Name order on passport application different

Hi, I’m wondering if anyone has had this problem before. I’ve just applied for my first British passport and they are saying my names don’t match.

On my foreign passport I have my name as Emily SURNAME Sxx Yxx. SURNAME is my surname and this naming convention is the cultural norm in my country. On my application I have put First name: Emily, Middle Names: Sxx Yxx, Last name: SURNAME. My naturalisation certificate says “*SURNAME* Emily Sxx Yxx”. Seems ridiculous that they won’t take into account the naming conventions of other countries because SURNAME IS and always will be my surname regardless of how whichever passport wants to display it.

They are insisting I change my name on my foreign passport first to ensure the British passport matches my foreign one. I can only change my name in person in my country, but there is no official government website that shows this apart from a PDF on on the High Commission’s page that doesn’t look very official at all.

I have sent them a cover letter reiterating that the name I have submitted IS my name and that is the normal naming convention (I cited the website of my country’s high commission in a different capital city that explains this). I have also said that I will need to travel to my country to do this, which will be unreasonably expensive because I would need to take unpaid leave to do this and will have to secure hotel accommodation for the duration of my stay as I don’t have any family or friends I can stay with in the capital city. I asked that they apply the administrative fairness test for my situation.

In addition to the bank statement and utility bill they have requested, I have also sent them my NI number letter from HMRC, driving licence, letter of employment and university degree certificate to show that Emily Sxx Yxx SURNAME is the name I have been using for all legal and official purposes.

I tried the webchat and explained the above and they said someone would ring me back but they never did. I rang them and they said in their notes someone did try to ring me but there was no answer (which is a lie because I had my phone on me the entire day). Rang them again the next day but they just reiterated the same thing.

Has anyone gone through this? Is there anything else I can do? Any advice would be appreciated!

I would call again and ask to speak to a senior caseworker. Also open a complaint and keep track when you speak to them, what they say, etc.