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Procedure descriptions

Adoption of a foreign child - requesting the conversion of a weak adoption into a strong adoption

Have you adopted a child abroad?

If this adoption only has weak effects, you can have it converted into an adoption with strong effects in Germany.

Many countries only recognise adoption with weak effects.
This means that

  • the adopted child is not fully legally integrated into the adoptive family and
  • the legal ties to the family of origin are not completely severed.

Furthermore, the adopted child does not automatically receive German citizenship if one of the adopters is German.

Responsible department

  • for the district of the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe: the Local Court of Karlsruhe
  • for the district of the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart: the Local Court of Stuttgart

Details

Prerequisite

You have adopted a child abroad.

The court will pronounce the adoption with strong effect if

  • this is in the best interests of the child,
  • the necessary consent to an adoption with an effect terminating the parent-child relationship has been granted and
  • there are no overriding interests of the wife, husband or children of the adopter or the adopted child to the contrary.

Your adopted child then has all the rights and obligations of a natural child.
In addition, if they are under the age of 18 at the time of the application, they will receive German citizenship if you or your wife or husband are German citizens.

Procedure

You must submit a notarised application for conversion to the competent authority.

The court

  • examines the application and
  • involves the following during the proceedings
    • the adoption agency involved,
    • the local youth welfare office and
    • the central adoption centre of the state youth welfare office.

Deadlines

none

Required documents

  • notarised application for conversion of the adoption
  • foreign adoption decision and certificate
  • the declarations of consent of the biological parents, usually in notarised form
  • Social report from the foreign youth welfare office

As a rule, the competent authority will request further documents on the personal circumstances of the parties involved. Please submit these in good time.

Note: In most cases, foreign documents with over-certification are required,

  • by the competent foreign authority (apostille) or
  • Legalisation by the German diplomatic mission abroad.

Costs

The amount of the court and notary fees is based on the statutory provisions.

Miscellaneous

If necessary, please seek advice from a notary or lawyer.

Legal basis

Adoptionswirkungsgesetz (AdWirkG):

  • § 3 Umwandlungsausspruch
  • § 6 Zuständigkeit und Verfahren

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Justizministerium Baden-Württemberg, 18.06.2024

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