Document #1100653
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to an official at the consular
division of the Consulate General of Israel in New York, a child
can leave the country with one parent without having a letter of
consent from the other parent (23 Mar. 1994). However, the source
added that the child must first have a valid passport, and in order
to receive such a document, letters of consent from both parents
must be provided with the initial passport application.
The source added that should a child
custody dispute arise, one or both parents can ask the courts to
prohibit the child, the other parent, or both from leaving the
country. She said that Israeli courts can subsequently order the
Interior Ministry not to issue a passport, to invalidate the
existing passport, or stipulate that the passport be valid only for
a very limited period of time. The official added that passports
which are issued for limited periods cannot be renewed outside of
Israel unless the Israeli government approves the action
(ibid.).
A source at the Association for Civil
Rights in Jerusalem also stated that the signatures of both parents
are required before a child is issued a passport (24 Mar. 1994). A
legal advisor for the same organization also stated that the
Interior Ministry requires the consent of both parents before
issuing a passport to a child (24 Mar. 1994). He added that the
written consent of the one parent may not be required if the other
has been awarded sole legal custody of the child (ibid.).
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Association for Civil Rights,
Jerusalem. 24 March 1994. Telephone interview with
representative.
. 24 March 1994. Telephone interview
with legal counsel.
Consulate General of Israel, New York.
Telephone interview with Head of Consular Division.