Adoption of a Minor in Greece – Legal Preconditions According to the Civil Code

20 Mar Adoption of a Minor in Greece – Legal Preconditions According to the Civil Code

Introduction: The adoption of a minor is a legal procedure through which a child (the adoptee) is legally severed from their natural family and fully integrated into the family of the adoptive parents. In Greece, the institution of adoption is governed by the Civil Code, in articles 1542–1588. According to article 1542 CC, adoption is permitted only when the adoptee is a minor, with the sole exception of special cases of adult adoption (article 1579 CC). Moreover, the adoption must aim at the interest of the adoptee, that is, primarily serve the well-being of the child. The following is a detailed presentation of the legal preconditions and the procedure of adopting a minor, as stipulated in the Civil Code, with precise references to the relevant articles.

Preconditions for Adoptive Parents (Adopters)

The law sets specific criteria that prospective adoptive parents (those wishing to adopt) must meet:

• Capacity to transact: The prospective adoptive parent must be fully capable of transacting (an adult and legally capable of entering into valid transactions). Therefore, if someone is under judicial support that limits their transactional capacity, they cannot adopt.
• Age limit of the adoptive parent: The adopter must have completed their 30th year of age and not exceed their 60th year (article 1543 CC). That is, adoption is permitted by individuals aged 30 to 60 years. An exception to the minimum age limit (30 years) exists in the case where the prospective adoptive parent is the spouse of the natural parent of the child – then the court may allow the adoption even if the adoptive parent is under 30 (see article 1544 para. 3). Note that for adult adoption (article 1579 CC), different age limits are set, but here we examine exclusively the adoption of minors.
• Age difference with the child: The adoptive parent must be at least 18 years older than the minor they intend to adopt, and at most 50 years older (article 1544 CC). This age difference framework (minimum and maximum difference) has been set to ensure that the adoptive parent is in an appropriate age relationship with the child (neither too young nor too old in relation to the child). Exceptions: (a) The restriction of the maximum age difference (50 years) does not apply when the adoption is by the two spouses together – in this case, it is sufficient that one of the two does not exceed the limit (see article 1545 para. 2 CC). (b) If it concerns the adoption of a spouse’s child (i.e., one spouse adopts the natural child of the other, e.g., in a second marriage) or if there is another significant reason, the court may allow the adoption with a smaller age difference, provided however that the difference remains at least 15 years (article 1544 para. 3).
• Adoption by married individuals and spouse’s consent: If the prospective adoptive parent is married, the consent of their spouse is required to proceed with the adoption (article 1546 CC). This consent is given in person in court during the process. If the spouse of the prospective adoptive parent cannot attend (e.g., is abroad), they can give their consent before a notary, which is submitted to the court. In exceptional cases, if providing this consent is impossible for legal or factual reasons or if the spouses are separated and a divorce lawsuit is pending, the court may allow the adoption without the spouse’s consent (article 1546).
• Joint adoption (couple of spouses): According to the law, only spouses can adopt the same child jointly. Joint adoption by two individuals who are not married to each other is not permitted. In the case of a couple, as mentioned, it is sufficient that one of the two spouses meets the age limits of articles 1543–1544 (i.e., one is 30–60 years old and within the age difference limits with the child) – it is not required to cumulatively meet these conditions in both (article 1545 para. 2).

Other Restrictions and Preconditions for Adoption

The Civil Code also sets some additional rules to avoid legal problems or conflicts around the adoption of minors:

• One adoptive parent at a time: It is not permitted for a minor to be adopted simultaneously by more than one adoptive parent, unless it concerns spouses adopting jointly (article 1545 para. 1 ed. a’). That is, a child cannot have two separate adoptive parents who are not married to each other.
• Uniqueness of adoption: Also, it is not allowed to adopt a person who has already been adopted by another and the adoption is still in effect (article 1545 para. 1 ed. b’). This means that a second adoption of the same child cannot take place as long as the first adoption is ongoing. Exception: if one spouse has already adopted a child alone, the other spouse can also subsequently adopt the same child (successive adoption by the spouse of the initial adoptive parent). This case is considered an extension of the initial adoption to the married couple and is expressly permitted (article 1545 para. 1).
• Multiple adoptions by the same parent: The law allows a person to adopt more than one child. The adoption can concern several minors either with a single judicial decision or successively with separate procedures (article 1547 CC). There is no numerical limit as to how many children someone can adopt, provided that the legal preconditions are met each time and it is deemed to serve the interest of the children.
• Prohibition of conditions or terms: The adoption cannot be subject to a condition or term. That is, there is no such thing as “conditional adoption” or temporary adoption – every adoption is final and it is impermissible to depend on a future event (article 1548 CC).

