Passport refused - uncancelled passport in maiden name

nathan, does your wife included her marriage certificate with the application?

I have a similar problem. The different is that I can't cancel my home passport because it's against the Law of my country, and now I have a dual nationality.
To change name in my home passport is not possible as I need to go back to my country and stay their weeks or maybe months, to change first my interior passport and then my foreign passport. Passport office is not aware of it or they don't care.
I called to Home Office today and they don't see issue in this point. Furthermore, they are not aware of cases as mine and wondering why is Passport Office won't issue me passport. Unfortunately they can't help me to solve the problem.
Fourth time I spoke to passport office today and lady asked to send them my merriage certificate. She thinks it will solve my problem. I am still worring that it's not enough as this is not what says in the letter.
Anyway we will see what will happent next.

MariaD wrote:nathan, does your wife included her marriage certificate with the application?

I have a similar problem. The different is that I can't cancel my home passport because it's against the Law of my country, and now I have a dual nationality.
To change name in my home passport is not possible as I need to go back to my country and stay their weeks or maybe months, to change first my interior passport and then my foreign passport. Passport office is not aware of it or they don't care.
I called to Home Office today and they don't see issue in this point. Furthermore, they are not aware of cases as mine and wondering why is Passport Office won't issue me passport. Unfortunately they can't help me to solve the problem.
Fourth time I spoke to passport office today and lady asked to send them my merriage certificate. She thinks it will solve my problem. I am still worring that it's not enough as this is not what says in the letter.
Anyway we will see what will happent next.

MariaD, sorry to hear you are in a similar situation.

Yes we supplied all the necessary documents for the British passport application including our UK marriage certificate (& foreign passport in maiden name).

In fact we used more or less the same documents for my wife's British naturalisation; the Home Office had no problem & naturalisation (in married name) was approved very quickly.
My daughter was recently registered as a UK citizen & received her British passport just last month with no difficulty at all; (no name change was involved for her).

It is the HM PO that appears out of step with the Home Office (UKBF) and with other countries' policies for women's names in passports &/or for dual nationals who happen to be married women.
Unfortunately, there is no published guidance on this matter in the UK passport application paperwork (& the Post Office NCS seems unaware too).

It is regrettable there is no guidance in the UK naturalisation guidance either, to give advance warning of possible problems with a future British passport application

It is unfortunate if you cannot cancel your other passport.
It is the existence of the other 'identity' in an uncancelled passport (in another name) that HM PO seems to have a problem with.
But I'm not sure what regulation or policy this is based on as HM PO does not appear to make it public.

Are there no circumstances at all that would enable your other passport to be cancelled?
If not, can you get a supporting letter from your embassy to explain your original country's passport policy?
That may help as evidence to HM PO.

You could also try asking HM PO to add an official 'observation' about your maiden name into the British passport.
By declaring it in this way, openly in a passport, noone could say it's a secret, second identity

Are you sure you cannot change your original passport to your married name via an embassy located in the UK ? (to avoid returning to your country).

Alternately, I wonder if it's possible to (re)apply for a British passport in a maiden name (to match with original, foreign passport in maiden name).
(The British passport could then include an observation about "also known as" married name to tie it in with the naturalised name).

There is no general law about having to use a single name in the UK (many people in the UK do use both their maiden & married names);
so it shouldn't affect the (married) name a person may have been naturalised with - but further advice should be obtained on such a step.

You could always try your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or even your local MP to take up your case.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/l ... ity_advice


You mentioned a letter (from HM PO?), so did you receive any clear instructions or explanation about the rules from the HMPO?
Please share any such details if you can.
(We are still waiting for any letter).

In the meantime, good luck.

Written statement to Parliament
The issuing, withdrawal or refusal of passports

From:
Home Office and The Rt Hon Theresa May

Delivered on:
25 April 2013

The most recent information I can find:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ ... -passports

It's seems mostly to be about safety, security & public protection.

There is no entitlement to a passport and no statutory right to have access to a passport. The decision to issue, withdraw, or refuse a British passport is at the discretion of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) under the Royal Prerogative.

Nothing here about the proportionate risks posed by women using married/maiden names.

A decision to refuse or withdraw a passport must be necessary and proportionate. The decision to withdraw or refuse a passport and the reason for that decision will be conveyed to the applicant or passport holder. The disclosure of information used to determine such a decision will be subject to the individual circumstances of the case.

This from UK parliament website.
Deprivation of British citizenship and withdrawal of passport facilities - Commons Library Standard Note

Published 30 January 2015

Standard notes SN06820:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publi ... facilities

Watching this FOI request with interest ...

