Name Split in Passport, COPR and PR Card

[nitash.agrawal]

I received my PR card and the time of applying for other services is when I realized that full name is in given name. I have got the name rectified in the passport but for Name Change in Ontario, the Service Ontario site puts the condition "Have lived in Ontario for past 12 months". Any ideas on how to go about this since it has not been anywhere close to 12 months since landing?

Hello Symq,

That is correct. The process is simple but time consuming.

Question : This happened due to your issue on your passport originally which you have rectified ?

1. Correct your Indian Passport - which you have already done. But this is not enough to update the Canadian documents
2. Wait for 12 months in Ontario and then Apply for Legal Name Change Certificate (By mail / Service Ontario). There is no option other than waiting for entire 1 year before application. We recently completed the same for my spouse and recieved a certificate.
3. Use this certificate to update you DL and OHIP @ Service Ontario (15 minute job when you visit them)
4. Use this certificate to update you SIIN information @ Service Canada (15 minute job when you visit them)
   
5. Fill out a PR Card Renewal form and mail it to the Nova Scotia address : https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/how-to-apply.html
6. You will receive the new PR card with updated name in the mail.
7. if you need additional help - reach out to me via email nitash.agrawal@gmail.com and I can help you further if required.

Good Luck!

 

[rkuma145]

Hi Everyone - I am experiencing the same issue with my wife's spousal sponsorship application,her last name field is blank and her last name + given name is mentioned in the given name field.

I am still preparing her spousal sponsorship application and she is in India presently,I would imagine it would be better if i can get her passport corrected in India itself before submitting her sponsorship application so that all her Canadian documents are generated with correct first and last name and i don't need to fix multiple documents for her.

Any suggestions?inputs please

Thanks in advance.

Rupesh

 

[nitash.agrawal]

Hi Everyone - I am experiencing the same issue with my wife's spousal sponsorship application,her last name field is blank and her last name + given name is mentioned in the given name field.

I am still preparing her spousal sponsorship application and she is in India presently,I would imagine it would be better if i can get her passport corrected in India itself before submitting her sponsorship application so that all her Canadian documents are generated with correct first and last name and i don't need to fix multiple documents for her.

Any suggestions?inputs please

Thanks in advance.

Rupesh

Hello Rupesh,
Hope you're doing well!

That is absolutely correct. The best possible way is the process that you suggested.

I would have done this :

1. Fix the passport in India.
2. Correct the name : First + Last
3. Then apply for the sponsorship using the corrected passport

By the above, you will ensure all Canadian documents issued will be issued as First + Last and not Blank + Last (full name)

Hope this helps!

Best,
Nitash Agrawal!

 

[rkuma145]

Hello Rupesh,
Hope you're doing well!

That is absolutely correct. The best possible way is the process that you suggested.

I would have done this :

1. Fix the passport in India.
2. Correct the name : First + Last
3. Then apply for the sponsorship using the corrected passport

By the above, you will ensure all Canadian documents issued will be issued as First + Last and not Blank + Last (full name)

Hope this helps!

Best,
Nitash Agrawal!

Great thanks Nitash !!

 

[CandaianDream]

Hi @keypad I am living in Vancouver and having the same issue of having no surname,should I need to fill the form online of name change or need to visit the vital statistics for that?
Secondly,may I add my surname now,as my old passport has my name as Xxxx kaur,or should I get them split only?
Thirdly,to update pr card,on which emails we should send an email?thanks for ur help

Hi @parmeet, @keypad, thank you for sharing your details , I too have a similar problem, my name on Indian Passport is correct as First Name under First name and Singh under Last Name but on PR Card they combined both under last name with first name as blank. My BC Service card was issued without photo, thankfully BC ID card was issued with a picture so that serves as my ID. I was trying to apply for Legal Name change however the online application does not allow me to enter a blank under First Name of Foundation ID. I can fill in the offline form and mail it, however, I want to check with you, would it prudent to leave the First Name as blank in the offline form, or would it be better to go directly to Service BC. Service BC in Metro Vancouver has limited services and they do not provide legal name change service for that I will have to go to Maple Ridge.
Also please let me know if i need to get fingerprinting done before i submit legal name change form?

