Act · 2023 Revised Edition
Passports Act
People entering and leaving the countryOfficial textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
s 1Citation
This Act may be cited as the Passports Act.
s 2Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“ABTC” has the meaning assigned to it in the Immigration
(APEC Business Travel Card) Regulations, 2003;
“Controller” means the Controller of Immigration appointed under section 3 of the Immigration Act (Chapter 17);
“enter” means to enter by land, sea or air;
“entry” means entry by land, sea or air;
“immigration officer” has the meaning assigned to it in the
Immigration Act (Chapter 17);
“master” includes the pilot of an aircraft;
“officer of customs” has the meaning assigned to it in the Customs
Order, 2006 (S 39/2006);
“owner” in relation to a vessel includes a charterer;
“passport” means a valid passport which has been issued to a person by or on behalf of the government of which he is a citizen and includes any form of valid document of identity issued for the purpose of travel by any government and recognised as a travel document by the
Government of Brunei Darussalam;
“Passports Regulations” means the regulations contained in the
Schedule;
“vessel” includes an aircraft.
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Production of passports upon entry into or departure from Brunei
Every person entering Brunei Darussalam from any place beyond
Brunei Darussalam shall produce to an immigration officer a passport; and that passport shall, in the case of a person other than a citizen of
Brunei Darussalam have a valid visa for Brunei Darussalam issued on the authority of and by or on behalf of the Government of Brunei Darussalam.
In the case of an ABTC holder who is not a citizen of
Brunei Darussalam, entry into Brunei Darussalam is subject to subsection (1)
and to a multiple entry visa valid for a period of 5 years issued under the same.
[S 60/2021]
Every person leaving Brunei Darussalam for a place beyond
Brunei Darussalam shall, if required to do so by an immigration officer produce to that officer a passport.
An immigration officer may, in relation to any passport produced under this section, put to any person producing that passport such questions as he thinks necessary; and the person shall answer the questions truthfully.
An immigration officer may make, on any passport produced under this section, such endorsement as he thinks fit.
s 4Exemption
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan may by order exempt any person or class of persons from section 3 and any such exemption may be subject to such conditions as he may direct and may be permanent or for a limited period.
Without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposed upon him by this Act, a person entering Brunei Darussalam contrary to this Act shall be liable, upon an order in that behalf being made by the Controller, to be removed from Brunei Darussalam:
Provided that no such order applies to a citizen of Brunei Darussalam.
An order made by the Controller under subsection (1) may provide for the detention in custody, for such period as may be necessary for the
Passports purpose of making arrangements for his removal, of the person to whom the order applies; and that person may pursuant to the order be detained either in a prison or in any other place appointed by the Controller for that purpose.
Any person to whom an order under subsection (1) applies may be conducted across the frontier or placed on board a suitable vessel by an immigration officer, police officer or officer of customs, and may be lawfully detained on board the vessel during the period that the vessel is within Brunei Darussalam or the territorial waters thereof.
Where an order made under section 5(1) applies to a person who was brought into Brunei Darussalam in a vessel, the master of the vessel and the master of any other vessel belonging to the same owner shall, if required by the Controller and subject to subsection (2), receive that person on board his vessel and afford him free of charge a passage to the port or place at which the person embarked, and proper accommodation and maintenance during the voyage.
A requirement mentioned under subsection (1) shall have no effect unless it is made within 2 years of the date of which the person aforesaid enters Brunei Darussalam.
The master of a vessel failing to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.
s 7Owners and masters of vessels liable for expenses
The master and the owners and agents of any vessel from which any person enters Brunei Darussalam contrary to this Act shall be jointly and severally liable for all expenses incurred by the Government in detaining and maintaining that person pending deportation; and the expenses shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Government from the master, owner and agents.
s 8Master of vessel may prevent unlawful entry into Brunei Darussalam
The master of a vessel may use all reasonable and proper means
(including force if necessary) to prevent any person from entering
Brunei Darussalam contrary to this Act.