Dual nationals' right to choose how to be named on their passports:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... o_choose_h

Other recent FOI requests of interest ...

Refusal of passports:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ing-641067

Checks carried out against UK passport application:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ing-641853

The "Dual nationals' right" etc was my FOI request. I've been exploring all possible avenues to investigate this matter.

So far, however, it has been entirely useless. I contacted the Home Office about the same thing and all they did was copy-paste some FAQ thing about how easy it is to make a name change. It was from the guidance for naturalisation - even though I clearly stated that I was registering for citizenship by descent, which means that they didn't even read my message! I have written to them again, asking them please to read my message this time (not in a snarky way - don't worry, I'm not so dense as to antagonise them) because it cannot merely be solved by looking at publicly available documents *as I had already stated in my previous message* (honestly, these people seem to have exceedingly low expectations of us to assume that we write these letters without bothering to check available materials first... I have a sodding PhD from a top British university and it really riles me that they assume that I have zero research skills). The thing is, every correspondence phase with them takes '20 working days', which means we'll be waiting a long time before my latest message is answered (if ever). I have let them know that their very straightforward and sensible name policy (which it is) is being flouted by the HMPO's incompatible name discrepancy rule, which claims to prevent fraud but in fact is rigidly and needlessly applied even when fraud is absolutely impossible due to disclosure of all names, with supporting documents, even on the passport itself (through a 'holder is also known as' note on the passport which would make the other identity crystal clear every time the passport was examined).

The HMPO *explicitly refuses* to show where this alleged name discrepancy policy is. It is, of course, on none of their publicly available materials; when I asked them where it was, they refused point blank to tell me, claiming that it is 'confidential'. So their entire argument rests on a putative piece of evidence which they won't show us. Imagine this in court: "I know he done it, m'ludd, because I have inconfutable evidence, m'ludd, only nobody is allowed to see it". "Very well, the electric chair it is then".

In my correspondence with the HMPO I keep asking them about various means of getting around the difficulty: can we send a letter like the one which someone says you asked them to provide before proceeding to send the passport; can we have a 'holder is also known as [maiden name]' note on the passport so there is no possibility of fraud because *every single official* who views the passport will be immediately aware of the maiden name, hence there will be no concealment; and so on. But all they do is copy-paste their previous misspelt message about how it's "against HMPO policy" to issue a passport when the holder has a foreign passport in another identity. They don't engage with any of my pertinent questions, but merely assume that someone it hasn't got through to me that "it is against HMPO policy etc etc". When I say "yes, I understand that, but I have evidence of exceptions, so could you please elucidate" they just go back to the same step of "it is against HMPO policy".

The ultimate problem is that in this particular system, a passport is not a right, and comes under the 'Royal Prerogatve', which is why technically they can refuse us on a whim and still be right, more or less. They're unaccountable.

I'll be speaking to a lawyer in two days (at least, so it has been arranged).

Sorry I can not access my private messages, states "You are not authorised to read private messages."

I have sent a request to the HMPO to provide me a formal refusal letter with the reason for decision .
At present I await their reply and will be in touch once I receive a response.

How bizarre that you're not allowed to see your private messages. Oh well. Yet another mystery of supposedly superior modern technology.

Anyway, thanks for updating us: the more of us are in touch and join together in this effort, the greater the chances are that They will change Their silly ways. If one person whines at them, probably nothing will happen, but if several people join together and initiate some sort of request or procedure in a concerted manner, they may begin to suspect that something has to be fixed.

You need 10 posts to be able to view private message, just make it to number 10

Ok, thanks for the information. So, LiaDoe, it's time to get logorrhoeic on this board, raah!

Of course, the best kinds of updates with which to increase your post count would be something along the lines of "Spoke to the bureaucrats, they were totally reasonable and understood my predicament, and they issued my passport and revoked the silly rule, causing harm to no-one". Oh well, we can dream.

noajthan, thank you very much for your reply and advice.

I am Russian citizen and by Russian law just one circumstance can allow me to cancel my home passport - refusal of citizenship. I don't want to do this. Why I should? Furthermore, by Russian law I don't have a dual citizenship. Doesn't matter what else citizenship I can have, Russian authority will treat me only like Russian citizen, despite from this year I must inform about my second nationality. If I want to travel back to my country, and I will because I have my parents and property there, I need a Russian passport, regardless of whatever foreign passport I may have. This is Russian law.

Also no, it is not possible to change my passport via Russian Embassy as it's shown on their website. Sorry for translate it by google
"In order to issue a new passport in connection with the change of name, the applicant needs to change its internal Russian passport with a new name in the bodies of the Federal Migration Service at the place of incorporation or residence in Russia. Diplomatic missions abroad exchange services do not provide an internal passport."