Procedure for Adopting a Minor: Application and Judicial Decision

The adoption of a minor is completed only with a judicial decision (article 1549 CC). The process begins with an application (lawsuit) of the prospective adoptive parent to the competent court (usually the Single-Member Court of First Instance). The court examines whether all legal preconditions are met and whether the adoption will serve the interest of the child.

During the discussion of the application in court, all persons whose consent is required by law must be present and give their consent. Specifically, they must give their consent in front of the court:

• The prospective adoptive parent, i.e., the one applying to adopt (article 1549 ed. b’ CC). Their presence in court and the explicit statement that they wish to adopt the specific child are necessary for a decision on adoption to be issued.
• The spouse of the adoptive parent, if the adopter is married (article 1546 CC). As mentioned, without this consent, the process does not proceed, unless the court considers it unfeasible or unnecessary for a serious reason.
• The natural parents of the minor to be adopted or their legal representative: According to article 1550 CC, to proceed with the adoption, the consent of the child’s parents is required in court. If one parent has been deprived of parental care (according to article 1537 CC) or is under judicial support that removes their capacity to consent, the consent of the other parent is sufficient. If the child has no parents (e.g., is an orphan) or the parents are unknown, then the consent is given by the guardian (custodian) of the child, with permission from the supervisory council (i.e., with permission from the competent social service or judicial authority overseeing the guardianship).
• The minor child (adoptee) themselves, if they have completed their 12th year of age (article 1555 CC). In cases where the child is 12 years old and older, they must also personally consent in court that they wish to be adopted by the specific adoptive parent. If the child is in a mental or intellectual disorder that makes it impossible to form a corresponding will, their consent can be omitted. In every case, even for younger children under 12, the court is obliged to hear the child’s opinion according to their maturity (article 1555 ed. b’), in order to take their wishes and feelings into account.

In addition to the above key persons, the law also provides for the hearing of some other persons as part of the process: If the adoptive parent already has other children, the court is obliged to also hear their opinion (article 1556 CC), depending on their age and maturity, given that the adoption will change the composition of the family and directly affects any biological or already adopted children of the adopting party. Also, in special cases where the natural parents’ consent does not exist (see below), the court may request to hear the closest relatives of the child, if this is feasible (article 1553 CC). The hearing of relatives is mainly applied when the parents are unable to consent and the adoption solution is examined without them – the opinion of close relatives (e.g., grandparents, adult siblings of the child, etc.) can be useful to the court before deciding.

Timing and Method of Granting Parents’ Consent

The consent of biological parents has certain safeguards in the law. Firstly, parents are not allowed to give consent for adoption before at least 3 months have passed since the birth of the child (article 1551 CC). This provision exists to prevent decisions made in the heat of the moment immediately after childbirth – parents must have a minimum time margin before deciding to consent to adoption, so their decision is more mature.

Secondly, the consent of the parents (or the guardian) is given in person in court during the discussion of the adoption application. However, if the child is under the protection of a competent social service or recognized organization (e.g., in an institution or hospitality structure) and the biological parents/guardian consent to the adoption, their consent is considered valid even if they do not know who the prospective adoptive parent is (article 1550 para. 2 CC). That is, the law allows for so-called “anonymous consent” through the service: the parents can give their consent for their child to be adopted, trusting the social service to select suitable adoptive parents, without identifying the adoptive parents themselves. This facilitates the protection of privacy and the placement process of the child.

Thirdly, the parents or guardian can, if the conditions are met, give general pre-approval/authorization for future adoption (article 1554 CC). What does this mean? It means that in court they can declare that they provide the competent social service or organization caring for the child with general authorization to initiate the adoption process of the child by suitable adoptive parents of its choice. Essentially, this is a prior consent from the biological parents that the child may be given for adoption, without requiring their new appearance when the adoptive parents are found. This general consent can, however, be revoked with a new statement in court, provided the revocation is notified to the service before it submits the adoption application to the court. In other words, the biological parents have the right to change their mind after a general authorization, but not when the adoption has already reached the final straight (submission of the application to the court).

