Hi,
I'm a Malaysian national and recently became a Canadian PR. I'm hoping someone might have insight into a name-related issue—I've always gone by a given and surname in every document I've filled, unfortunately Malaysian passports do not have a surname field. I've searched the sub and found some similar threads (especially for Indian passports), but not quite the same situation because from what I gather, in those cases the person in question does not have a surname, unlike in my case.
Malaysian passports only have a single "Name" field—there’s no separate designation for "Given Name" and "Surname." As a result, my PR card (and therefore, my SIN) lists both parts of my name under "surname," with the "given name" field left blank.
The thing is, while my passport doesn’t explicitly split the name, in every official context—banking, property, degrees, even my U.S. visa—I've consistently used a split format: [First Name] as my given name and [Last Name] as my surname (it’s a paternal family surname, not a middle name or extra given name) Everyone on my paternal side has this last name and it's a common surname.
I’d like to officially reflect this in my Canadian documents moving forward, starting with the BC Services Card, driver's license, bank accounts etc. My questions:
I'm a Malaysian national and recently became a Canadian PR. I'm hoping someone might have insight into a name-related issue—I've always gone by a given and surname in every document I've filled, unfortunately Malaysian passports do not have a surname field. I've searched the sub and found some similar threads (especially for Indian passports), but not quite the same situation because from what I gather, in those cases the person in question does not have a surname, unlike in my case.
Malaysian passports only have a single "Name" field—there’s no separate designation for "Given Name" and "Surname." As a result, my PR card (and therefore, my SIN) lists both parts of my name under "surname," with the "given name" field left blank.
The thing is, while my passport doesn’t explicitly split the name, in every official context—banking, property, degrees, even my U.S. visa—I've consistently used a split format: [First Name] as my given name and [Last Name] as my surname (it’s a paternal family surname, not a middle name or extra given name) Everyone on my paternal side has this last name and it's a common surname.
I’d like to officially reflect this in my Canadian documents moving forward, starting with the BC Services Card, driver's license, bank accounts etc. My questions:
- Can I apply for my BC Services Card and bank account with my name split as it's intended (First Name in "given name," Last Name in "surname") even though the PR/SIN has both names under "surname"?
- If not, is a legal name change the only option—even though the spelling/order of my name wouldn't change, just the field placement?
- Has anyone dealt with this successfully, or have any recommendations for who to speak to (e.g., Service Canada, IRCC)? Would appreciate any advice, thanks!