Even if I go to Russia to change my both passports, it's will take more than 3-5 weeks - time when HMPO can return me my passport without failing of my application. It's just not enough time.

Also my husband and I want to go to holiday in Spain later this summer. And now I am afraid I will not be able to apply for Schengen visa as I have British Naturalisation Certificate. They probably would expect me to get a passport. So I need to sort it as soon as possible.

I am also cannot apply for UK passport with my maiden name as my naturalisation certificate was issued on my marriage name and my maiden name listed there as 'name at birth'. Home Office said that is correct and they are surprise why Passport Office don’t want to issue a passport to me.

My MP is aware of my issue and he promised to 'make some enquiries'. I am not sure how much he is able to do in this busy time during election, especially in this time; he is 'limited in what representation he can make'.

I have received a letter from HMPO with clear instruction to change my Russian passport. Here is the text:

Thank you for your application for passport.
You sent a Russian passport as evidence to support this application. However, the name shown on the passport is different from the name on the passport application. For security purposes, it is our policy that a British passport will not be issued to you if you hold a passport (British or foreign), identity document or travel document in a different name.
For us to issue a passport, you would need to change the name shown on your Russian passport, or be able to show that an application has been made to the relevant authorities to change this.

So I am not sure if my marriage certificate would help. I don't know what rules they are following, but if there are rules it should apply to everyone in the same circumstances. I spoke online with so many Russian ladies who received their UK passport in married name, despite in their Russian passport has maiden name. If HMPO use some policy to me which is not affected other people in the same circumstances, I only can say it is discrimination.

Thank you for the links. It's very clear in what circumstance passport cannot be issued or even withdrawing. This is applies to criminals or to these who been prevented to get a passport by a court order. Nothing says about different names or dual nationality. Especially people who been recently given citizenship, been checked by Home Office and it is ridiculous to suggest them to be criminal. (I know citizenship application can be refused even if applicant has point in his driving license.)

My citizenship application was similar to your wife's - quick and straightforward. I have not expected any delay in my passport application.

I have checked today by track and trace. My letter and marriage certificate has not been delivered to HMPO yet. Will update you with any news about my application.

P.S. What do you mean “add an official 'observation' about your maiden name into the British passport.”?

The 'observation on a passport' thing means that if a person also uses another name, for instance their maiden name even if their passport is in their married name (or vice versa), the British passport can have a statement somewhere inside it that says "the holder is also known as" followed by the other name that the passport holder wishes to be noted.

On this document
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... sports.pdf
this is explained on page 8, in the section called 'married women using their maiden name'.

Please do let us know if anything transpires, including anything your MP might be able to do. I myself am resident abroad and therefore don't have an MP, but I'm using any other method of exhuming information that I can possibly dream up, for instance by making that Freedom of Information request mentioned earlier, by writing to the passport office and the Home Office, and by talking to a lawyer, which I'll be doing in two days (at least I have an appointment for this, remotely of course). Any information you may be able to obtain might be useful to all of us.

At least Russia does allow name changes following marriage. My non-British nationality doesn't allow name changes at all! All her life, a woman is Annie Brown even if she marries Francis Green and has fourteen children called Green. She is doomed to remain the only Brown member of the Green family - the eternal outsider, no matter how many times she risks her life to produce heirs for Francis Green. (Maybe I should have named her Blue so she could aspire to be Blue-Green, like the algae). Anyway, it seems really annoying that the Russian authorities will only allow name-change passport renewals within Russia, but at least there's a route, however time-consuming and inconvenient. You may have to bite the bullet, go to Russia and have it done. Annoying, I know. But I wish I could go to my other country and get them to write my married name on my passport. They will simply refuse point blank.

Oh, and the reason why none of the published HMPO documents contain any mention at all of this 'no name difference' rule is that it's allegedly on some secret document that nobody is allowed to see. This is what they keep telling me at any rate.

Basically what seems to be happening is that his no-name-discrepancy rule was introduced recently (this is why so many people have been renewing their passports in their married name for years without any problem, despite having foreign passports in their maiden name: last time they had to renew, the rule wasn't there yet) and although it was created as an ill-thought-out measure to prevent fraud or other crimes (terrorism perhaps?), they're sticking it most rabidly even in cases where it is incredibly clear that no fraud or other criminal activity can result from the name change because a) the person has already been examined thoroughly before being granted citizenship and b) the name change is clearly indicated by official documents, leaving no secrecy at all and no room for fraud. But because the rule, invented for criminals, says 'no passport in another name', they're sticking to it without paying any attention to the circumstances of particular cases where totally harmless people with no criminal record simply wish to use their married names. The thing is, we may have to find some way to exert pressure on them to make them either rescind this rule, or add a possibility of discretion in cases like ours. And if this is the case, the more people report this problem and ask for a solution, the likelier it is that they'll realise that the inflexibility with which this rule is being deployed is only creating more problems for innocent people without preventing any criminal activity whatsoever.

