If a child was wrongfully removed from Germany to another State Party to the Hague Child Abduction Convention or is being retained there, the holder of rights of custody who is seeking for the return of the child to Germany is not bound to apply directly to the competent court or to the Central Authority of the State where the child is currently present. The return application can be filed with the German Central Authority (the Federal Office of Justice). This Office will then assist the parent or other holder of rights of custody in the return proceedings. The same applies where a parent living in Germany is seeking contact with his or her child living abroad.
If the application is filed with the Federal Office of Justice, as a rule it has to be submitted in German and in the language of the requested State. While there exists no mandatory application form, it is nevertheless recommended to use the internationally standardised model form. It contains all information required for the processing of a return application and therefore speeds up the treatment of applications.
Moreover, forms for access/contact applications under the 1980 Hague Convention and for applications under the European Custody Convention are available. They have also been largely internationally unified, and their use is therefore recommended.
Where a child was removed to Germany from another State Party to the Hague Child Abduction Convention or is being retained here, or where a parent living abroad or another person is seeking contact with a child living in Germany, the application can be filed with the foreign Central Authority, with the Federal Office of Justice as the German Central Authority or directly with the competent German court. An application in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation into German including the attachments.
| Information leaflet (German) (PDF, 117KB, File meets accessibility standards) |
Forms for applications under both Conventions can be obtained from the Federal Office of Justice in several languages. They can also be downloaded here as pdf files.
Forms for download
| Application for legal aid 2017 with instructions for filling in the form (German) |