Recognition of the adoption of a child under 18 years of age from abroad

• Minority of the child The recognition procedure is only permitted if the child was not yet 18 years old at the time of the adoption. • Application You must submit a written, informal application to the competent Familiengericht (family court). The application must contain the following information: • Name, address, date of birth and nationality of the child and the adoptive parents • Date of the adoption

• Foreign adoption decision You must submit the foreign decision from which the adoption is to result. • Birth certificate of the child You must attach the child's birth certificate or a foundling certificate to your application. You must also provide information about the biological parents. • Consent of the biological parents to the adoption If no foundling certificate can be submitted, you must provide proof that the biological parents consented to the adoption in the foreign adoption proceedings. • Formal requirements The adoption decision, the birth certificate and the parental consent must be submitted as notarially certified copies of the original with an apostille (or legalization by the German embassy or German consulate), together with a translation connected to it by a sworn interpreter. • Origin and life history of the child Unless you are adopting a stepchild, meaning a child of your spouse, you must attach documents to your application showing information about the child's origin and life history before the adoption. • Social reports If social reports on the adopted child and on you personally were prepared before the adoption, you must enclose these with your application. • Suitability reports If suitability reports on you personally were prepared before the adoption, you must enclose these with your application. • Information on the adoption agency If a domestic or foreign adoption agency (Adoptionsvermittlungsstelle) was involved, information and evidence of its involvement, including address and internet address, must be submitted. • Personal statement You must attach a personal statement, signed by you, describing the course of the foreign adoption procedure and, unless this is a stepchild adoption, the circumstances of how the adopted child was selected. • Cost breakdown You should enclose a breakdown of all costs and/or payments made for the adoption procedure and name the respective recipients of payment. • Proof of marital status You must state your marital status. If, for example, you are married or in a registered civil partnership, you must submit a copy of the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate. • Proof of authorization to receive service of documents Parties to the proceedings who do not have their permanent residence in Germany should name, in writing, a person in Germany who is authorized to receive service of documents (Zustellungsbevollmächtigung) (for example, for the formal service of a court decision). This saves time and costs, since it makes a mutual legal assistance procedure for service abroad unnecessary. • Translations At least the essential foreign-language documents, such as the adoption decision, birth certificate and parental consent, must be translated into German by a sworn translator and formally bound together with the original document. Further translations may be requested later if needed. • Passports You must attach to your application copies of your passport, if applicable that of your co-adopting spouse, and of the child's passport.

• EUR 240.00 in court fees • possibly additional costs, e.g. for service of documents

• Adoptionswirkungsgesetz (AdWirkG) [Adoption Effects Act] § 1 Satz 2 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/adwirkg/__1.html • Adoptionswirkungsgesetz (AdWirkG) § 2 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/adwirkg/__2.html • Gesetz über Gerichtskosten in Familiensachen (FamGKG) [Act on Court Costs in Family Matters] KV-Nr. 1710 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/famgkg/anlage_1.html • Gesetz über das Verfahren in Familiensachen und in den Angelegenheiten der freiwilligen Gerichtsbarkeit (FamFG) [Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and Matters of Non-Contentious Jurisdiction] §§ 186-199 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/famfg/BJNR258700008.html#BJNR2587 • Gesetz über das Verfahren in Familiensachen und in den Angelegenheiten der freiwilligen Gerichtsbarkeit (FamFG) § 101 Nr. 1 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/famfg/__101.html • Adoptionswirkungsgesetz (AdWirkG) § 5 Abs. 1 www.gesetze-im-internet.de/adwirkg/__5.html

• Formal requirements www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/konsularinfo/internationa • FAQ on adoption www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/Themen/Familieinternational/Adopti • Information on adopting a child living abroad mbjs.brandenburg.de/kinder-und-jugend/adoption.html

The Amtsgericht Schöneberg (Familiengericht) [Schöneberg Local Court (Family Court)] has local and international jurisdiction if either the adopting parties or the child live within the court district of the Kammergericht [Higher Regional Court], or otherwise only if no other German family court has jurisdiction, because all these parties live abroad and at least one of them holds German citizenship.