LiaDoe wrote:Sorry I can not access my private messages, states "You are not authorised to read private messages."

I have sent a request to the HMPO to provide me a formal refusal letter with the reason for decision .
At present I await their reply and will be in touch once I receive a response.

LiaDoe, I think you need a minimum number of posts before you can use the message feature.

In the meantime, if you can share anything you find out, (removing any personal detail for your privacy), it will help us all

MariaD wrote:noajthan, thank you very much for your reply and advice.

I am Russian citizen and by Russian law just one circumstance can allow me to cancel my home passport - refusal of citizenship. I don't want to do this. Why I should? Furthermore, by Russian law I don't have a dual citizenship. Doesn't matter what else citizenship I can have, Russian authority will treat me only like Russian citizen, despite from this year I must inform about my second nationality. If I want to travel back to my country, and I will because I have my parents and property there, I need a Russian passport, regardless of whatever foreign passport I may have. This is Russian law.

Also no, it is not possible to change my passport via Russian Embassy as it's shown on their website. Sorry for translate it by google
"In order to issue a new passport in connection with the change of name, the applicant needs to change its internal Russian passport with a new name in the bodies of the Federal Migration Service at the place of incorporation or residence in Russia. Diplomatic missions abroad exchange services do not provide an internal passport."

Even if I go to Russia to change my both passports, it's will take more than 3-5 weeks - time when HMPO can return me my passport without failing of my application. It's just not enough time.

Also my husband and I want to go to holiday in Spain later this summer. And now I am afraid I will not be able to apply for Schengen visa as I have British Naturalisation Certificate. They probably would expect me to get a passport. So I need to sort it as soon as possible.

I am also cannot apply for UK passport with my maiden name as my naturalisation certificate was issued on my marriage name and my maiden name listed there as 'name at birth'. Home Office said that is correct and they are surprise why Passport Office don’t want to issue a passport to me.

My MP is aware of my issue and he promised to 'make some enquiries'. I am not sure how much he is able to do in this busy time during election, especially in this time; he is 'limited in what representation he can make'.

I have received a letter from HMPO with clear instruction to change my Russian passport. Here is the text:

Thank you for your application for passport.
You sent a Russian passport as evidence to support this application. However, the name shown on the passport is different from the name on the passport application. For security purposes, it is our policy that a British passport will not be issued to you if you hold a passport (British or foreign), identity document or travel document in a different name.
For us to issue a passport, you would need to change the name shown on your Russian passport, or be able to show that an application has been made to the relevant authorities to change this.

So I am not sure if my marriage certificate would help. I don't know what rules they are following, but if there are rules it should apply to everyone in the same circumstances. I spoke online with so many Russian ladies who received their UK passport in married name, despite in their Russian passport has maiden name. If HMPO use some policy to me which is not affected other people in the same circumstances, I only can say it is discrimination.

Thank you for the links. It's very clear in what circumstance passport cannot be issued or even withdrawing. This is applies to criminals or to these who been prevented to get a passport by a court order. Nothing says about different names or dual nationality. Especially people who been recently given citizenship, been checked by Home Office and it is ridiculous to suggest them to be criminal. (I know citizenship application can be refused even if applicant has point in his driving license.)

My citizenship application was similar to your wife's - quick and straightforward. I have not expected any delay in my passport application.

I have checked today by track and trace. My letter and marriage certificate has not been delivered to HMPO yet. Will update you with any news about my application.

P.S. What do you mean “add an official 'observation' about your maiden name into the British passport.”?

MariaD,
Thanks for sharing. I realise it's so tricky & frustrating.

Antsmall has explained about the official observations that can be put in British passports.
Doing that clearly demolishes official objections to anyone holding a 'secret', second identity but only if HM PO will agree to use it in these cases.
Suggest it's still worth asking HM PO about adding an observation in your case and see what happens.

It may also help if you can persuade your embassy to provide an official letter summarising the policy on (not) cancelling passports.
An official letter would surely carry more weight.
It will show the HM PO that for your case you are trapped within the rules between the 2 countries. Especially if you can also show it's not practical to return to your country to process any paperwork.

Regarding the internal passport, this is worth exploring too:

... or be able to show that an application has been made to the relevant authorities to change this.

