You would think that when it comes to passports, the rules would be across the board from country to country.
They’re not.
For example, several countries require you to have at least 6 months left on your passport if you want to visit said country (these countries allow you to visit with less than that). And these countries won’t let you enter if you have criminal activity on your record (some won’t even let you enter if you’ve gotten a DUI – here’s the list).
But the rules to GET a passport are all the same from country to country, right?
Nope.
Take the United States, for example. Almost anyone can get a passport, although a few circumstances may force the State Department to deny it:
- Unpaid federal loans
- Outstanding child support payment
- Felony drug conviction
- If you’re a minor (under age 16) and don’t have parental consent
- If you’re currently in jail or prison
- A valid, unsealed federal warrant of arrest
- A federal or state criminal court order
- A condition of parole or probation forbidding departure from the United States (or the jurisdiction of the court)
- A request for extradition
Fun fact!
Even if you already have a passport, it can be revoked for several reasons such as:
- There’s a warrant out for an arrest on a felony
- Lapsed child-support responsibilities
- Charges pertaining to drug trafficking
- Sexual tourism-related convictions
Most of the above are generally true for most, if not all, other countries. However, other countries may have their own rules about who can have a passport and who can’t.
Take the U.K., for example
According to UK passport rules, a passport can’t be issued “in a name that may be subject to a trademark or copyright restriction.”
Which recently caused a problem for the Mowbray family, of Suffolk, a town in southeast England.
They had plans to go on vacation to the Dominican Republic – it was going to be their first international getaway since 2014. But when the mother, Becky, and father, Christian Mowbray (who’s a soldier serving in the Corps of Royal Engineers at Rock Barracks in Suffolk), applied for a passport for their youngest son, age 7, they were denied.
Why?
The application for their son, Loki Skywalker Mowbray, was rejected due to his middle name.
The boy was born on May 4, which is, of course, a special day for any Star Wars fan. So his parents, who were big Star Wars fans to begin with, decided to honor the movies by naming him after Luke Skywalker, the character played by Mark Hamill.
Unfortunately, the Home Office, which is in charge of passports in the UK, had other plans. The rules for getting a UK passport include:
A name can be unacceptable on grounds of public offence, on technical grounds, or for trademark or copyright reasons.
The use of the name in the passport to promote or advertise goods or services is in itself
extremely unlikely. However, the use of the passport as a means by the passport holder to
indicate Crown acceptance of a name, which may be subject to copyright or trademark
restrictions is not an acceptable use of Crown property. An application using an existing trade
or commercial name will require the applicant to provide written confirmation from the owner of
that trademark or copyright that they consent to the use of that name or confirmation that the
name in the public domain is not subject to any copyright or trademark restrictions. Where an
application falls within this category, the passport should be refused on the grounds that:
“The passport application submitted by you on [ ] does not meet the criteria published by
HM Passport Office on the use of names. Your application contains a name, which may
relate to a trademark or copyright and you have failed to provide confirmation that the
owner of that trademark or copyright is content for you to make use of the proposed
name or confirmation from the person or organisation using that name, which is in the
public domain it is not subject to any copyright or trademark provisions. Guidance is set
out at: www.gov.uk.
Sgt. Mowbray said officials told the family to change the boy’s name or get permission from Disney, which owns the copyright for the word “Skywalker”. Without either, they said the Home Office wouldn’t issue a passport”.
Sgt. Mowbray told Suffolk News: “We were not aware this could be a potential issue, we understand Loki’s middle name is copyrighted, but we have no intention of using it for personal gain.
“I understand their [the Home Office] position and reasoning, but I believe they need to recognize modern names are evolving. I can understand if an adult changes their name for a ‘stunt’, but this is not the case for a child from birth.”
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time a person in the UK has been denied a passport because of their name—it’s not even the first time this year!
In August, Lucy, a resident of Swindon, had applied to get a passport for her daughter, Khaleesi, age 6, for an upcoming trip to Disneyland Paris. Once again, the Home Office said no, due to copyright issues (Khaleesi was named after a Game of Thrones character. Therefore, they explained, her name was trademarked by Warner Brothers).
Happily though, after seeking legal advice, her solicitors discovered that while there is a trademark for Game of Thrones, it’s for goods and services – but not for a person’s name.
The Passport Office called Lucy, apologized, and said a ‘mistake’ had been made.
The official explained that there had been a misunderstanding, and the guidance staff had originally given applies only to people changing their names.
Khaleesi was able to get her passport.
A happy ending
As for Loki and his family, they had a happy ending too. After several days of back-and-forth discussion, the Home Office informed the family that they had changed their mind about the decision and would issue the passport.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We can confirm the application is being processed and apologize to the family for the delay in processing the application.”
Which is a good thing because I can’t imagine EVER getting Disney to give the OK to use the name Skywalker.
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