Often underestimated, the circulation document deserves the full attention of foreign residents in the Principality.
What is a circulation document?
The circulation document is an official document provided by the Police Department (Sûreté Publique) to minors under sixteen living in the Principality.
It makes it easier for minors to travel abroad while declaring their home address.
What are the criteria to obtain a circulation document?
The conditions for obtaining a circulation document are set out in Ministerial Order no. 2004-289 of 26 May 2004 relating to the issue of a circulation document to foreign residents of Monaco under sixteen.
As the usual carte de séjour is only delivered to residents over the age of sixteen, this document is delivered to young foreign minors residing in the Principality and for whom one of the parents, tutors, legal guardians or the custodial parent in the event of divorce, is the holder of a valid carte de séjour.
Although this provision does not appear in ministerial decree no. 2004-289, the Residents' Section seems to have opted for a more restrictive interpretation of the text by issuing the circulation document only to foreign minors who are not EU citizens.
How to get a circulation document?
The application for a circulation document must be made to the Section des Résidents de la Sûreté Publique.
It must contain the following elements:
- A signed application form for a circulation document for foreign minors
- A document justifying the applicant's identity, nationality, address and residence status in Monaco
- A birth certificate of the minor or the parents' family record book
- The child's identity photo
- The child's valid passport or, if not available, the parents' passport if the child is registered in it
- If necessary, a document establishing the child's legal situation (fixing custody rights in the case of a divorce, for example).
If the decision is positive, the applicant must accompany the minor to the Section des Résidents de la Sûreté Publique in order to have their photo and signature registered.
Please note: the circulation document is valid for five years and cannot be valid beyond the minor's sixteenth birthday or the expiry date of the applicant's residence permit.
What are the benefits of the circulation document?
The first purpose of this document is to simplify the minor's travels abroad, but it is also of interest in family disputes, particularly in determining the territorial jurisdiction of the judge.
The Hague Convention of 19 October 1996, made enforceable in Monaco by Order of 2 April 2004, sets out the principle that the authorities competent to take measures to protect the child or their property are those of the State of their habitual residence.
If the child has several places of interest in several countries, the question of their habitual residence may be debated.
However, the circulation document assumes that the child resides with the applicant parent and could be considered as a sort of simple presumption of the child's residence in Monaco.
The document is free of charge, and it would be a shame not to use it.