 

[keypad]

Hi @parmeet, @keypad, thank you for sharing your details , I too have a similar problem, my name on Indian Passport is correct as First Name under First name and Singh under Last Name but on PR Card they combined both under last name with first name as blank. My BC Service card was issued without photo, thankfully BC ID card was issued with a picture so that serves as my ID. I was trying to apply for Legal Name change however the online application does not allow me to enter a blank under First Name of Foundation ID. I can fill in the offline form and mail it, however, I want to check with you, would it prudent to leave the First Name as blank in the offline form, or would it be better to go directly to Service BC. Service BC in Metro Vancouver has limited services and they do not provide legal name change service for that I will have to go to Maple Ridge.
Also please let me know if i need to get fingerprinting done before i submit legal name change form?

Hi @CandaianDream Sorry for the late reply. I am not following this thread on a regular basis.

If your name on Indian passport was correct at the time you applied for the PR then it should have been the same on your PR card too. You might have made a mistake while filling out the forms and that is why they have combined your full name as your last name.

I am not sure what is the current process but at the time when I went through this, I just filled an offline form and left the first name field blank. I mailed the form with proof of fingerprints done to Vital Statistics. Going to Service BC was not a feasible option for me too as they didn't have any location in the lower mainland.

 

[rejo_j2003]

@ drajay: You don't need two newspaper advertisements. Just tell to BLS that u want to split name . only thing u need is name split affidavit which is on their website.

@sunshine1212: Unfortunately, this is a lengthy process. I am in the process of doing that -
1) Split your name in India passport by contacting BLS office.
2) Apply for a name Change (i.e. split) in Canada - I did it by applying in Service Ontario - it takes anywhere between 2 -3 months. (Depends upon which province you live)
3) Contact immigration with the new passport and name change document to change name on PR Card. (COPR document will never change) & hopefully they will change the name. (Thats what my lawyer told me)

Total process would take around 4-6 months.


@ gsriharsh: I totally agree with you.

Hi can you please tell which affidavit has to be downloaded from passport seva website.

 

[Grizz]

@ Keypad: Not sure about British Columbia then..You may have to talk to someone there personally I guess...here as I said (in Ontario) the format was <LastName>, <FirstName>.

Good news is - I got my PR card updated today with split name. So everything is done. So just to re-iterate for everyone - here is the process for splitting the name:

1) Get a name change certificate from your province you are residing. (Since I live in Toronto - I applied the same in Service Ontario through mail). Name Change Certificate came after 8 weeks.

2) Once I got the certificate - took it to local Service Ontario office. They updated my name in Driving License, Health card.

3) Took the certificate to local Service Canada office. They updated my name in SIN Card.

3) Mailed the copy of the name change certificate to CIC (Immigration). Use the application of PR renewal

4) Received the PR card with updated name from CIC office.

5) Only thing which will not be updated is COPR because I changed my name after becoming a permanent resident. (FYI-COPR name change is only done if there was a mistake done by immigration officials.)

Did you not split the name on your passport first?

 

[Grizz]

Hello all,

Finally, I got my name split done on each of my documents. Whatever problems I was facing due to missing last name are now resolved. I am describing my journey here for all those who are still deciding or want to know the process.

**Note: I did this in BC but most of the things will be same for other provinces too except step 1.**

1. First of all, I needed to apply for a legal name change process. This was done with Vital Statistics. It took almost 5-7 weeks to get my legal name change certificate.
2. Next, I went to my nearest Service Canada location to get my SIN number updated. This process took half an hour and issued me updated SIN letter on the spot.
3. Then I went to ICBC to get my driver's licence and BC Services Card updated. They also took close to half an hour (including wait time) and updated my licence as well as services card in their records. However, I received my new licence and services card in a month or so. Other than this, I had to sent a copy of my name change certificate to HIBC and requested them to update their records.
4. Along with step 3, I sent my application for PR card replacement with amended name. They took close to 2 months.
5. Then I applied for my home country passport renewal with proper first name and last name. Surprisingly, they took only a week to issue me my new passport.

