Adoption not recognized – he has been waiting for his son for eight years

Eight years ago, Oldenburg bus driver Jasbir Singh Dhot and his wife adopted a baby in India. To this day, the authorities do not recognize this adoption and the family has to live apart.

A fully furnished children's room has been waiting for eight-year-old Anoopjot in Wahnbek for eight years. For eight years, Jasbir Singh Dhot has only seen his wife twice a year. And for eight years, the 59-year-old has not given up hope that his family can still live together.

He himself came to Germany 31 years ago. Many people in Oldenburg know him – Jasbir Singh Dhot has been a driver in the VWG city bus fleet for over ten years. His wife Charanjit has lived with him since 2003. "We always wanted children, but it didn't work out," he says. The couple was all the happier in 2014 when the chance arose to have a baby. “My nephew and his wife were unable to provide for another child and wanted to put him up for adoption. We wanted to accept it.” They adopted Anoopjot as soon as he was born, and since then the boy has been living with Dhot's wife and family in north-west India, 80 kilometers from the Pakistani border.

All requests denied

Contrary to what was planned, the couple has not yet been able to bring their son to Germany. In 2015, the youth welfare office had already inspected the apartment and the surrounding area in Wahnbek and classified it as suitable and forwarded the so-called home study report to the authorities in India and Germany. The Joint Central Adoption Office (GZA) in Hamburg nevertheless refused to recognize the adoption in 2017. Another application was rejected at the end of last year. The family court in Oldenburg and the higher regional court also rejected the recognition of the adoption. A court in India has already confirmed the adoption twice, in 2015 and again in 2017. However, the procedure there is not internationally recognized.

Patrick Katenhusen, specialist lawyer for criminal and migration law in Oldenburg, represents the Dhot family. "An option abroad must be recognized in Germany," he explains. That's what the Hague Adoption Agreement is for. The GZA in Hamburg is responsible, which in the Dhot case delayed the process of this recognition for years. The family then decided to choose another way of recognition via the family court. The fact that this attempt failed is also due to the inadequate translation of the files from India. “It has to be said that the Dhot family did everything right with the adoption. In India this is clearly documented.”

lonely father

Jasbir Singh Dhot is desperate. While he can see and speak to his family on video calls every day, visits to India are limited to twice a year at most. Even a tourist visa to visit Germany will not be approved for his son, he says. The 59-year-old seems very composed, but the stress of the arguments with the authorities and the loneliness in the apartment with an empty children's room are noticeable. “Anoopjot has been our son since he was born. He couldn't live a day without my wife. He would like to come to Germany,” says Jasbir Singh Dhot. He will not see his family again until November, when the next trip is planned. He doesn't really want to return to India permanently. "I've lived here in Germany for half my life," he says.

Small chance

At the beginning of this year, together with his lawyer, he submitted a constitutional complaint to the constitutional court in Karlsruhe, in which they referred to the protection of the family in the Basic Law. When and if the case can be heard, the court could not say at the request of our newspaper. The chances that the Dhot family will be able to live together in Germany in the near future are not very high.

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