general suspicion and forced to prove their family ties, potentially leading to the unjust deprivation of legal parenthood for many children.
The Greens also pointed to the low number of confirmed abuse cases as evidence that the law is disproportionate and risks increasing false suspicions.
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