Perhaps a 1 or 2-day trip to your country to file an internal passport form & obtain a confirmation or receipt to show you have done so will meet this requirement

Alternatively, Maiden name idea.
The UK passport guide includes an option for an applicant to apply in (or revert to using) their maiden name.
If you can show HM PO you can't cancel or give up your nationality maybe you can explore having your British passport in your maiden name. (Even with a UK naturalisation certificate in a married name the marriage certificate will show the link back to maiden name).

As well as naturalisation & marriage certificates, the notes mention the need to supply a decree absolute document which is rather extreme
But if it's a first-time application it''s not really reverting a passport back to a maiden name.
Maybe in the circumstances, and bearing in mind your original country's passport policy (especially if proved by an official letter), that can be negotiated in your case

My thinking is based on the following quote from the Home Secretary:

A decision to refuse or withdraw a passport must be necessary and proportionate. The decision to withdraw or refuse a passport and the reason for that decision will be conveyed to the applicant or passport holder. The disclosure of information used to determine such a decision will be subject to the individual circumstances of the case.

As you noted, the grounds for refusal of passports mainly involve anti-social behaviour (criminals, extremists & terroists etc).
It is ridiculous it is catching respectable married ladies in the net.

The main point here is the word proportionate.
We need to campaign & show this new policy is not proportionate. And it is also discriminatory.
So enlisting MPs now when they need us most is good timing.

What is happening is clearly discriminating against married women; in fact discriminating against only those who wish to adopt their spouse's name or maybe a combination of it, perhaps a double-barrelled name.
That cannot have been the intention of the policy.

Right of Abode.
The other challenge is that a British passport proves 'right of abode' in the UK; it is easier to carry around than a fragile (unlaminated) naturalisation certificate.

Worst case I believe you would be able to have a Right of Abode stamp or sticker added in your original passport.
That will prove your right to live in UK but will not help with travel and visas.
It's also quite expensive (£200+) & would need to be renewed every time the original passport is renewed.
So it's a last resort really.

If all else fails the passport guide includes the various four steps for making a complaint, including involving a MP & finally going to an Ombudsman. Maybe this needs to go to higher authorities too.

As for your trip to Europe, ofcourse a British passport would make it so easy. But you can still apply for a Schengen visa if you have to (until your British passport is sorted out). Ofcourse the European embassy will need sight of your original passport to process the Schengen visa.

In the meantime, good luck.

Antsmall wrote:The "Dual nationals' right" etc was my FOI request. I've been exploring all possible avenues to investigate this matter.

..

Antsmall,
that's very constructive. Let's see how it works through the system.

The absurdity of this catch-22 situation is shown here:
https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll

You don’t have to follow a legal process to start using a new name. But you might need a ‘deed poll’ to apply for or to change official documents like your passport or driving licence.

and

Marriage and civil partnership

You don’t need a deed poll to take your partner’s surname. Send a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate to record-holders

Food for thought

Discrimination: your rights
https://www.gov.uk/discrimination-your- ... rimination

It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
...
being married or in a civil partnership
...
sex

You’re protected from discrimination in these situations:
when using public services

2. How you can be discriminated against

Discrimination can come in one of the following forms:

direct discrimination - treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others
indirect discrimination - putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage

BUT ...

It can be lawful to have specific rules or arrangements in place, as long as they can be justified.

4. What you can do

If you think you’ve been unfairly discriminated against you can:

complain directly to the person or organisation
use someone else to help you sort it out (called ‘mediation’ or ‘alternative dispute resolution’)
make a claim in a court or tribunal

Contact the Equality Advisory Support Service for help and advice.

Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS)
https://www.gov.uk/equality-advisory-support-service

The EASS helpline is able to provide free advice and information about the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998. We can advise you on identifying the correct protected characteristic, the sector and the prohibited conduct which applies to your circumstances.

We can provide information on your human rights; identify specific articles which may apply to your circumstances and how to raise a complaint if your rights/friend/family member’s rights have been breached.

The EASS is able to offer you an action plan with a view to resolving your issue informally without the stress of going to court or a tribunal. If you feel confident then we will leave you to it and you can work through this yourself, please feel free to contact us if you need further support.

If you feel that you need our support in resolving an issue then let us know and we will contact the organisation who has treated you unfairly on your behalf. We will keep you updated so you know what is going on.

Guardian newspaper's Liberty Clinic:

Do you have a question for the Liberty Clinic?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... rty-clinic

AdviceNow
http://www.advicenow.org.uk

on discrimination:
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/is-that-discrimination

Advicenow is an independent, not-for-profit website, run by the charity Law for Life: the Foundation for Public Legal Education