LGBTQ+ activists are appalled by a decision of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF): It concerns the case of a severely disabled adopted child from a queer refugee family from Russia, who is to be forced to leave Germany by order of the agency.
The two foster fathers, Artur and Rudolf, fled Russia in 2022 with their adopted son because they were persecuted for their sexual orientation in the Putin era. As a result, the couple was granted asylum in the spring of 2025 and found a new home in Bavaria. Their now 26-year-old adopted son was denied this status despite guardianship and complete dependence on his parents. Artur has cared for his adoptive son for 14 years.
The young man lives with a severe physical disability — among other conditions, infantile cerebral palsy, a serious impairment of the posture and movement apparatus; he relies on a wheelchair and needs daily care and constant support. “He communicates well, but sometimes he acts like a seven-year-old, sometimes like a twelve-year-old,” Artur told Deutsche Welle. “Thus, he cannot trim his nails or shower independently.”
BAMF: No danger to the adoptive child in Russia
A German court has already confirmed the guardianship arrangement of the two fathers. Nevertheless, the BAMF maintains that the adoptive son does not face any significant danger in Russia and that deportation is legally possible — even though a family breakup would be virtually unavoidable. The reasoning, according to the Quarteera association, is roughly that the adoptive son is not gay himself and therefore would not face persecution in Russia. Quarteera advises LGBTQ+ refugees and accompanies the case legally.
“From our perspective, it is incomprehensible how a family can be legally recognized while a completely dependent family member is denied protection,” Quarteera stated. “Here asylum law, disability rights, and the protection of queer families collide in dramatic fashion.”
Administrative court to decide next week — but likely to say no
On January 29, the Administrative Court in Bayreuth will hear the case of the rainbow family. While the outcome is still open, Quarteera says the court has already indicated that it is likely to rule against the family given the current legal framework. The parents fear that their foster son could be sent to a closed institution in Russia and live a “miserable existence.” They hope that the Hardship Commission — an independent body of the federal states that reviews humanitarian individual cases — will weigh in on the matter.
