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I am asking on behalf of a friend (dual German/UK national) who changed her first name many years ago. As Germany does not allow name changes, she was only able to change her name in her UK passport. She only really uses her UK passport (and the name associated with it) but still has a valid German passport in her old name which she uses when she travels to Germany.
Now her UK passport is up for renewal and she came across this document (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -_v1_0.pdf) which implies that she also has to change the first name in her German passport, otherwise she would not be issued with a new UK passport. Apparently some new policy to prevent identity fraud?!

"Holders of non-British passports and national identity cards must also provide evidence they have amended the details in other passport(s) and any national identity cards they hold, (...) The names used in these documents take precedent to names used in other supporting documents, such as marriage certificates and deed polls."

Luckily, the guidance also states that "where a person is a national of more than one country, and one or more of those countries place restrictions on changes to names, they will need to provide additional information to demonstrate they intend to use that identity for all purposes."

Has anyone gone through the same process and could clarify what type of additional evidence would need to be provided?
She sent an enquiry to HMPO ages ago but had no reply. Would bills, P60s, bank statements and a UK driving license in the new name be sufficient?

Or is she just worrying too much and this only causes problems for individuals who already had run-ins with the law?

Many thanks in advance.

LilyLalilu wrote:I am asking on behalf of a friend (dual German/UK national) who changed her first name many years ago. As Germany does not allow name changes, she was only able to change her name in her UK passport. She only really uses her UK passport (and the name associated with it) but still has a valid German passport in her old name which she uses when she travels to Germany.
Now her UK passport is up for renewal and she came across this document (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -_v1_0.pdf) which implies that she also has to change the first name in her German passport, otherwise she would not be issued with a new UK passport. Apparently some new policy to prevent identity fraud?!

"Holders of non-British passports and national identity cards must also provide evidence they have amended the details in other passport(s) and any national identity cards they hold, (...) The names used in these documents take precedent to names used in other supporting documents, such as marriage certificates and deed polls."

Luckily, the guidance also states that "where a person is a national of more than one country, and one or more of those countries place restrictions on changes to names, they will need to provide additional information to demonstrate they intend to use that identity for all purposes."

Has anyone gone through the same process and could clarify what type of additional evidence would need to be provided?
She sent an enquiry to HMPO ages ago but had no reply. Would bills, P60s, bank statements and a UK driving license in the new name be sufficient?

Or is she just worrying too much and this only causes problems for individuals who already had run-ins with the law?

Many thanks in advance.

Sorry to say the new guidance/policy is being enforced very strictly by HM PO.
It is causing all sorts of problems and delays (or worse), mostly to respectable and law-abiding people.

You can see the thread here:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 83170.html

So far the change has not made it into passport application guidance notes.
This means people usually only find out after they've applied for a passport.
Consequently their application can become considerably delayed.

Most of the problems reported so far are about changes of surname (for example, from maiden name to married name).
But HM PO are being strict about not permitting people use more than one name; (more than one identity as they see it).

Suggest you (or your friend) contacts HM PO again & insists on a reply and some clear advice from them on what exactly your friend has to do.

Good luck

I don't think she'll have a problem renewing it. It's not like she's applying for her first British passport.

Thanks for all your helpful input! Will let her know and ask her to chase HMPO again

Isn't it sufficient to send your british passport only to the passport office for renewals.
i don't see any trouble here it seems to be your friend already has enough evidence in order to use the new name for the future.
please update us the result for future reference.

masterofpuppets wrote:Isn't it sufficient to send your british passport only to the passport office for renewals.
i don't see any trouble here it seems to be your friend already has enough evidence in order to use the new name for the future.
please update us the result for future reference.

According to the guidance notes, even for a renewal, all uncancelled passports (from any country) are required to be sent in too.

Here is a similar case, so, if the official handles it in a similar way, it may go through:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... l#p1186493

what does a deed poll work for anymore then. if you are allowed to change a name by the deed poll and is accepted by government agencies hence HMPO should accept it as well. apparently they do not then. they also state how to make a name changing and put the new name on the passport.

masterofpuppets wrote:what does a deed poll work for anymore then. if you are allowed to change a name by the deed poll and is accepted by government agencies hence HMPO should accept it as well. apparently they do not then. they also state how to make a name changing and put the new name on the passport.

We can track this person's experience to find out how a deed poll is weighed, nowadays, up by HM PO:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... l#p1195561