Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
116. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a matter regarding the criteria on issuing a passport to a person (details supplied) who changed the person's name by deed poll will be examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4143/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended, “the Act“. The Act provides a legal basis for the various policies and procedures that are applied by the Passport Service in the issue of passports.
Section 10 of the Act provides that a passport will issue in the name of a citizen as it appears on his or her birth certificate or naturalisation certificate. However, a name change for a passport from that which appears on a person’s birth certificate is permitted under the Act in situations such as marriage, civil partnership, etc. where civil, or legal documents are available to verify this change.
In cases where name change arises, other than by marriage or civil partnership. etc., the Act requires evidence of the use of this new name over a two-year period. In very sensitive cases there is discretion under the Act for accepting evidence of usage for less than two years.
Evidence of two years’ proof of usage, such as bills/bank statements/official correspondence, is required, as a deed poll is not adequate evidence of the constant use of a new name. The question of what a person’s name is at any given moment in time depends upon its usage and the evidence to support the constant and sustained use of this new identity.
Where an applicant holds a Public Services Card (irrespective of when it was issued), the Passport Service requires only one, instead of two, additional official documents that demonstrate that the person has been using the new name for two years.
