Determination of a child's parentage

General information

After the birth of a child, the question of the child’s descent/ parentage arises. This mostly concerns the determination of paternity. The motherhood of the child is ususally not a problem: The mother is the woman who gave birth to the child. However, in some cases the motherhood can be questioned; for example in the case of same-sex partnerships and surrogacy. If this applies to you, please contact the Embassy.

In international cases (e.g when the child is born abroad), the question of the applicable law must be clarified first. The law of the country in which the child has its “habitual residence” / domicile (at the time of birth and consecutive months) is applied. The term “habitual residence” is not defined by law, but is assumed to be a period of approximately 6 months. The legal basis is Art. 19 para. 1 EGBGB (“Introductory Law to the Civil Code”).

In ordert o establish parentage, one firstly has to determine the child’s habitual residence and whether this is in Germany or aborad.

Habitual residence of child in Germany

When a child is born in Germany, the determination of parentage depends on the martial status of the mother:

Habitual residence of child in Tanzania

It is important to first distinguish whether the child is habitually resident in Mainland-Tanzania or Zanzibar-Tanzania. Although Tanzania is a unified country, a distinction must always be made between mainland-Tanzania and Zanzibar-Tanzania in terms of legal application. Thus - among other things, different legal provisions are to be applied. and Minor differences exist and in Zanzibar the application of Islamic law ist he rule. However, overall with a view of the legal situation concerning both autonomous legal areas, the same result is reached:

If a child is born in Tanzania, in most cases no concrete distinction is made in determining parentage as to whether the parents were married at the time of the child's birth.
However, an implied distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children applies on the basis of only implied automatic parentage.

This is because: parentage from the parents must always be established by the courts, unless the parents are married to each other at the time of birth. The registration of the father or parents in a Tanzanian birth certificate is only an 'indication' of paternity/parentage, but not proof of parentage. Therefore, according to Tanzanian law you will always need to proof parentage by a court order (the court order is issued by the Juvenile court)!

Acknowledgment of paternity/ Consent of the mother

If the child’s parents are married at the time of birth of the child generally no acknowledgement of paternity is needed.

It is necessary to acknowledge paternity according to German law if

• The child is born or will be born out of wedlock and no Tanzanian court order is existent, or
• If the child is born or will be born out of wedlock in Germany and the father cannot come to the German registrar's office in person to acknowledge paternity.

An acknowledgement of paternity can be declared at the Embassy in Dar Es Salaam. It can be declared before the birth of the child. However, please note that should the pregnant German mother have her habitual residence in Germany, the acknowledgement of paternity will only enter into effect or rather become valid at the moment of birth and only if the child’s mother carries on resideing in Germany. This is because according to Art. 19 (1) S.1 of the German International private law (EGBGB) the acknowledgement of paternity can only be processed according to German law once it is establishes that the child has it’s habitual residence within Germany. A child’s habitual residence on the other hand can only be established the moment the child is born as according to a court order by the KG Berlin from 17.11.2020 the child in the womb does not yet have a habitual residence.
The acknowledgement of paternity requires the consent of the mother; her consent may either be given at the same time as the acknowledgement of paternity, or separately. A joint custody agreement can be declared together with the acknowledgement of paternity if required. Also this declaration only becomes valid, with the habitual residence oft he child being in Germany.

What Must I Do?

In order for the consular officer to prepare the notarization of the acknowledgement of paternity and/or consent of the mother, please get in touch via the contact form and upon receipt of our automated E-Mail please provide the following documents via E-Mail:

1. Birth certificate of the child or In case of prenatal acknowledgement of paternity a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy and the estimated due date
2. Birth certificates of both parents
3. Proof of marital status of the mother
4. Passports of the parents
5. In case of previous marriages: marriage certificates and divorce orders of previous marriages
   Note: If the mother was previously married, her divorce must be valid in Germany, see here

Note: Tanzanian birth and marriage certificates must always be submitted in the legalized form!

Not all possible cases and scenarios can be represented here. Further documentation might be necessary depending on the individual case.

In addition, the following information is required:

1. Full address of both parents (in Tanzania and/or Germany)
2. citizenships of the parents
3. marital status of the parents (single/married/divorced/widowed)
4. do you wish to make a declaration concerning shared custody as well at the same time (if so it will only become valid should the child have his/her habitual residence in Germany)
5. Are all persons appearing able to speak German? The acknowledgement of paternity will be drawn up in the German language. If either parent does not speak German, the content will be orally translated into English by the consular officer. You may bring your own interpretor or ask for a written translation, the costs of which would have to be born by you.

For notarizations of an acknowledgement of paternity and declarations of consent -irrespective whether a joint custody agreement is to be notarized at the same time or not-, a fee is charged.

German citizenship by descent from a German parent

You find information on acquiring German citizenship by descent from a German parent in our article “Am I a German citizen?”

