Surname change on PR CARD - need expert advise

[fprince]

My wife will have her PR card in her maiden name.
She will be applying for a new Indian Passport in Sept 2011 and will be issued one with my surname.

My questions to experts is..

since she will always be carrying her old/new PP when she travels which has her maiden name/my surname...

Does she need a PR card with the new name ( my surname )


Is this mandatory and really a must as the process can take up to 6 months.

If so, can you please guide me as to what to do...am i right to assume the change needs to happen in her PP first and PR card next? some ppl would have gone through this process and can help me.
I am perfectly ok to do this, but really don wanna bother if both do not match and you have your old PP & new PP when @ the border.
Thanks guys..am sure all the seniors on this forum will have a take on this.

 

[Love_Young]

It is important to have both the names on the passport and PR card match. After all they do need to validate you are who you say you are. Plus it helps not only for travel but some places may ask for proof of citizenship and your PR card. It is always important to have any identity documents match such as drivers license, SIN card, health care card, and any other identity documents from your home country. No point in making proving your identity harder than it needs to be. Lol.

P.S. Yes I do believe you change your passport name first than PR card. If you are traveling you could run into issues with the name on the PR card not being right but I am sure if travel is a must and you provide proof that the PR card with the new name is on the way, then they probably won't have a problem with it.

 

[fprince]

Thanks Love_Young

I know changing the DL, SIN & Health card is a piece of cake as it can be done in any Service Ontario counter and will need 4 weeks for new cards.
All you need is the original marriage certificate and you can assume the surname cos of marriage...

But PR card name change...can you tell me how ? please and thanks.
The issue is with the 6 months processing time...............

 

[Love_Young]

Thanks Love_Young

I know changing the DL, SIN & Health card is a piece of cake as it can be done in any Service Ontario counter and will need 4 weeks for new cards.

But PR card name change...can you tell me how ? please and thanks.
The issue is with the 6 months processing time...............

Yes, I know. It is a very long processing time unfortunately. But I will be having to do the same as your wife as well.
Of course, you need to wait until after you receive your initial PR card before changing it. As I am sure them trying to process the original and a new application at the same time would get too confusing. And without including the postal strike delays, it takes 7-8 weeks to get your PR card in the mail after landing. That is for the original first PR card though. For those afterwards, I believe it can take around 3 1/2 to 4 months or in technical terms 106 calendar days.

And here is a link to explain a bit more about applying for the PR card: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/prcard.asp
Hope this helps just a bit.

 

[fprince]

Thank You ..but unlike other documents this PR card never had a section for ( name change - assumption after marriage )
Hence the issue, so do we have to reapply for a PR card, pay the fee and wait even if its a simple name change cos of marriage..
As if you are a Canadian citizen you can get this done in the PP for free as listed in Service ontario's website ..so is this only a issue for PR who has to pay the fee like renewal/ wait for 6-8 months, if that is the case it does not make sence..as a citizen can get it done in a month but landed PR's need to wait 8 months and the take the hassle when you travel...
sorry just venting out..

 

[Love_Young]

Unfortunately the only way I have heard of it being done is to resend your own application for another PR card, pay the $50, and wait for it to come. I can't understand why either but it is another part of the process that unfortunately we have to put up with and wait on. Maybe you can call CIC to confirm but I do believe it has to be done that way. If you find out otherwise, could you please let me know?

P.S. Don't worry about the venting. I completely understand the frustration.

 

[fprince]

Thanks and i sure will let you know, you have helped so many ppl here.

Reason i asked this is lot of women go through this...its not abt the $50 its abt the 8 month wait, what do they try to tell us?

You can travel when its in process ? and show proof
You can not travel until you get a new card ?
OR Wait until you apply for citizenship to get the new name

This is what i am looking at..and i will call them to clarify as this is again a lot of planing and wait time.

 

[fprince]

One more question on applying. The PR card app forms only list this scenario
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5444E.pdf

Obtain 1st card
Renew card
Replace lost, stolen, destroyed, never received card.

Where do we fall under for name change due to marriage?

option 2 but we do not have an issue with expiry date which is 5 years from now....

 

[Love_Young]

Thank you. And aww, I certainly do try.
I think what I will do if I ever need to travel while waiting on the 2nd PR card with my married name on it, is just to bring proof that I mailed an application off to have it changed to my married name and just awaiting its arrival. I am sure they understand that sometimes we need to travel and can't always wait the extra 4 months it takes for it to get there. Also, I believe people said it is not recommended to wait until citizenship to change your name as it can be more difficult and confusing. However, I am not sure on that. I am looking forward to you finding out all of this though. It will certainly help.

 

[Love_Young]

One more question on applying. The PR card app forms only list this scenario
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5444E.pdf

Obtain 1st card
Renew card
Replace lost, stolen, destroyed, never received card.

Where do we fall under for name change due to marriage?

option 2 but we do not have an issue with expiry date which is 5 years from now....

See I was curious about this too. And I think they only mean expiry as in like 6 months from it expiring.
I think my biggest question is, do you have to mail off the PR card with her maiden name on it with the application or can you keep it and still travel on it by just explaining that you are changing it to the married name? Hmm..

 

[fprince]

See I was curious about this too. And I think they only mean expiry as in like 6 months from it expiring.
I think my biggest question is, do you have to mail off the PR card with her maiden name on it with the application or can you keep it and still travel on it by just explaining that you are changing it to the married name? Hmm..

Well they do say...if your current PR card is valid ( which will be in our case ) KEEP IT AND USE IT.
when your new PR card is issued you will need to go to a CIC office surrender old and get the new one..

I think they forgot abt this whole name change due to marriage thing as usually they make it easy.

If you are applying to renew your present card and:

* your card has expired, you should return it with the completed application for a new card or
* your card is still valid, you may hold on to it and return it to a CIC officer when you pick-up your new card at a local CIC office.

If you are applying to replace your damaged card, you should return your card with your application.

I do know a lot of ppl wait to change it in the citizenship..but i need it done on the PR Card, forget abt citizenship for now..as for India..when i have a Ind PP/citizenship/PR card with diff names this will be a issue when she applies for a OCI which is a life long visa to India when you get your canadian citizenship and apply for OCI...name on all 3 documents need to match, this is an IND govt ask..so have to make them happy

 

[Shinygirl]

Hi

Did you get the name changed on PR card for your wife?
I also need to get mine done, but I am not sure how to go about it.

Do i need to apply for a new PR card? How much time will it take to come?

Thanks

 

[asshu18]

Hi All -

i can understand everyone's frustration, i am on the same boat and with lots of calls with cic, i know how painful it is.

good news is now i know what needs to be done.

1. obtain a legal name change from province (ontario in my case).
it is a 20 page form (with notes/instructions) and submit it at service ontario. Fee is : $137
2. You should get a legal certificate after 4-6 weeks with you last name.
3. then apply for PR replacement card with this document and your marriage certificate

thats it.

Good luck