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s 9Onus of proof
If any question arises in any proceedings under this Act or with references to anything done or proposed to be done under this Act as to whether a person —
is a citizen of Brunei Darussalam or not; or
belongs to any particular class of persons exempted from any of the provisions of this Act, the onus of proving that the person is a citizen of Brunei Darussalam or that he belongs to such class, as the case may be, shall lie upon that person.
Any person who enters or attempts to enter or is reasonably suspected of having entered Brunei Darussalam in contravention of this Act may be arrested without warrant by any immigration officer, police officer or officer of customs.
In any case relating to the commission of an offence against this
Act or the Passports Regulations, an immigration officer shall have all the powers of a police officer under the Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 7) in relation to an investigation into a seizable offence.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan may by regulations amend the Passports Regulations and make regulations for all or any of the following purposes —
appointing authorised officers who may issue, renew or endorse a passport;
empowering officers to issue, renew and endorse a passport and to grant a visa on any travel document requiring a visa for
Brunei Darussalam;
empowering the authority who may approve forms to be used for the issue, renewal and endorsement of a passport and also forms to be used for the grant of a visa;
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prescribing the fees to be charged in relation to the issue, renewal or endorsement of a passport or for the grant of a visa for
Brunei Darussalam;
empowering officers to grant exemption from the payment of fees under the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
prescribing the terms and conditions subject to which any person may be granted a passport;
empowering officers who may invalidate, cancel, withdraw and repossess a passport which has been invalidated or cancelled;
empowering officers who may cancel any visa, renewal or endorsement of a passport;
empowering officers to demand the delivering up of a cancelled or invalidated passport bearing any visa, renewal or endorsement which has been cancelled or invalidated;
prescribing the procedure to impound, repossess or recover any passport;
providing for the arrest, detention and prosecution of any person who contravenes the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
prescribing for the search of any person, premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle and to seize or recover any evidence of the commission of any offence committed under any regulations made under this Act;
prescribing the prohibition for any person or class or persons from entering or leaving Brunei Darussalam by land, sea or air without the production of a passport and for enforcing such prohibitions by requiring answers to enquiries and for the delivering up of any passport;
governing the procedure to be followed and the fees and costs to be paid on appeal under the provisions of any regulations made under this Act;
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prescribing penalties to a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, such fine and imprisonment for the breach of any regulations made under this Act.
All regulations made under subsection (1) shall be published in the
Government Gazette.
Any person who —
forges, alters or tampers with any passport or internal travel document, or any visa or endorsement thereon, or without lawful authority uses or attempts to use, or has in his possession, any passport or internal travel document which has been so forged, altered or tampered with;
makes any false document intending to use the document as a passport for the purpose of this Act or uses the document for that purpose;
personates or falsely represents himself to be or not to be a person to whom a passport or internal travel document has been duly issued;
with intent to obtain for himself or any other person a passport, internal travel document, or an endorsement or visa on a passport, knowingly makes any false statement or produces any document which is to his knowledge false in any particular;
without lawful authority, has in his possession any passport or internal travel document which has been obtained as a result of making any material statement which was false or misleading, or as a result of the production of false evidence;
allows any person to have possession of any passport issued for his use alone, intending or knowing that the passport may be used by any other person;
without lawful authority, has in his possession any passport or internal travel document issued for the use of some person other than himself;
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wilfully assists any person to enter Brunei Darussalam contrary to this Act;
wilfully assists any person to contravene this Act;
obstructs or hinders any immigration officer, police officer or officer of customs in the discharge of his duty under this Act;
attempts to commit or abets the commission of any offence against this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for 5 years.
Any person contravening any of the provisions of this Act is guilty of an offence and shall, where no other penalty is provided by this Act, be liable on conviction to a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for 3 years.
s 13Transitional provisions
A passport (including a British Passport) or any visa or endorsement issued or granted under any written law or arrangements relating to passports prior to the coming into operation of this Act shall continue in force unless cancelled under the provisions of any regulations under this Act.
s 14Saving
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any law for the time being in force relating to immigration.
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