To all new PR holders with no Last Name, Advice required!

[sadiyarehman]

Hi,

Just like you, I don't have a last name on my Passport. I have initiated my PR process and hope to get one.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to know that what are the problems faced by all the PR holders who have no last name? i.e. your name was only a single line on the passport and did not have anything in the column of Surname/Last name.

Was it a problem to get a new Bank Account?
Apply for Driving License?
What does it say on your PR card?
any other problem?

Please respond!

I am trying to decide that whether i should go for a name change in my passport now or deal with it later.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[steaky]

Why don't you just change your name (get a last name) in home country before becoming PR?

 

[sadiyarehman]

Why don't you just change your name (get a last name) in home country before becoming PR?

Well yes, that's the obvious way out but I got to know that it can be a problem (not having a last name) a but late and I have already submitted my application for PR.

If I change now, I will have a new passport number and I have to somehow inform cic.

So trying to weigh my pros and cons

 

[hamgha]

Well yes, that's the obvious way out but I got to know that it can be a problem (not having a last name) a but late and I have already submitted my application for PR.

If I change now, I will have a new passport number and I have to somehow inform cic.

So trying to weigh my pros and cons

Updating cic is just a webform away vs all the hassle you might face later on

 

[YVR123]

Most North American systems assume that you have a last name/surname/family name.

If you don't have one, you are testing those system for us.

 

[sadiyarehman]

Most North American systems assume that you have a last name/surname/family name.

If you don't have one, you are testing those system for us.

Thanks, for the response

 

[Buletruck]

My wife has no first name. On the IRCC application, use LNU (last name unknown) for your last name. Your PR card will have the same (unless IRCC decides to use your first name as your last name, then they will use FNU (first name unknown) in its place. All your government issued documents (drivers license, health card card, tax forms) will have the same as your PR card and passport. Banks and private sector will be baffled, but as long as you know how to deal with it, it’s not an issue. Banks will use either FNU or LNU or in some case, we have just used her name twice to get past the systems they use ( they like at least two names for their software).
Overall, it’s your choice but most people we encounter and explain it to think it novel and don’t think changing is a good idea. We’ve never had any issues.

 

[steaky]

If this not good idea, why do people want to change their last names especially after marriage?

In the post below, we can see problem if names unchanged:

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/change-in-name-in-pr-card-after-splitting-name-in-indian-passport.559806/#post-6932455

 

[PMM]

Hi

My wife has no first name. On the IRCC application, use LNU (last name unknown) for your last name. Your PR card will have the same (unless IRCC decides to use your first name as your last name, then they will use FNU (first name unknown) in its place. All your government issued documents (drivers license, health card card, tax forms) will have the same as your PR card and passport. Banks and private sector will be baffled, but as long as you know how to deal with it, it’s not an issue. Banks will use either FNU or LNU or in some case, we have just used her name twice to get past the systems they use ( they like at least two names for their software).
Overall, it’s your choice but most people we encounter and explain it to think it novel and don’t think changing is a good idea. We’ve never had any issues.

1. Please read the instructions from IRCC first before posting. If you don't have a surname, you put your name in the surname field and leave the give name field blank. You don't use LNU or FNU.
2. Read the Instructions

 

[vishalv]

Hi,

Just like you, I don't have a last name on my Passport. I have initiated my PR process and hope to get one.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to know that what are the problems faced by all the PR holders who have no last name? i.e. your name was only a single line on the passport and did not have anything in the column of Surname/Last name.

Was it a problem to get a new Bank Account?
Apply for Driving License?
What does it say on your PR card?
any other problem?

Please respond!

I am trying to decide that whether i should go for a name change in my passport now or deal with it later.

Thanks in Advance!

As someone who has experienced this issue, I can provide an insight into how your issue will pan out. Currently, the name in your passport is as follows:

Given Name: John Doe

Surname:

Once you become your permanent resident, your name in SIN, PR card etc will be as follows:

Given Name:

Surname: John Doe

Now there are two ways you can rectify this issue. If you want, you can change the name in your passport before or after PR process. In my case, I changed my name after the PR process. It is relatively straightforward. Let me know if you need to know the steps required.

 

[Buletruck]

1. Please read the instructions from IRCC first before posting. If you don't have a surname, you put your name in the surname field and leave the give name field blank. You don't use LNU or FNU.
2. Read the Instructions

Thanks for your pretentious response, but having actually having gone through the process and receiving the PR status, these were the instruction given to us by the Canadian Consulate in Jakarta for TRV application (and physically filled in by the VO) and the advice from them was to do the same on the PR application. If you like, you can take it up with the Consulate.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks for your pretentious response, but having actually having gone through the process and receiving the PR status, these were the instruction given to us by the Canadian Consulate in Jakarta for TRV application (and physically filled in by the VO) and the advice from them was to do the same on the PR application. If you like, you can take it up with the Consulate.

1. At Jakarta there is a good chance that they haven't actually read the guide for completing the forms .
2. As per the guide :

Question 4

If the person you are sponsoring doesn’t have a family name on their passport or travel document, enter all given names in the family name field and leave the given name field empty.

If the person you are sponsoring doesn’t have a given name on their passport or travel document, leave the given name field empty.

 

[alok4best]

It is very simple. If you have just one name, i.e. First Name and a blank Last Name, you will just use your First Name in all application forms that you will fill for your PR process.
However, IRCC will pick your first name and put in the last name field in all the documents they will issue, because their systems cannot have a blank last name. So your COPR, PR Card, Drivers License, everything will have a blank FN, with your actual name populated in the last name field.
Your bank will also do something very similar, either leave the FN blank or repeat FN in both fields. So if your name is John, your bank account will become Mr. John John.

It is not very difficult to change your name and add your last name, it is just time consuming. I suggest you leave it the way it is for now and get your PR. Not sure which country you are from, but it might be actually easier to become a Canadian citizen first with your current name, and then add your last name. This means you will not have to go through the hassles of changing name in your native country first.

 

[alok4best]

To add on to my last response, booking flight tickets is a different issue altogether. The usual practice with north American airlines is to put LNU in your last name field when booking tickets. So if your passport reads Mr. John, you book your tickets as Mr. John LNU.
This practice differs region to region, airline to airline. In Europe, it is okay to use your family name in such cases.
For example: Your name is Mr. John, and your father's name is Mr. Dave Smith, and your passport contains names of your parents, then you can also book your ticket as Mr. John Smith, and airlines would be okay with this.

However, when in doubt, always give a call to airline's booking helpline and confirm what format they prefer.

 

[Aman6591]

As someone who has experienced this issue, I can provide an insight into how your issue will pan out. Currently, the name in your passport is as follows:

Given Name: John Doe

Surname:

Once you become your permanent resident, your name in SIN, PR card etc will be as follows:

Given Name:

Surname: John Doe

Now there are two ways you can rectify this issue. If you want, you can change the name in your passport before or after PR process. In my case, I changed my name after the PR process. It is relatively straightforward. Let me know if you need to know the steps required.

Hi what is the process for changing the name after the PR process?