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

[Bs65]

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

For a PR card

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=721&top=

 

[Aman6591]

For a PR card

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=721&top=

thank you!

 

[vishalv]

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

If you reside in Ontario, you can split your given name by applying for a name change certificate.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/change-name#section-0

Once you obtain the name change certificate, you can then change the name in bank account, driving license, health card by visiting any Service Ontario centre.

You can then change your name in SIN by visiting any Service Canada centre.

Then you can change the name in your PR card by submitting a renewal application.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/apply-renew-replace.html

Simultaneously, assuming you are an Indian passport holder, you can split your name in your passport too.

http://www.blsindia-canada.com/new_ppt.php

As someone who has done all the above process, I can say that it will take around 5 to 6 months. Good luck

 

[adnan.mohammed]

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!

My wife for some strange reason does not have her last name on the passport. We were a worried lot, but nothing untoward happened. Processed the PR with just the first name and wherever last name was required especially for online submissions, we put the first name as the last name.
Ex, FN: Kate LN: Kate. It went through, we received our PR

 

[alok4best]

If you reside in Ontario, you can split your given name by applying for a name change certificate.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/change-name#section-0

Once you obtain the name change certificate, you can then change the name in bank account, driving license, health card by visiting any Service Ontario centre.

You can then change your name in SIN by visiting any Service Canada centre.

Then you can change the name in your PR card by submitting a renewal application.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/apply-renew-replace.html

Simultaneously, assuming you are an Indian passport holder, you can split your name in your passport too.

http://www.blsindia-canada.com/new_ppt.php

As someone who has done all the above process, I can say that it will take around 5 to 6 months. Good luck

Quick question. Based on the info that you have provided, I understand these are the steps in chronological order:
1. Apply a name change with service Ontario. No proof required, as this is the start point of the process. I guess this should take a couple of weeks to process. Please confirm.
2. Once you get a name change certificate, start updating names on driver's license, SIN, bank accounts and such. I think all these updates are processed immediately. The only thing that will take a few weeks is for the plastic card for driver's license to come. However, you can use the print version they give with old license for the time being. Please confirm if my understanding is correct.
3. Once 1 and 2 are done, the next logical step will be apply for a new PR card. This might take 3-4 months. Do they also issue a new COPR?
4. Once 3 is done, the last step will be do re-issue Indian passport. This is a tricky process.
BLS asks for two documents already in new name, which could be PR Card and DL.
However, they also ask newspaper clippings or gazette notification from India. This will take a little effort to procure. But once you have necessary docs, it should take may be 2-3 weeks to get a new passport.

Now here is the important question. Does being in middle of this process limit your travels. I would think that you should be able to travel in and out of Canada till step 3 is done. That is you have applied for a new PR card and waiting for a new one. You can still travel with current PR card and Indian passport, since they are still in sync. Once you get a new PR card, you will not be able to fly out since your PR Card name will be different than the passport.
If my interpretation is right then your travel abilities will be impacted for may be 4-6 weeks, the time it takes you to arrange gazette etc and update Indian passport. Let me know if this makes sense.

 

[vishalv]

Quick question. Based on the info that you have provided, I understand these are the steps in chronological order:
1. Apply a name change with service Ontario. No proof required, as this is the start point of the process. I guess this should take a couple of weeks to process. Please confirm.
2. Once you get a name change certificate, start updating names on driver's license, SIN, bank accounts and such. I think all these updates are processed immediately. The only thing that will take a few weeks is for the plastic card for driver's license to come. However, you can use the print version they give with old license for the time being. Please confirm if my understanding is correct.
3. Once 1 and 2 are done, the next logical step will be apply for a new PR card. This might take 3-4 months. Do they also issue a new COPR?
4. Once 3 is done, the last step will be do re-issue Indian passport. This is a tricky process.
BLS asks for two documents already in new name, which could be PR Card and DL.
However, they also ask newspaper clippings or gazette notification from India. This will take a little effort to procure. But once you have necessary docs, it should take may be 2-3 weeks to get a new passport.

Now here is the important question. Does being in middle of this process limit your travels. I would think that you should be able to travel in and out of Canada till step 3 is done. That is you have applied for a new PR card and waiting for a new one. You can still travel with current PR card and Indian passport, since they are still in sync. Once you get a new PR card, you will not be able to fly out since your PR Card name will be different than the passport.
If my interpretation is right then your travel abilities will be impacted for may be 4-6 weeks, the time it takes you to arrange gazette etc and update Indian passport. Let me know if this makes sense.

