Changing name back to father's surname after divorce

Hi all,

I hope everybody is safe and well. I have a few questions and as always I am hoping for very insightful answers from the experts on this forum.

Context

My friend got divorced back in 2020. After the divorce, she got her British passport in 2021. She is not born and bred in the UK and holds another passport from her birth country. She has her ex-husband's surname mentioned on her British passport and on the passport from her birth country. She has a well-paid job here in the UK. She does not want to resign from her current job to travel back to her country to change her surname on her passport because the name-changing process is very long in her country and normally takes between 6 to 10 months and she can not leave the country until it is done. She is looking forward to re-marry next year but does not want to change her surname ever again with her future husband's surname. So, for the time being, she only wants to change her surname on her British passport back to the original surname of her father.

Questions

• How can she change her surname on her British passport back to her father's surname?

• What is the process and which documents are required to change the surname only on the British passport back to her father's surname? Links and pointers would be much appreciated.

• Does she need to change her surname on the British citizenship letter as well or it will remain the same?

Looking forward to your detailed answers.

Thanks.

For holders of one passport, which is British, changing their name in the UK is easy. They can start using the name of their father and inform organizations, including HMPO, of their choice, providing the divorce order as the reason why they are changing their name.

But for holders of more than one passport, it is more complex. HMPO insist on the names matching on all passports before issuing a new one. They check this by requiring the applicant to send all foreign passports to them when they renew.

Your friend may be able to persuade HMPO that changing the name is unduly onerous. Whether this is an option or not will depend on the country issuing the passport. If they can be persuaded they will enter the other passport details in the OBSERVATIONS section of the British passport.