noajthan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 28, 2015 1:03 pm
LiaDoe wrote:I am also have the same problem. I have applied for my first British
passport and been refused on grounds that in my foreign
passport - old name and I applied for a British
passport in new name :?
Certificate of Naturalisation issued in my new name.
Managed to find :
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... f-name.pdf
Hello, yes an interesting guidance document.
What I know & believe is:
in the UK, anyone can use any name for regular, lawful purposes;
There is no requirement to have a single name
- for example, many people can (& do) retain their maiden name
or use a stage name
&/or use a professional name for their own purposes;
Women do not have to adopt the husband's name on marriage (& vice versa);
- in other countries, (eg Italy, Mexico, Morocco), it seems a woman's documents can (or do) remain in her maiden name for official purposes, even after marriage;
Worldwide there are many different cultural practices & traditions surrounding name change;
eg in my wife's case, it's a Filipino tradition, which seems to be based on (but a variation of) a Latin-American or perhaps Hispanic tradition
Many dual-nationals do hold & do travel on passports held in different names, whether it's by design or for expediency (or even just to save on an inconvenient & time-consuming extra bunch of paperwork)
However, it appears there is a new or changed UK policy regarding UK identity documents - as seems to be shown by this Names document.
It can only apply in UK as UK
does not have juridiction over passports issued by other countries.
It seems the fact this can apply to UK documents
only is
not specified clearly in the document :!:
So it seems officials aren't aware of that when they apply the policy for applications from dual-nationals &/or for applications from recent citizens that happen to involve a
maiden/surname change.
Although name changes are captured in the application form there are no questions about dual-nationals.
The act of becoming a British citizen impacts prior citizenship in different ways...
In India the prior nationality is lost because dual-nationality is not permitted under Indian law.
For a Filipino becoming British, the Filipino nationality would have to be reacquired, (
it's optional).
So in my wife's case her Filipino
passport can no longer be valid & so it cannot 'clash' with any new British
passport.
PO officials are obviously applying the checks to passports over which they have
no jurisdiction as well as checking against UK documents; they don't appear to take account of dual-nationality in any case :!:
For consumers, such as ourselves, it's unfortunate none of this is clear in the
passport guide booklet :!:
It's also unfortunate the Post Office NCS service don't seem aware & so don't pick up on this when vetting passports & certificates.
The Names guidance document clearly includes the option of adding an 'observation' about a maiden name in a British
passport
I don't see why the PO can't just do that in our cases :?: :!:
This is of particular interest to me since I will be a dual national once I have attended my citizenship ceremony, and it's a question that has been playing on my mind since I started the application process back in October last year. My home country (Belgium) issues all official ID documentation in a woman's maiden name, regardless of married status; my current
passport mentions my husband's fore- and surname, but not all the versions of the same
passport, issued via the Belgian Embassy in London, that I have had since 1988 have included this, and the two that did, did not show it in an identical manner. So, having now had it confirmed by someone in the Home Office that the name on my citizenship certificate will be my full married name but with what looks, in the gov.uk website and all accompanying correspondence, like an instruction to change my maiden name on my valid Belgian
passport and ID-card, which is not possible, it seems that I could apply for my first British
passport with evidence showing my married name being used 'for all purposes' for the past 31 years supported by several of the official documentation that is already in my married name: my UK driving licence, NHS record, GP surgery & HMRC registration, my original residence permit, bank statements, letter from my local council (I'm on the local electoral roll, have just received my postal vote request for the EU elections next month) etc., I'm hoping this will be sufficient to illustrate the fact that I am not acquiring an 'alias' with the intent of committing fraud or criminal acts, since the difference with my name at birth is only my husband's 3-letter surname and the hyphen that links both names. I have contacted my Embassy and have been told that for them to confirm that I am not allowed to change my name in my foreign
passport and ID-card, I would have to submit a completed form, for a fee, which is only issued in 2 of the country's official languages - so I would then also have to have it translated by a licenced translator, for a fee, and I'm trying to avoid racking up more expense. I would be interested to hear of other, similar experiences.
- I apologise for the use of so many commas, but it seems that bracketed sections are treated as smilies, and when I clicked 'submit', I was told I had too many smilies, when I actually did not have any in this reply -