Name Change

[ecuaderek]

In Canada, women often change their last name to their husbands last when they are married, however this tradition isn't kept in other parts of the world. For those who married a Canadian citizen and applied for family sponsorship outland, did anyone change their name when they arrived to canada?

How does it affect your Permanent Residence card? Do you have to apply for a new one with your new name?

What is the process to change your name? How long does it take?

 

[k.h.p.]

It depends on the jurisdiction. Are you asking how in Canada you change your name to a married name?

In BC, you don't - you use your marriage certificate as proof of the new name and then apply for ID. In BC, it's difficult to actually apply for a name change in the other method if you're only doing it as a result of marriage, the government will tell you that your marriage certificate is all you need to assume a married name.

Changing names is not mandatory, and it's less and less of a tradition now. If you don't have pressure from your family to change your name upon marriage, I would just leave it as it is.

 

[ecuaderek]

Ok, I'm just kinda confused, because this page from the BC government says that you do have to apply for a name change:
(https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/life-events/legal-changes-of-name/legal-change-of-name-application)

There are only a couple of circumstances in which you would need a legal change of name to take a spouse's name:

• If you want to create a new surname by adding your birth surname as a middle name;
• If you want to update your immigration or citizenship documents to reflect a new name or a married surname.

So basicaly my questions are:

Being that my wife's PR card will have my wife's maiden name (we didn't change her name in her own country), I will have to request a new PR card once we change her name in Canada?

Is it better to request SIN card, Health card and drivers licence first, change her name, then apply for all the documents again with the name change, or wait the mandatory 3 months and do it once ( at the risk of being 6 months without health insurance, unable to work, open bank accounts etc)...​

 

[k.h.p.]

Do you want to update her documents to include your name?

 

[Hay04]

Not sure if this will help tho but in my case i just took my marriage certificate to service Canada to change my last name on the SIN(no fees) same thing i did to change my other ids including bank accounts. And it's been 1 year already. You don't have to change your pr card right away, i still have my pr card in my maiden name just because its a long process. I am in Alberta btw.

 

[phaeo]

The laws in BC are similar to Nova Scotia (where I live) and most of Canada I believe. She doesn't have to legally change her name to start using your last name on day-to-day things like bank statements or drivers license or whatever. All you need to do in most cases is show your marriage certificate and it's fine, it's called using an assumed name. She also doesn't necessarily HAVE to change her name on her immigration documents, but that page is telling you that if you WANT to, that's an instance where you need to legally have your name changed. Otherwise she can continue using an assumed name to get her SIN and drivers license and all the rest, but since she will still legally have her unmarried name she doesn't have to get a new PR card.

 

[k.h.p.]

Exactly. She does not have to change her name. It may have been a tradition in the past, but it's less and less common these days.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

In Canada, women often change their last name to their husbands last when they are married, however this tradition isn't kept in other parts of the world. For those who married a Canadian citizen and applied for family sponsorship outland, did anyone change their name when they arrived to canada?

How does it affect your Permanent Residence card? Do you have to apply for a new one with your new name?

What is the process to change your name? How long does it take?

If her app is still processing, she would need to change her name in her passport and update IRCC; her PR card and all other ID would then be issued in her married name. If her app is already done, she would need to do a legal name change in BC to change the name on her PR card.

If she doesn't care that her passport and PR card will be in her maiden name, she can use just her marriage certificate to go by her married name in her DL, SIN and other day-to-day stuff.

If she doesn't want to change her name at all, then she just doesn't do anything.

 

[ecuaderek]

Wow, Thanks guys, I had no Idea that it was that easy! So I can just show my marriage certificate, even though its not in english? I imagine I would have to show a translated one...

 

[k.h.p.]

Like people have said here, it depends on what you want to do. Get a driver's license in your married name? Bring the marriage certificate. Get your PR card? May be more complex.

 

[ecuaderek]

I think just for everyday life, Drivers licence, SIN,BC care card, bank statements is enough. We can live with out the passport. At a later date we would like to change her PR card, but if the everyday stuff is taken care of, then the PR card can wait.

 

[k.h.p.]

Then you should be able to get away with the marriage certificate

 

[ecuaderek]

Great, thank you so much for this information, probably saved me alot of cash and stress

 

[Alex54321]

If her app is still processing, she would need to change her name in her passport and update IRCC; her PR card and all other ID would then be issued in her married name. If her app is already done, she would need to do a legal name change in BC to change the name on her PR card.

If she doesn't care that her passport and PR card will be in her maiden name, she can use just her marriage certificate to go by her married name in her DL, SIN and other day-to-day stuff.

If she doesn't want to change her name at all, then she just doesn't do anything.

Old tread, but still the question is about application for citizenship and supplying 2 personal identification documents.

In our situation the passport and PR card are with maiden name, the DL and OHIP cards are with "assumed" husband last name.

How do we correctly proceed with application? Just provide these DL and OHIP cards ( with assumed last name) with an explanation sheet and a copy of marriage certificate?

Or should we check on CheckList document "Photocopy of legal Name Change documents" and provide a copy of marriage certificate there? Not sure, since it's not a legal name change, just and assumption of husband name.

So, my question is how to correctly assemble citizenship package with these different maiden/assumed last names ( passport/PR card vs DL/OHIP).

 

[k.h.p.]

Old tread, but still the question is about application for citizenship and supplying 2 personal identification documents.

In our situation the passport and PR card are with maiden name, the DL and OHIP cards are with "assumed" husband last name.

How do we correctly proceed with application? Just provide these DL and OHIP cards ( with assumed last name) with an explanation sheet and a copy of marriage certificate?

Or should we check on CheckList document "Photocopy of legal Name Change documents" and provide a copy of marriage certificate there? Not sure, since it's not a legal name change, just and assumption of husband name.

So, my question is how to correctly assemble citizenship package with these different maiden/assumed last names ( passport/PR card vs DL/OHIP).

You didn't legally change your name and you are required to submit the passport as part of the citizenship application, so you're not going to have much choice here.