International Protection Act 2026
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Application on behalf of minor | ||
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37. (1) Subject to subsection (2), an application on behalf of a minor who is at the frontier of the State or who is in the State (whether lawfully or unlawfully) shall be made by the minor’s parent or such other adult who has responsibility for the care and protection of the minor (in this section referred to as the “person responsible”). | ||
(2) An application shall be deemed to have been made on behalf of a minor where the parent of, or person responsible for, the minor makes an application under section 36 and the minor is present at the making of the application. | ||
(3) Where a minor— | ||
(a) is born in the State while the parent of, or person responsible for, the minor is an applicant, or | ||
(b) enters the State while the parent of, or person responsible for, the minor is an applicant, | ||
the parent or person responsible shall inform the Minister and the Minister shall direct the parent or person responsible to attend with the minor at a specified place on a specified date and, where communicated, time for the purpose of making, registering and lodging an application on behalf of the minor. | ||
(4) An application— | ||
(a) deemed to have been made on behalf of a minor under subsection (2), or | ||
(b) made on behalf of a minor under subsection (3) prior to a decision being taken by the Determining Authority at first instance in respect of the application of the parent or person responsible, | ||
shall be examined in conjunction with the application of the parent or person responsible. | ||
(5) Subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply where the minor is— | ||
(a) an Irish citizen, or | ||
(b) a Union citizen as defined in Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 548 of 2015 ). | ||
(6) For the purposes of this section, the Minister may request that a birth certificate or other appropriate documentary evidence is submitted to him or her to substantiate the relationship between the minor and the person making the application on his or her behalf, including in relation to the— | ||
(a) age and nationality of the person making the application on behalf of the minor, and | ||
(b) the nature of relationship between the minor and the person making the application on his or her behalf. |