Germany

In Germany, civil registry officials are required to report those who are subject to deportation, breach geographic restrictions, or who have irregular status to immigration authorities. This puts parents at risk if they register their child, and leaves their child at risk of statelessness if they go unregistered. In response to this barrier, a migrant rights organisation began retrieving the birth certificates in the parents’ stead, to shield families from potential deportation. In 2014 the CRC urged Germany to exempt civil registry officials from reporting obligations as it had done for educational staff as of 2011. In 2022 the CRC again recommended that parents without regular residence status who register the births of their children are not reported to migration authorities.