👪 Adoption and foster care: special rules
In brief
Even if you take a child into your care for adoption or with the aim of adoption, you are in principle entitled to parental leave and parental allowance – the deadlines then usually run from the child's admission into your household instead of from the birth. Maternity protection in the narrower sense (protection periods before/after the birth) naturally concerns only the biological mother and does not apply to adoptive or foster parents in the same form. For foster parents without an intention to adopt (long-term foster care), partly different, narrower rules apply.
Step by step
- Document the admission dateHave the date the child was admitted into your household confirmed in writing (e.g. by the Jugendamt or adoption agency) – it is the starting point for most deadlines.
- Register parental leaveRegister parental leave under the same formal requirements as for biological children, but by reference to the admission date instead of the birth.
- Apply for parental allowanceApply for parental allowance at the responsible parental allowance office; submit proof of admission instead of the birth certificate.
- Check special rules for foster childrenFor long-term foster care without an intention to adopt, clarify with the Jugendamt and the parental allowance office to what extent parental leave and parental allowance apply, as different requirements may apply here.
Deadlines
- The exact requirements differ depending on whether an adoption has already been completed, an adoption is only being prepared (Adoptionspflege) or it is long-term foster care without an intention to adopt – in the last case the entitlement to parental leave and parental allowance is more limited. Get individual advice on this before making arrangements.
- Maternity protection periods in the narrower sense (6 weeks before / 8 weeks after the birth) are tied to delivery and do not apply to adoptive or foster parents; a separate "maternity protection" for them does not exist in the MuSchG in comparable form.
- For stepchild adoption or taking in a child of the partner, yet other rules may apply – here too, targeted advice is recommended.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Parental leave for adoption and foster care
§ 15 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG extends the parental leave entitlement to people who have taken a child into adoption foster care or with the aim of adoption, and under certain conditions to other carers within the meaning of § 1630 Abs. 3 BGB or § 1682 BGB. The period in which parental leave can be claimed is tied to the admission date instead of the due date, but at most until the child's eighth birthday.
Parental allowance for adoption and foster care
§ 1 Abs. 3 and 4 BEEG extends the group of people entitled to parental allowance accordingly to adoptive parents and people who have taken a child into full-time foster care with the intention to adopt; the months of entitlement are here generally calculated from the child's admission, not from its birth.
Long-term foster care without intention to adopt
For pure long-term foster care without an intention to adopt, the legal position is more complex and depends, among other things, on whether the carer holds (at least in part) parental care; in the individual case the Jugendamt or a foster child advice centre should be consulted on this.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.