Illegal adoption

‘Illegal adoption’ refers to the unlawful placement or transfer of a child for permanent placement in a family in return for payment, without complying with the applicable legal procedures. In such cases, the focus is not on the welfare of the child, but solely on the financial or personal interests of third parties.  

EU Directive 2024/1712 officially recognises illegal adoption as a form of exploitation within the meaning of human trafficking. This obliges EU Member States to prosecute such cases. In Germany, this is punishable under Section 236 of the Criminal Code as ‘child trafficking’. The offence is particularly serious if it is committed commercially or if the child is physically or emotionally harmed.  

In most cases, official adoption procedures are circumvented by placing children in private procedures in return for payment, providing false information about their origin. Adoptive families sometimes unwittingly engage in illegal adoption procedures.  

Human traffickers often exploit the vulnerable situation of families of origin to pressure them into giving up or selling their children. Triggered by economic and social hardship, some children are deliberately brought into the world so that they can be put up for adoption.  

Indications of illegal adoption include circumventing official, legally regulated adoption procedures, falsifying family circumstances and ‘bringing’ children from another country.