In a late-night vote, the German Bundestag approved a bill aimed at stamping out fraudulent paternity acknowledgements that foreign nationals have used to secure residence permits. The law – passed on 12 June with support from the governing CDU/CSU-SPD coalition – empowers registry offices to demand DNA tests whenever “concrete indications” of abuse arise and obliges foreigners’ authorities to re-examine existing permits suspected of being based on fake paternity. Interior spokeswoman Daniela Ludwig (CDU) told MPs that up to 5,000 suspicious cases a year had been identified, often involving financially vulnerable German men paid to acknowledge children they had never met. Under the new § 1598a BGB, refusal to submit DNA may lead to automatic denial of residence rights for the child’s putative father and the foreign mother. For global-mobility practitioners the impact is twofold. First, corporate family-reunification cases will face stricter scrutiny: HR teams arranging residence permits for non-EU spouses must be prepared for longer processing times if the family includes a child with recently established paternity. Second, employees from visa-waiver countries who overstay and attempt to regularise their status via paternity may find the door firmly closed. The bill now moves to the Bundesrat, which is expected to let it pass next week. Implementation guidance for civil registrars will follow by 1 August, giving local offices time to train staff and secure contracts with accredited DNA laboratories. Companies should inform expatriates planning births in Germany to register parentage promptly and retain hospital records, as late acknowledgements will trigger automatic fraud screening under the new regime.
Source: Deutscher Bundestag
