Registry Office & Youth Welfare Office
If you want to get married or register a newborn child, you have to turn to the registry office. There, you can also have paternity recognized.
For questions regarding custody you have to contact the youth welfare office. This office is generally responsible for the well-being of children and young people.
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Registry Office & Youth Welfare Office
The “Standesamt” has various tasks, in particular the official marriage ceremony. If two people have a child, they must register the birth at this office. The relevant documents, i.e. the marriage certificate and the birth certificate, are then issued there.
There is a “Standesamt” in the city of Bamberg. In the district (“Landkreis”) of Bamberg each municipality also has its own “Standesamt”.
Rathaus Maxplatz
Maximiliansplatz 3
96047 Bamberg
0951 / 87 – 11 73
standesamt@stadt.bamberg.de
https://www.stadt.bamberg.de/Bürgerservice/Ämter-A-Z/Standesamt_/Standesamt-Bamberg/
Paternity & Custody
When a married couple has a child together, they will both be mentioned as parents in the birth certificate. Thereby, both of them automatically have custody of the child. This means that they can determine where the child lives, where it goes to school, how it is treated medically, etc.
Custody, however, also includes responsibilities and duties: You must actively look after the child and financially care for its livelihood.
If a woman has a child without being married, she is mentioned as the mother in the birth certificate and, thereby, automatically receives custody. If both parents want this, the registry office can also recognize the paternity (“Vaterschaft”) of the man.
The name of the man is then also entered into the birth certificate. Thereby, he is legally considered the father of the child. However, this does not automatically mean that he also has custody.
You can find more information on these topics here:
Youth Welfare Office ("Jugendamt")
If the parents of a child are not married and want to share custody, they must apply for joint custody (“gemeinsames Sorgerecht”). For this, they have to turn to the “Jugendamt”:
Promenadestraße 2a
96047 Bamberg
Sachgebietsleitung
0951 / 87 – 15 36
The “Jugendamt” also has many other responsibilities: mainly help, support and protection for children and young people.
Here you find the relevant offices of the city of Bamberg and the district of Bamberg:
Promenadestraße 2a
96047 Bamberg
0951 / 87 – 15 31
jugendamt@stadt.bamberg.de
https://www.stadt.bamberg.de/Bürgerservice/Ämter/Stadtjugendamt/
Ludwigstraße 23
0951 / 85 – 5 47
https://www.landkreis-bamberg.de/Leben/Jugend-Familie-und-Senioren/Jugend-und-Familie/
Paternity as a Reason to Stay
If a man wants to receive permission to stay in Germany because his own child lives here permanently, this will only be possible under certain conditions: he must be recognized as the father and must have custody (usually together with the mother). In addition, he must actually take care of the child.
