Name change

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The process is described on the UK Gov website; you can access this by following this link.  When I read the link, it seems to me that you can change your name via deed poll and a quick look around the Internet shows many links where people are offering this service (including local UK council register offices).  I also came across the UK Government guidance document on the subject which lists the reasons why they will not permit a change of name; this link will take you to it.

I was interested to see that they would not let me change my name because I'm a dual-national; they're the rules I'm afraid.

There are complications in using different names.  My wife is Dutch, when we married, under Dutch law, she keeps her maiden name in all official Dutch Government documents (i.e. passport), where it references our marriage by saying "wife of, then my surname".  If you try and book an airline ticket, they will only accept the name on the passport, so we never get to sit next to each other.  It causes problems in accessing UK officialdom where the lack of a UK residence document means she has to show her passport, which is not in our married name.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in achieving your goal and hope this has helped.

Cynic

Expat Team

@Cynic thank you for replying,   ukdeedpolloffice.org/changing-names-as-an-expatriate  I assume you are referring to a website like this? I was just unsure on this.

When checking this site, it quotes "If you’re a permanent resident overseas, you cannot change your name by deed poll."

So the websites contradicts each other with one being an offical gov website and I'm unsure on the other.

Hi again.

That's a direct quote from the UK Gov website.  My advice would be to stick to the official Government versions (even if it does give you the answer you don't want).  You will also face a problem in Malta as they will not change your name to something different than is on your passport.  If like me you're a dual national, then it's not even worth considering (I was going to take my wife's surname to make travelling better) as one will not change unless the others do and there is no communication between the 2 systems.

You don't have to go through the deed-poll system, you can just change your name to something professional (like actors/musicians do), it's just when you travel anywhere, it will be on the name on your passport.

Watch out for scammers who may contact you offering you the earth, then vanishing with your money when they realise it can't be done.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

Why start a new post when there is already one open?

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=880937

@SimCityAT I had already reviewed that, but could not find the information I was looking for, in it they confirm the name change has already happened in uk and it was also in regards to having citizenship, I have not changed my name in the uk yet as this post is asking about that and I am a resident

Just to make sure -- You are a citizen of the UK, right? If that is the case, then yes, you need to follow the rules of the UK for changing your name. From what you've written, it sounds like you are in a complicated situation (UK citizen permanently living abroad) and there is conflicting information (different websites) and people (embassy officials) who don't really know what to tell you.

All I could recommend would be (1) contact the UK governmental agency that is in charge of official registration of names, which in my mind would not be an embassy official. If normally you could change your name by poll deed, try speaking to a poll deed representative, or someone in the office where you would submit that, and explain your situation. Otherwise (2) contact a UK-based lawyer who specializes in such matters.

Regarding Malta, all I can say is that they will do one of two things for you. One, they will use the name printed at birth on your birth certificate; or two, they will use the name printed on your passport. I acquired Maltese citizenship by descent (my ancestors were Malta-born, though I was born in the US). When I acquired my citizenship, my birth name was used, though I had changed my name when I was young. It was a two-year process, using a Maltese lawyer and going through the Maltese courts, to get my name changed in the Maltese registry. Now, however, since the courts approved it, my official Maltese name is my newer, changed name, and that is what is printed on my Maltese passport.

Good luck to you!