legal change of name in PR card

[riya.garg26]

Hello,
I am a Permanent resident of Canada, currently residing outside of Canada. I have gotten a Legal change of name in my Passport.

1. Is it necessary to get the name in my valid PR card to the new one or I could just hand in the new documents for the new name at the time of renewal of my PR card?

2. Will I encounter any problems at the airports for my flight to Canada if my name in the PR card is different from the one in my passport? Or, I can just show them the documents proving the change of name and that will suffice?
Thank you.

 

[NaughtyGoodman]

Hey! I'm in the same boat. What happened in your case?
- Did you update your PR card to say your new name?
- If yes, which province were you in?
- Did the IRCC ask for a provincial ID card first?

Here's my situation:
- I changed my name legally, outside Canada.
- I returned to Canada with a PRTD because the airlines won't let me board a plane without one.
- I applied for a name change on my PR card.
- The IRCC asked me to provide a provincial document in my new name first.
- Quebec won't update my name on any ID card unless they see my updated PR card.

Thus, I have now ended up with two names. After al the hard work I did to change my name in my country, Quebec/Canada seem to force me to live with my old name ‍

 

[armoured]

Thus, I have now ended up with two names. After al the hard work I did to change my name in my country, Quebec/Canada seem to force me to live with my old name ‍♂

Why not just apply to change your name in Quebec?

I don't fully understand the process there, but give as reason that your name has been changed abroad and you want the names to correspond.

[I should think airlines would let you on if you show your foreign passport AND the act/decision/basis on which you changed your name abroad (eg change-of-name court order or civil registry entry.]

Now note: Quebec has specific rules about taking your spouse's name and if you've taken your spouse's name abroad i.e. in order to get around the quebec restrictions, well, you're going to have problems.

 

[NaughtyGoodman]

Why not just apply to change your name in Quebec?

I don't fully understand the process there, but give as reason that your name has been changed abroad and you want the names to correspond.

[I should think airlines would let you on if you show your foreign passport AND the act/decision/basis on which you changed your name abroad (eg change-of-name court order or civil registry entry.]

Now note: Quebec has specific rules about taking your spouse's name and if you've taken your spouse's name abroad i.e. in order to get around the quebec restrictions, well, you're going to have problems.

I believe my next step will have to be to apply for a change of name in Quebec. I didn't change my name to adopt my spouses last name. I changed it for personal reasons.

 

[armoured]

I believe my next step will have to be to apply for a change of name in Quebec. I didn't change my name to adopt my spouses last name. I changed it for personal reasons.

Then you'll just have to make as strong a case as you can, given your reasons.

Again without knowing, apart from your personal reasons, there's a (public policy) case to be made that one person should have a consistent name between jurisdictions, i.e. Quebec should want your name to be consistent with your foreign passport name.

 

[NaughtyGoodman]

My personal reason roughly boils down to preventing discrimination based on a name whose ethnicity can be guessed easily and to not have memories of some past that I want to forget. Again, people from many countries know me by my new name so I just want to make it legal.

I agree with your idea, i.e. Quebec should allow for me to have a consistent name.

As a side note, what I think to myself is:
- When a person is coming to Canada for the first time, they take a foreign passport to accept their name.
- When the same person brings a new documentation to say that they changed their name, things are much different.

I wish it were simpler, but let's see. I'll keep posting updates here. The thing that scares me is that there are many stories in the Internet saying that getting an approval for a full name change in Quebec is very difficult. However, I know that people who succeed don't usually post their stories so what's on the Internet doesn't paint an accurate picture of reality.

That said, thanks a lot for the comments and the support.

 

[armoured]

My personal reason roughly boils down to preventing discrimination based on a name whose ethnicity can be guessed easily and to not have memories of some past that I want to forget. Again, people from many countries know me by my new name so I just want to make it legal.

I agree with your idea, i.e. Quebec should allow for me to have a consistent name.

Here's the Quebec website on this:
https://etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/change-name.html

It lists as serious reasons "

• The use, for five years or more, of a surname or given name not entered on the act of birth
• A name of foreign origin, too difficult to pronounce or write in its original form
• Serious prejudice or psychological suffering caused by the use of the name
• A name that invites ridicule or that is infamous (marked by disgrace, shame or humiliation)"

Note these are examples, not exhaustive.

I think the first reason (use of a name customarily as evidenced by foreign passport) is similar to yours. As are the third and fourth reasons (arguably).

I think it's also reasonable - potentially - to argue that your new name is better suited to use in Canada/Quebec (if that's the case) and will be better suited to integrating into Quebec society, which is sort of like the second reason.

As a side note, what I think to myself is:
- When a person is coming to Canada for the first time, they take a foreign passport to accept their name.
- When the same person brings a new documentation to say that they changed their name, things are much different.

I don't understand this point.

I wish it were simpler, but let's see. I'll keep posting updates here. The thing that scares me is that there are many stories in the Internet saying that getting an approval for a full name change in Quebec is very difficult. However, I know that people who succeed don't usually post their stories so what's on the Internet doesn't paint an accurate picture of reality.

You may wish to consult a lawyer. It is possible there is some better mechanism to get Quebec to 'accept' the name on your passport now than going through full name change - I don't know.