On 10 December 2025 the German cabinet approved draft legislation aimed at stopping the growing practice of men recognising paternity – sometimes for payment – solely to secure residence rights for foreign mothers and children. Under the proposed law, a paternity acknowledgement in cases involving an "immigration differential" (e.g. the father holds German citizenship while the mother is undocumented) would only become valid with prior consent from the local foreigners’ authority.
Interior Ministry data suggest up to 65,000 such acknowledgements occur each year, costing the state hundreds of millions of euros in social benefits when the alleged fathers fail to pay child support. The bill introduces: • mandatory vetting by immigration offices; • new criminal offences for false statements or payments linked to paternity; • an exemption where biological paternity is proven or the parents have been co-habiting for 18 months.
![Cabinet backs bill to curb ‘sham-paternity’ residence fraud]()
Business relevance: HR departments hiring non-EU nationals on family-related grounds should anticipate stricter document checks and longer lead-times. Corporate mobility teams may need to counsel employees whose family-status paperwork is in process.
Next steps: The Bundestag will debate the text in January 2026, with entry into force targeted for mid-2026. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann applauded the move as “another building block of the migration turnaround,” signalling broad conservative support.
Interior Ministry data suggest up to 65,000 such acknowledgements occur each year, costing the state hundreds of millions of euros in social benefits when the alleged fathers fail to pay child support. The bill introduces: • mandatory vetting by immigration offices; • new criminal offences for false statements or payments linked to paternity; • an exemption where biological paternity is proven or the parents have been co-habiting for 18 months.
Business relevance: HR departments hiring non-EU nationals on family-related grounds should anticipate stricter document checks and longer lead-times. Corporate mobility teams may need to counsel employees whose family-status paperwork is in process.
Next steps: The Bundestag will debate the text in January 2026, with entry into force targeted for mid-2026. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann applauded the move as “another building block of the migration turnaround,” signalling broad conservative support.
Source: Bild / Bayerisches Landesportal
