Parental Child Abductions
U.S. Citizen Services in Germany
Parental child abduction is a tragedy. When a child is abducted across international borders, the difficulties are compounded for everyone involved.
The Department of State considers international parental child abduction, as well as the welfare and protection of U.S. citizen children taken overseas, to be important, serious matters. We place the highest priority on the welfare of children who have been victimized by international abductions.
The Department of State's Office of Children's Issues (CA/OCS/CI) is designated to provide assistance to the left-behind parents of international parental child abduction:
- Office of Children's Issues
Toll Free Phone from within the U.S.: 1-888-407-4747 (8 a.m. - 8 p.m.)
Phone: (202) 736-9090
Adoption Office Fax: (202) 736-9080
Abduction Office Fax: (202) 736-9133 - To contact us by e-mail:
For international parental child abduction and adoption country-specific information:AskCI@state.gov.
Please refer to the country specific flyer for Germany if your child has been abducted to Germany.
The contact information for the German Central Authority is:
- Bundesamt für Justiz
-Zentrale Behörde -
Adenauerallee 99-103
53113 Bonn
Tel: +49-228-99-410 - 40
Fax:+49-228-99-410-5401 - E-mail: int.sorgerecht@bfj.bund.de
If the taking parent is not willing to return the child voluntarily, the German Central Authority can appoint an attorney to represent the left-behind parent in court hearings. These attorneys often have prior experience with Hague cases and generally have good command of the English language.
A list of lawyers specializing in Custody Issues can be found here (pdf 114kb)
Alternatively, parents may, if they desire, retain private German legal counsel and have their Hague application handled by their chosen attorney. Payment arrangements would then be made directly with your attorney. In these cases, it is important to let the USCA (U.S. Central Authority) and the GCA (German Central Authority) know of this decision.
The German Federal Government is extremely supportive of mediation programs to resolve international parental abduction cases. While courts cannot order cases into mediation, judges can and do strongly encourage mediated resolutions and can stay hearings to permit parties the time to mediate. In general, social workers, family lawyers, and judges not hearing the case can serve as mediators in their particular geographic region. Fees are normally based on hourly rates, but a sliding scale or negotiated rate is sometimes available. Costs can vary between 50 and 250 EUR per session (60 minutes).
The Bundes-Arbeitgemeinschaft für Familien-Mediation (BAFM) or the Federal Consortium for Family Mediation (http://www.bafm-mediation.de) is a privately-funded, countrywide mediation organization with a network of multi-lingual mediators in all 16 German states. The German Central Authority and the judge hearing the Hague case work together to identify cases that are potentially suitable for mediated resolutions and make recommendations accordingly. Participation in mediation is voluntary.
Another non-profit NGO which deals with mediation in cross-border child abduction, custody and visitation cases is MiKK-e.V. They are a joint project of BAFM and Bundesverband Mediation, and their network includes 70 specialized and experiences family mediators who are fluent in 17 languages. Please see their website at http://www.mikk-ev.de for more information.
If you are not certain which consular district is responsible in your case, please refer to
U.S. Citizen Services in Germany - Which Consulate Serves Your Area?
For more details please refer to the International Parental Child Abduction homepage on http://www.travel.state.gov/ .