Changing surname.

[djein]

To make it less complicated for the CiC my wifes passport still has her family name. She really wants to take my last name and make it more official. My question is would you recommend changing her last name and passport right now while CiC is processing our application? We are February 03, 2016 applicant and she is from the Philippines. We expect a decision made sometime before December of this year. Would the alternative be to change it once she lands in Canada but will that have problems with her getting the PR card or any further complications? Also how would we even begin to get her a name changed passport while in Canada since its a Philippines passport. I am in Alberta I heard that you have to fly all the way to Vancouver to do this. Thank you for any insight into this matter.

 

[Survivor27]

To make it less complicated for the CiC my wifes passport still has her family name. She really wants to take my last name and make it more official. My question is would you recommend changing her last name and passport right now while CiC is processing our application? We are February 03, 2016 applicant and she is from the Philippines. We expect a decision made sometime before December of this year. Would the alternative be to change it once she lands in Canada but will that have problems with her getting the PR card or any further complications? Also how would we even begin to get her a name changed passport while in Canada since its a Philippines passport. I am in Alberta I heard that you have to fly all the way to Vancouver to do this. Thank you for any insight into this matter.

Changing maiden name to married name on a passport is optional. I am also from the Philippines and recently renewed my passport earlier this month. I chose to retain my maiden name. But on my application for the renewal of my passport, I put "married" as my status. With my new status and being married to foreign national, I had to attend GCP at CFO as a certificate from them is one of the requirements in obtaining passport renewal.

Btw, it is my husband who suggested to me that it is up to me if I still want to use my maiden name for my new passport. He did mention as well that it is not a big deal to Canadians if wife will be using married name or not.

 

[CDNPR2014]

My question is would you recommend changing her last name and passport right now while CiC is processing our application?

yes, in my experience, it is better to change the last name BEFORE being approved and landing as a PR. She can change her name now, and send a copy of her passport to the visa office once she gets it back.

We expect a decision made sometime before December of this year. Would the alternative be to change it once she lands in Canada but will that have problems with her getting the PR card or any further complications?

her COPR will match her passport, and this is what is used to issue her PR card, SIN#, healthcare card, driver's license, etc. It is far better to change the name before being approved and sending the Visa office a copy of the new passport than to change it after landing. If the name is changed in the passport after landing, she may not be able to use her pr card when traveling since the name will not match the passport. (I'm not sure if traveling with a copy of your marriage certificate to prove her new name would work.) Essentially, if the name is changed after landing, all identifications need to be changed too which is time consuming and costs money.

 

[djein]

We are also traveling in 2 months will that be enough time to get passport changed as well as CiC updated? It does make sense to get it finished before her Canadian ID's are issued but will it be at the cost of a CiC delay in decision?

Also if we do the name change on her passport while the CiC is processing the spousal sponsorship will it invalidate things like police clearances since it will still have her maiden name?

 

[CDNPR2014]

So you are suggesting to apply with existing passport and details on all the IDs. Then while the application is being processed, get passport and all IDs updated with the new last name and then submit the documents as a voluntary update of info to CIC? (I am asking as my wife to be has expressed interest in taking my name and would prefer that on all the documents soon after we get married so I am doing preliminary research).

i can't speak to "all ID's" someone has in their own home country before landing in canada. If a pr applicant wants to change their last name, it is better to change it in the passport BEFORE being approved for PR, so that the COPR (landing document) will be in the new name. If the passport is updated after landing, then all subsequent CANADIAN id's (pr card, healthcare card, driver's license) that are in the maiden name will need to be changed accordingly to match the passport. It is much easier to get the passport updated and send a copy to the visa office before approval than figuring out how to get it all changed after landing.

We are also traveling in 2 months will that be enough time to get passport changed as well as CiC updated?

i can't speak to how long it will take to get a passport updated. that depends on the country the person is from and what their current wait time is for getting a passport changed. this varies per country.

It does make sense to get it finished before her Canadian ID's are issued but will it be at the cost of a CiC delay in decision?

if the passport is updated and a copy sent to the visa office before the application is picked up for processing, there shouldn't be any delay. If the passport is updated after the approval and before landing, then there will be a delay because you will need to get the COPR changed into the new name to match the passport. does that make sense?

 

[djein]

Thanks for your hasty replies CDNPR2014. It seems we have to make a decision quickly. I think changing ID's once in Canada will be a pain but we don't plan on traveling any time soon so name changing the PR card won't be a dire necessity. We have done more than enough traveling and just want to settle for a bit. She won't have a drivers licence only a 1 year probational learners licence...so that would only leave her medical card to be changed which is a free service that seems to be done fairly fast. The largest concern would be where in Alberta we could change her Philippines passport. I sure hope it can be done in Calgary as that is not very far. Or mailed?

In Canada surname change might be the best for us because our application is already deep in processing and could change anytime now.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Lol trust me I know what you mean. My name was pretty screwed up on my landing papers (when I immigrated under family class with my parents), I had to essentially wait for everything and then go back and update all the docs.

As for my future spouse, we have the passport and national ID back home. Would you say get it updated right after I submit the application and then send it in as updated docs + a covering letter? I don't want to wait for all the IDs to be updated and THEN submit the application cuz God knows how long that'll take. I rather have the application in progress while we get this updated.

you don't need to wait for all national id's to be updated to change the name on the application. the only thing CIC needs is a copy of the updated passport. yes, again, it is better to get the passport updated BEFORE the application is picked up for processing and approved. whether that's before or after you submit it, depends on you.

 

[djein]

you don't need to wait for all national id's to be updated to change the name on the application. the only thing CIC needs is a copy of the updated passport. yes, again, it is better to get the passport updated BEFORE the application is picked up for processing and approved. whether that's before or after you submit it, depends on you.

I don't suppose you know the process for updating passport with the CiC? Is it done online? Maybe if its not snail mail it can be done fast enough but keep in mind its the Philippines...they love their paper trail hehe. Again thank you so much for your help!

We are already "in process" but its been like that for 5 months now.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Oh okay, final clarification...by processing and approved you mean by the VO right? So essentially send this info asap, if not then after SA but before "In process"?

yes. by processing and approved i mean the application is at the vo. yes, send in the info ASAP after sponsor approval and before in process.

 

[CDNPR2014]

I don't suppose you know the process for updating passport with the CiC? Is it done online? Maybe if its not snail mail it can be done fast enough but keep in mind its the Philippines...they love their paper trail hehe. Again thank you so much for your help!

We are already "in process" but its been like that for 5 months now.

you can submit a case specific inquiry with a scanned copy of the passport, that should get sent to the vo and connected to the application. you'll know if it gets registered when they request the passport and the applicaiton name has been changed. if it's not changed by the time the passport is requested, then when you submit the new passport for processing, make sure they realize it's a new passport and the name has been changed.

 

[S_and_C]

Hi, our situation is similar in terms of name change. We decided to have my wife update her passport for her married name before applying for PR to avoid future headaches. However, our medical certificate still had the old passport information and her maiden name but it also has a place for husbands surname showing we're married. When we applied for PR we included scans of both old and new passports, and noted on the old one that it is referenced on the medical certificate with her maiden name. I assume they'll figure it out, the PR app uses her new married name throughout.