Name on foreign passport vs. naturalisation certificate

Hi,

Looking for some advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation or understands the rules. My wife has applied for British citizenship and has just received the following email:

“Dear Mrs A
 
I refer to your application for registration as a British citizen.
 
We note that there are discrepancies between the application form and the documents provided by you in respect of your personal details.
 
In our opinion the following details are correct as taken from your passport:
Name: X A.      Also known as Jane A.
Date of Birth: XXXXXXX
Place and Country of Birth: Taipei City, Taiwan
You married on XXXXXXX after your current passport was issued.  Therefore we can issue your certificate of naturalisation in your husbands name i.e.
 
Name: X B               and showing
Name at birth X A
 Please confirm the name you wish to appear on your certificate of naturalisation. 
 
It is important to us that we get the details on your citizenship certificate correct. 
You should note that HMPO will not issue a passport in a name that is different to the name in the applicants foreign passports, therefore you would need to update the foreign passport to the new name before applying for a British passport.
 
Please reply to inform us which name you would like us to proceed with.”

Our concern is that if we agree to have the name “X B” on the certificate of naturalisation then she won’t be able to get a passport as her Taiwanese passport has a different name on it. We could tell them to put “X A” on the certificate but this will prevent her from getting a passport in her married name which is not ideal.

Thanks!

Your problem is that your wife's passport is NOT in her married name. She better get the certificate in her married name which also shows her name at birth, then she updates her foreign passport to her married name and then applies for British passport afterwards.

Hi Zimba, thanks for your reply. The issue is the potential difficulty we will face getting her passport name changed to match the naturalisation certificate (if this is even possible). Quite easy in an English-speaking country like the UK but not for somewhere with a completely different language and rules.

British passport will ONLY be issued in the same name in her foreign passport If she cannot get her foreign passport changed, I suggest to ensure all the names are all the same in all the docs.

In that case it is probably better and safer for you to chose a name that will make it easier for her to apply for British passport and compromise on her marriage’s name. (Just an opinion) I understand that in some country it is complicated to change name on a passport.

gordon750 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:10 pm

Hi Zimba, thanks for your reply. The issue is the potential difficulty we will face getting her passport name changed to match the naturalisation certificate (if this is even possible). Quite easy in an English-speaking country like the UK but not for somewhere with a completely different language and rules.