1. Yes that is correct. You do not require any proof to change your name.
2. The driver license, health card can be updated in Service Ontario. Your understanding is correct. The plastic copy of the license will be sufficient till the plastic card comes by mail a couple of weeks later.
The SIN card can be updated in Service Canada.
3. A new PR card will take upto 4 months to be issued due to the backlog. No COPR will not be issued again. It will only issued once at the time of the landing in Canada.
4. The name change process for the Indian passport can be done simultaneously while you apply for the name change certificate in Ontario. As per own experience, I have noticed that even if the names are joined in PR card & DL, it will not cause any issues in passport renewal. These two IDs are mostly used to verify your identity & status in Canada.
Another important thing to remember is
- If you are splitting your name like I did, then newspaper clippings are not required. You just need to write a letter explaining why you want to split your name.
- If you want to change your name, it is a completely different matter. As you said, you will need to submit newspaper clippings or gazette notification from India. This might take a while.
The total time it took for me to renew my passport via BLS was nearly 3 weeks, It was very efficient and smooth. They even did a pickup & drop service for me which ensured that I did not have to visit their centre to renew my passport.

Regarding your last question, as long as your PR card is valid, you will not have any issue travelling while the new PR card is being renewed.

My advice would be is after submitting name change application to Service Ontario, is to start the passport renewal process. Let both process occur simultaneously thus saving you valuable time.

 

[alok4best]

1. Yes that is correct. You do not require any proof to change your name.
2. The driver license, health card can be updated in Service Ontario. Your understanding is correct. The plastic copy of the license will be sufficient till the plastic card comes by mail a couple of weeks later.
The SIN card can be updated in Service Canada.
3. A new PR card will take upto 4 months to be issued due to the backlog. No COPR will not be issued again. It will only issued once at the time of the landing in Canada.
4. The name change process for the Indian passport can be done simultaneously while you apply for the name change certificate in Ontario. As per own experience, I have noticed that even if the names are joined in PR card & DL, it will not cause any issues in passport renewal. These two IDs are mostly used to verify your identity & status in Canada.
Another important thing to remember is
- If you are splitting your name like I did, then newspaper clippings are not required. You just need to write a letter explaining why you want to split your name.
- If you want to change your name, it is a completely different matter. As you said, you will need to submit newspaper clippings or gazette notification from India. This might take a while.
The total time it took for me to renew my passport via BLS was nearly 3 weeks, It was very efficient and smooth. They even did a pickup & drop service for me which ensured that I did not have to visit their centre to renew my passport.

Regarding your last question, as long as your PR card is valid, you will not have any issue travelling while the new PR card is being renewed.

Yeah. Thanks for the confirmation. Pretty much in line with my understanding of how the system works. I will have to go through the gazette route as I just have a single name as of now. Have figured out few agents in India who can sort out the newspaper/gazette thing for reasonable price. Just a matter getting out of my laziness now.. lol..

 

[vishalv]

Yeah. Thanks for the confirmation. Pretty much in line with my understanding of how the system works. I will have to go through the gazette route as I just have a single name as of now. Have figured out few agents in India who can sort out the newspaper/gazette thing for reasonable price. Just a matter getting out of my laziness now.. lol..

Yes I understand how you feel mate. You just need a starting push.

Good luck with your endeavor. You will need lots of patience as you go through this process. I was so relieved when I got most of these documents.

 

[madeehagafoor]

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 Please Provide the steps to add surname after receiving the PR

 

[abhinavatulya]

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, I am stuck exactly in the same situation. My first name ia blank while my full name shown in my last name. My PE card, sin, health card all have the same thing. How can I get this corrected? Please share the steps.
Thank you!

 

[vishalv]

Hi, I am stuck exactly in the same situation. My first name ia blank while my full name shown in my last name. My PE card, sin, health card all have the same thing. How can I get this corrected? Please share the steps.
Thank you!

Hi Please Provide the steps to add surname after receiving the PR

If you reside in Ontario, you can split your given name by applying for a name change certificate.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/change-name#section-0

Once you obtain the name change certificate, you can then change the name in bank account, driving license, health card by visiting any Service Ontario centre.

You can then change your name in SIN by visiting any Service Canada centre.

Then you can change the name in your PR card by submitting a renewal application.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/apply-renew-replace.html

Simultaneously, assuming you are an Indian passport holder, you can split your name in your passport too.

http://www.blsindia-canada.com/new_ppt.php

As someone who has done all the above process, I can say that it will take around 5 to 6 months. Good luck

 

[chits.krishnan22]

Hello everyone,

Has anybody gone through updation of PR card, after splitting their names on passport (like we did)? Do we still need to go through legal name change document procedure (even its just splitting the names - first name and last name). Kindly someone advise as theres no structured rule mentioned anywhere for this specific case.

Appreciate anyone sharing their experience.

Thanks!

 

[enticing typhoon]

Hi everyone ! Please help ! Need urgent advice on this please .

I reside in Ontario and I dint have a last name . Recently i renewed my indian passport and added my husbands surname as my last name . My questions are :
1. Which form do i need to fill up ? Is it the legal name change for adult or the name change election form ( but it says to use this if you need to change your last name . As i mentioned , i added up the last name . i dint have it before )
2. If i have to add the surname in all my other documents , like drivers , OHIP , Bank Account etc , do i need the name change certificate ?
3. I will be travelling after 4 months , so can i just apply for renewal of PR card and leave the country with my current PR card ? Will that be a problem at the airport ?

Would be really if someone who has gone through the process throw some light on this ! Thanks a ton in advance .