Question: An Italian girl is about to have a child and his/her father is a Moroccan boy, she is lawfully separated from her former husband and she is to obtain divirce in a year and a half. The child’s father is at the moment living and working in Turkey. He will soon return to Morocco because his residence papers expired. He’d like to recognize his child and start procedures off in order to come back to Italy and then marry the woman.
Which proceedings are exactly to be followed? Should the girl go to Morocco and meet him since obtaining visas from Morocco is almost impossible at the present times? Are there facilities granted to a person who’s child is Italian?
Answer: Everything stated above is valid as well. There’s an internationally aknowledged right that underage children hold, the right to live with their parents. The child is also Italian from the birth this makes things even easier. From this point of view EU Court of Justice states the right EU citizens hold to live together with their children. Now the thing is: how can the man have the right applied since he’s to be in Morocco when the child is to be delivered in Italy?
The father should refer to the Italian embassy in Morocco, he should go to the one in Rafat since the visas office is at the moment closed in Casablanca. Embassies, being the administrative referees of the state abroad, are entitled to follow such proceedings. In fact also marriages celebrated abroad can be registered at Italian embassies as well. The declaration of child recognition is a fundamental civil act (which safeguards the child) and can be recorded at Italian embassies as well. Procedures might take long but this is the only administrative path that can be followed. When a child is born outside marriage (the child isn’t legitimate but it is the natural filiation case), a mother could oppose recognition and refer to court in order to have the child be named after her. But this shouldn’t be the case.
When the recognition declaration arrives from Morocco, the mother will be called to a hearing during which she needs to accept the declaration. The father will then become father of an Italian citizen. Once all procedures are over and papers noting paternity are in the man’s hands he will be able to ask for family rejoining.