Please take special notice of the regulations for children born from a German parent who was him-/herself born outside Germany after the 31st December 1999.

Registration of a child’s birth

If your child was born in Tanzania you have to register the birth with the local Tanzanian registry office (RITA).

Must the Birth of my Child be Registered?

Registering a birth with the German registry office is not obligatory, but might be necessary in cases where there are questions of legal parentage or name.

Attention:

You were born outside Germany after 31.12.1999? The birth of your child must be registered in the German birth register in order for the child to obtain German citizenship. The application needs to be filed within one year after the birth of your child. Read here

What is the Application Process?

The application can be launched through your German Mission and will then be forwarded to the registry office in Germany. If you previously resided in Germany, the registry office at your (last) place of residence is the competent authority. If you have never resided in Germany, your application will be forwarded to the Registry Office I in Berlin, whose processing time currently takes between 3 and 4 years.

How to Apply

• Please contact us by contact form/e-mail and forward the documents listed below as well as the the digitally completed pdf application form (not signed!) as soon as you have received our automated E-Mail in advance as a scan.

  Should all documents be complete, an appointment to launch the application can be provided. Attention: A birth registration cannot be done at the counter during normal opening hours, but needs to be prepared in advance by a Consular Officer. Therefore, a special appointment is needed. Do not use our online appointment booking system.

• If a name declaration is necessary, it can be done with the application for birth registration. In that case, both parents and children 14 years and older must appear in person to apply.

• Bring all documents and certificate listed below in the original and Tanzanian documents with legalization. The copies will be certified at the German Mission and the originals immediately returned to you.

• All Tanzanian documents must be legalised

• All documents that are not in German or English must be furnished with a German translation. Note that the registry office might also ask for German translations of English documents.
  

• Information concerning data protection with regard to the processing of your application can be found here.

Note: Not all possible cases and scenarios can be represented here. Additional documentation might be requested depending on your specific case.

Fee Charged by the Registry Office

The registry offices' fees differ from one federal state to another. The Registry Office I in Berlin will likely charge the following:

Registration of a birth 80,- Euro, increased by 80,- Euro if foreign law is to be observed in your specific case. The issuing of one birth certificate will be 12,- Euro. The application will only be processed once payment has been received. You will be notified by email about the exact amount and the banking details.

Depending on the case more documents can become necessary or may subsequently be requested by the relevant register office (Standesamt) in Germany. It is recommended to contact the competent registrar beforehand in order to find out more about the local requirements.

Processing times

Please note that we cannot predict how long this process will take. Processing times may vary considerably depending on the complexity of the case and the individual registrar’s office and might amount to a few years.

Reordering a birth certificate from Germany

If you are born in Germany and have lost your birth certificate, you can apply for a new one directly at the responsible registry of births, deaths and marriages in Germany. For further information see:

Getting civil status certificates from Germany

Determination of child custody

Child custody in international cases

After clarifying the question of a newborn child's parentage, it is important to determine who has parental custody for the child.

In international cases (e.g when the child is born abroad), the question of the applicable law must be clarified first. The law of the country in which the child has its “habitual residence” / domicile (at the time of birth and consecutive months) is applied. The term “habitual residence” is not defined by law, but is assumed to be a period of approximately 6 months. The legal basis is Art. 16 of the Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

In ordert o clarify who bears legal custoy of a child one needs to establish in which country the child habitually resides.

Habitual residence of child in Germany

If a child is born in Germany, the determination of who has custody for the child depends on the marital status of the parents:

Habitual residence of child in Tanzania

If a child is born in Tanzania, the determination of who has custody for the child depends on the marital status of the parents:

Change of habitual residence of child

Please note that the change of habitual residence of a child may have an effect on the matter of custody!

Example 1:

A child is born in Germany. The parents are not married, but the father acknowledged his paternity and is consequently named as father in the child's birth certificate. Because the parents never gave a declaration of joint custody, the mother has sole custody for the child. She now relocates to Zanzibar-Tanzania with the child. Due to the change of habitual residence of the child, Zanzibar-Tanzanian law is now applicable on the question of determination of child custody. According to Zanzibar-Tanzanian law, both parents have joint custody for the child. Therefore, the relocation from Germany to Zanzibar-Tanzania established the father's custody for the child - even if the father is still in Germany! To regain sole custody, the mother has to get a Family Law Court decision from the competent Tanzanian court.

Example 2:

A child is born in Zanzibar-Tanzania and has his/her habitual residence in Zanzibar. Acknowledgement of paternity as well as consent oft he mother have been notarised and the parents are registered in the Tanzanian as well as German birth certificate. Both parents have shared custody oft he child. If the child moves to Germany the established shared custody for both parents will remain and can only be revoked by a court order.

Application form and data protection information