Judicial Substitution of Parents’ Consent (article 1552 CC)

There are cases where the biological parents cannot or do not want to give their consent for adoption, although it is deemed necessary for the child. Article 1552 CC explicitly provides that the consent of the parents can be substituted with a court decision (i.e., the court can proceed with the adoption without the parents’ consent), but only if one of the following cases applies:

• Unknown or abandoned parents: The parents of the child are unknown, or the child has been found exposed (abandoned without known parents).
• Parental incapacity: Both parents have been deprived of the parental care of the child (e.g., custody was judicially removed due to mistreatment, article 1537 CC) or are in a state of judicial support (due to mental illness, disability, etc.) that removes their capacity to consent to adoption. That is, the parents legally cannot decide.
• Unknown residence of parents: The parents have abandoned the child or it is not known where they are (of unknown residence), so it is impossible to obtain their consent.
• Unjustified refusal in an institutional case: The child is already under the protection of a recognized social organization (e.g., an institution, hospitality structure) and the parents have been deprived of the care of the child (based on articles 1532 and 1533 CC, due to dangerous or negligent behavior). If in this case the biological parents unjustifiably refuse to consent to the adoption, the court may proceed despite their refusal. In short, when the parents have already been deemed unsuitable and the child is in a care organization, they cannot abusively block the adoption.
• Child in a foster family with the purpose of adoption: If the child has been delivered by the parents with their consent to a family for upbringing with the purpose of adoption (e.g., foster care) and has remained in that family for at least one year, but subsequently the biological parents turn around and abusively refuse to consent, the court can proceed with the adoption despite the change in the parents’ stance. Here, the child who has already formed bonds with the prospective adoptive family after a significant period is protected. Additionally, if the child is under guardianship (custody) from a social organization and the guardian unjustifiably refuses to consent to the adoption, the court can also substitute the guardian’s consent (article 1552 para. 2).

In the above cases, where the court examines proceeding without the consent of the parents or the guardian, it mandatorily takes into account the opinion of the closest relatives of the child (article 1553 CC), if they are known and can be located. The hearing of relatives (e.g., grandmothers, grandfathers) helps the court form a more complete picture of the child’s interest and whether there are possibly other solutions within the family.

Social Investigation and Court Decision

Before the court issues a decision on adoption, a social investigation is conducted by the competent social service or another specialized adoption agency (article 1557 CC). This service (social worker) examines in detail the situation: the environment, the economic and social status of the prospective adoptive parents, their health, their family stability, the reasons they wish to adopt, the relationship they may have already developed with the child (if there has been prior foster care), as well as the history and needs of the child itself. Subsequently, a report of the social investigation is compiled, which is submitted to the court and evaluated by the judge. This report must substantiate whether the specific adoption promotes the interest of the minor.

Issuance of judicial decision: The court, after ensuring that all legal preconditions are met (all required consents have been given or legally substituted, age limits have been observed, etc.) and after weighing all the elements – including the social report – decides whether the adoption will benefit the child. If it concludes that the adoption is in the interest of the adoptee, it proceeds to issue a decision that declares the adoption (article 1558 CC). This judicial decision constitutes the act with which the adoption is legally completed.

It should be noted that the effects of the adoption occur as soon as the decision becomes final (i.e., when it can no longer be challenged by an appeal, article 1560 CC). From that point onwards, the child is officially considered the adoptive child of the adoptive parent(s).

Legal Effects of the Adoption of a Minor

With the completion of the adoption of a minor, significant legal changes occur, which are explicitly provided for in the Civil Code:

• Severance of ties with the natural family: The adoptive child is fully integrated into the family of the adoptive parent, and correspondingly, every tie with their natural family is severed (article 1561 CC). All familial relations and legal rights/obligations that the child had towards their biological parents cease to exist, as if the child never legally belonged to them. Exceptions include marriage and blood-related prohibitions: that is, despite the adoption, marriage between the adoptive child and their blood siblings is not allowed, as they continue to be considered relatives in terms of marriage prohibitions (articles 1356–1357 CC). Also, the inheritance relationship with the natural parents is interrupted, since the child ceases to be considered their lawful child (now inherits the adoptive parents as their child, not the natural ones).
• Relations with the adoptive family: Conversely, the child acquires all the rights and obligations towards the adoptive parents that a biological child has within a marriage (article 1561 CC). That is, they become like a natural child of theirs: they acquire a right to maintenance, inheritance rights, the surname of the adoptive family, etc., and generally fall under their family jurisdiction. The same applies to the relationship of the adoptive child with the relatives of the adoptive parents (grandparents, adoptive siblings, etc.) – that is, they are fully integrated into the genealogical tree of their new family. If a family adopts more children, the adoptive children are considered siblings by adoption with all the related rights (e.g., inheritance rights among them like siblings).
• Special case of adoption of a spouse’s child: When the adoption concerns the child of the adoptive parent’s spouse (i.e., one spouse adopts the biological child of the other), the bond of the child with the natural parent who is a spouse is not severed – the child maintains their legal relationship with this natural parent and now legally relates to both parents (natural and adoptive). In other words, in this case, the child ends up having both the natural parent and the adoptive as parents, and the relatives of the natural parent (e.g., the child’s grandparents from the biological parent’s side) remain relatives. Otherwise, the adoption produces all the effects of a regular adoption from both spouses (article 1562 CC). It should be noted that if the two spouses (natural and adoptive parent) subsequently terminate their relationship (e.g., divorce), the exercise of parental care will be regulated according to what applies in a divorce of biological parents – usually, the natural parent will maintain custody, unless the court decides differently for serious reasons (article 1567 CC).
• Parental care: With the final decision of adoption, the adoptive parents automatically assume parental care of the child, while the parental care of the natural parents (or the guardianship that existed before) ceases automatically (article 1566 CC). The natural parents, after the adoption, do not have the right to contact the adoptive child, that is, there is no legally guaranteed right of contact of the biological parent with the child (the severance is complete to protect the child’s integration into the new family). If it concerns adoption by a spouse (step-parent adoption), then the parental care continues to be exercised jointly by the natural and adoptive parent (as two parents of a child within a marriage).
• Surname of the adoptive child: The minor who is adopted takes the surname of the adoptive parent after the adoption (article 1563 CC). If a couple of spouses adopt jointly, then the declaration they had possibly made for the surname of their own children applies to the adoptive child (according to article 1505 CC). For example, if the couple has decided that their children will bear the father’s surname, the same will apply to the adopted child. If there is no previous declaration, they can make it during the act of adoption at the registry office. When the adoptive child reaches adulthood, they have the right, if they wish, to add to their surname the pre-existing surname of theirs (i.e., of their natural father/mother), forming a double surname (article 1563 ed. b’). To add a name, if the child is still a minor, the court with the adoption decision may allow the adoptive parent to add a new given name to the child, but if the child is 12 years old and older, they also need their own consent (article 1565 CC).
• Confidentiality of adoption: Greek legislation places great importance on the confidentiality of the adoption process of a minor. Article 1559 CC provides that the adoption of minors is kept secret. This means that the details of the judicial process and the new family relationship are not publicized. In special cases (such as when the adoption was made with anonymous consent of the parents through a social service or when the parents are unknown and judicial substitution of consent was applied, i.e., cases of article 1550 para.2 and 1552), confidentiality applies even against the natural parents. That is, the biological parents do not have the right to know who the adoptive parents are or where the child is after the adoption. After the adoptive child reaches adulthood, however, the law recognizes their right to be fully informed of their origin (article 1559 last ed.). Thus, when the child turns 18, they can – if they wish – learn the details of their biological parents and their history.
• Permanence of adoption: The adoption of a minor establishes a permanent legal parent-child relationship. No time limit or expiration is provided. Only exceptionally can it be dissolved with a new court decision (e.g., annulment for a serious reason, such as fraud or error during the process), but this is extremely rare. Also, if for any reason the parental care of the adoptive parents ceases before the child reaches adulthood (e.g., due to the death of the adoptive parents or their deprivation of parental care), the child does not return to the natural parents. Instead, a guardian (custodian) is appointed according to the general provisions on guardianship of minors (article 1568 CC). That is, the adoption remains in effect and the child does not return to the biological family, but is placed under guardianship or a new adoption if another suitable adoptive parent is found.

Conclusion: The adoption of a minor in Greece is a multifaceted process governed by strict legal rules with the main criterion being the child’s interest. Prospective adoptive parents must meet specific criteria and follow the judicial process, ensuring all legal consents. Every stage – from the application, the consent of the involved parties, the social investigation, to the issuance of the decision – is designed to ensure that the adoption will be in the child’s best interest and that the transition to the new family will be permanent and protected.

Finally, the Law Firm Karpouzis – Lianou & Associates undertakes the complete guidance of those interested in the entire process of adopting a minor – from the initial stage of information and gathering of documents, to the submission of the application and the issuance of the related court decision – ensuring that each step is done correctly and based on the current legal framework.