Children and Family Relationships Act 2015

PART 10

Amendment to Passports Act 2008

Amendment to Passports Act 2008

100. Section 14 of the Passports Act 2008 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to this section, the Minister shall, before issuing a passport to a child, be satisfied on reasonable grounds that—

(a) where the child has 2 guardians, each guardian of the child, and

(b) where the child has more than 2 guardians, not fewer than 2 of those guardians,

consents to the issue of a passport to the child.”,

(b) in subsection (5) —

(i) by the insertion after “other guardian” in each place where it occurs of “or, if appropriate, the other guardians”, and

(ii) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “any other guardian” for “that other guardian”,

and

(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) (a) Subject to this Act, and on application in that behalf to him or her in accordance with section 6 by a guardian of the child, the Minister may, without the consent to such issue of the other guardian or, if appropriate, the other guardians of the child, issue a passport to a child who is ordinarily resident outside the State, where—

(i) a court or competent judicial or administrative authority of the state of ordinary residence of the child takes a measure directing that a passport may be issued to the child without the consent to such issue of the other guardian or, if appropriate, the other guardians of the child, or

(ii) by operation of the law of the state of ordinary residence of the child, the requirements relating to the consent of the other guardian or, if appropriate, the other guardians of the child have been fulfilled.

(b) Paragraph (a) is without prejudice to paragraph 2 of Article 23 of the Convention.

(c) In this subsection—

‘Act of 2000’ means the Protection of Children (Hague Convention) Act 2000 ;

‘Convention’ has the meaning it has in section 1 of the Act of 2000;

‘guardian’, in relation to a child, includes a person exercising parental responsibility in respect of the child, within the meaning of paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Convention;

‘measure’ has the meaning it has in section 1 of the Act of 2000;

‘state’ means a state that is another contracting state, within the meaning of section 1 of the Act of 2000.”.