This entire process took almost seven months and finally sorts out every issue related to missing last name in my documents.

Thanks to everyone who guided me through out the process.

1. Did you get a new SIN number? Does it not affect your credit score or any issues with taxation?
2. Do you need to send your current original PR card with the documents?

 

[karthicktalk]

Hello all,

Finally, I got my name split done on each of my documents. Whatever problems I was facing due to missing last name are now resolved. I am describing my journey here for all those who are still deciding or want to know the process.

**Note: I did this in BC but most of the things will be same for other provinces too except step 1.**

1. First of all, I needed to apply for a legal name change process. This was done with Vital Statistics. It took almost 5-7 weeks to get my legal name change certificate.
2. Next, I went to my nearest Service Canada location to get my SIN number updated. This process took half an hour and issued me updated SIN letter on the spot.
3. Then I went to ICBC to get my driver's licence and BC Services Card updated. They also took close to half an hour (including wait time) and updated my licence as well as services card in their records. However, I received my new licence and services card in a month or so. Other than this, I had to sent a copy of my name change certificate to HIBC and requested them to update their records.
4. Along with step 3, I sent my application for PR card replacement with amended name. They took close to 2 months.
5. Then I applied for my home country passport renewal with proper first name and last name. Surprisingly, they took only a week to issue me my new passport.

This entire process took almost seven months and finally sorts out every issue related to missing last name in my documents.

Thanks to everyone who guided me through out the process.

Hi , for step 4

4. Along with step 3, I sent my application for PR card replacement with amended name. They took close to 2 months.

-Did you send your current PR card along with the application or did you get new PR card with corrected name (then you stopped using your old PR card), thank you.

Also, can we use legal change certificate from BC to get indian passport name fixed or do we need to follow a separate procedure? Thanks.

 

[keypad]

Hi , for step 4

4. Along with step 3, I sent my application for PR card replacement with amended name. They took close to 2 months.

-Did you send your current PR card along with the application or did you get new PR card with corrected name (then you stopped using your old PR card), thank you.

Also, can we use legal change certificate from BC to get indian passport name fixed or do we need to follow a separate procedure? Thanks.

No, there is no need to send your current PR card with the application. they will send you the new one and then you will have to destroy the one you already have.

The legal name change certificate from BC is of no use for Indian passport correction. If it is simply a case of name split then you need to sign an affidavit and that will go with your passport application. In case you are trying to change names then along with the affidavit, two newspaper copies will also be needed. You can get more info at blsindia-canada .com / faqs.php

 

[karthicktalk]

Thank you, there are 2 options - renew your present PR card , replace a lost, stolen, destroyed or never received PR car - not sure, which option is the best one (if i select replace a lost, stolen, destroyed or never received PR car option, there is a message saying, you must send the damaged card with your application).

 

[keypad]

Thank you, there are 2 options - renew your present PR card , replace a lost, stolen, destroyed or never received PR car - not sure, which option is the best one (if i select replace a lost, stolen, destroyed or never received PR car option, there is a message saying, you must send the damaged card with your application).

You need to select "Renew".

 

[karthicktalk]

Thank you again, i renewed my PR card 3 months back, so, for this, i will go ahead and select renew.

 

[khiz11]

Hi everyone,

I am an international student in Toronto, experiencing the same issue.

As per my Indian passport,
Given Name: Khizer Ahmed
Surname: BLANK

As per my Study Permit
Given Name: BLANK
Family Name: Khizer Ahmed

I got to know that I can split my name in the passport through BLS Canada but getting the Study Permit corrected would not be possible.

can someone who has been through the same situation advice me on it?

Email - khizer726@gmail.com
Instagram - khizerahmed11