Passport Regulation for Irish American Children
Solicitors often handle child custody cases on behalf of their clients including Irish-American national children. The following information issued by the US Embassy should be helpful to practitioners.
Under U.S. law, when there is controversy concerning the custody of a minor child, a passport-issuing office in the United States or abroad may deny issuance of a passport to a minor only if it receives a court order (original or certified copy) from the court within the country in which passport services are sought. The court order must give custody of the child to the person who has requested that passport services be denied to the non-custodial parent, or must specifically forbid the child's departure from the country without the court's permission. It should also be noted that the court order is only valid in the country in which it was issued. In the absence of such a court order, the issuance of a passport to a qualified applicant may not be denied. Either parent may apply to obtain a passport for a child under the age of thirteen without the consent of the other parent.
In other words, should the US Embassy in Dublin receive an original or certified copy of an Irish court order awarding custody of their American citizen child to a client, stating that the parent who was not awarded custody cannot remove the child from Ireland without the permission of the client or of the Irish court, the Embassy would then be in a position to refuse to issue a passport for the child to the non-custodial parent.
Should you have a client involved in a custody dispute, where the child either is an American Citizen, or has a claim to United States citizenship, and your client does not wish for the non-custodial parent to obtain a passport for the child, then please forward the court order granting custody to your client to the American Citizen Services Unit, the American Embassy, 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, tel: (01) 6688-777, ext: 2412.