Adopting my own illegitimate child (Section 7, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8552)

Section 7. Contents of the Petition.

4) If the adopter is married, the spouse shall be a co-petitioner for joint adoption except if:

       (b) if one spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child and the other spouse signified written consent thereto, or


Question:
If i am the adopter who is married to a German national and I seek to adopt my own illegitimate child and my German husband signifies written consent (biological father of my illegitimate child also signifies written consent due to unable to continue support), and the Phil family court grants decree of adoption;

1. am i going to exercise joint parental authority and responsibility with my German husband over my child?
2. in the same sense, will German government recognize my husband's parental authority over my child under the Hague Convention Act on Effects of Foreign adoption?

1. Your husband has to be your co-petitioner. He cannot be given parental authority over a child he does not adopt. He is only exempted from jointly adopting with you, because normally husband and wife MUST JOINTLY ADOPT. Just because he is exempted in the case of your illegitimate child does not mean he cannot adopt your illegitimate child.

2. It depends on the country. But the Hague Convention only speaks about inter-country adoption.

Might as well consult a lawyer who practices law in Germany because all your efforts will go to waste if Germany does not recognize the adoption decree obtained under the Domestic Adoption Act of the Philippines.

It would be safer to undergo inter-country adoption.

Thank you so much Attorney for the quick reply and information.
More power to you!!

Happened to a client who is a British subject. We went through the Domestic Adoption Act but in the end the British Embassy refused to recognize the adoption decree and denied the issuance of a British passport to the minor.

If that is your end goal, bringing the child to Germany, you have to make sure Germany recognizes foreign adoption decrees. If not your only choice is to go through inter-country adoption with your husband.

Hi Atty,

My end goal is to be able to apply for German citizenship for my child/apply for German passport while she is still a minor since German citizenship can be acquired through adoption by a German citizen while adoptee is still a minor. I don't have plans of bringing her to Germany to permanently reside. I just want her to have dual citizenship while still a minor. (My other illegitimate child has already dual citizenship - Fil/Aus, his father is Australian) and like the adoptee live with me in the Phils.

I've read in some forums that it is more economical to go through domestic adoption here. In the ICAB website, it says there intercountry adoption would cost us at least USD 3000

So after domestic adoption (joint as you have adviced), our plan is for my German husband, by writing directly to the competent district court, apply for the adoption to be formally recognised by the competent court in Germany under the German "Act on the Effects of the Adoption" "*Anerkennungsverfahren nach dem Adoptionswirkungsgesetz - **(AdWirkG)" *which would lead to a decision if the adoption can be recognised for the German jurisdiction.  

And once the court has taken the decision that the adoption is recognised under German law, then we will apply for a passport at German embassy here in Manila.

The requirements for the application are pretty much the same as those for the domestic adoption only plus the Phil court decree.

By the way I am a Filipino citizen, and reside and work in the Philippines while my German husband is based in Germany. I have no plans of migrating to Germany in the next 10 years or so.  I just want my minor child to be legally adopted by my husband, here in and in Germany so she can get a German passport and can fly to Germany and other visa free countries anytime.

Thank you so much for taking some of your precious time to reply to my post.

Only someone who knows German Law can answer that. If you look beyond what I said the denial of the issuance of the passport is basically a NON-RECOGNITION of the minor as a citizen. Why would someone apply for a British passport if they were not a British subject?

You said the British Embassy refused to recognize the adoption decree.

Was it just the Phil court adoption decree?

Or the UK order that recognizes an adoption order made in any countries on the Designated List (where Phils is included) based on Adoption Order 2013?

No the UK requires a certification that the process underwent an inter-country adoption proceeding in accordance with the Hague Convention.

Under the Domestic Adoption Act the other state does not intervene. The entire process is done in the Philippines. That's why you have to make sure that Germany will recognize a foreign decree of adoption that did not undergo inter-country adoption under the Hague Convention.

Yes Atty. That is exactly what I will try to research on from this point.
Again thank you very much! and more power!