Change of name
Jan 28th 2015, 10:42 am
#1
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Change of name
My son changed his surname 20 years ago whilst in the UK and has had no problem obtaining UK passport, driving licence, admission into British Army etc. In the UK you can change your name without IT being done by Deed Poll as long as you make people aware of your new name and it is not done in the act of fraud.
He has been living in Germany for the past 8 years, since leaving British Army, and has been with his current partner for 7 years.
The problem now is, they are expecting their first child together and he has been told that because his surname on birth certificate is not his changed name, he cannot register the child in his name!
Has anyone else come across a similar situation in Germany please and if so how did you solve it?
He has been living in Germany for the past 8 years, since leaving British Army, and has been with his current partner for 7 years.
The problem now is, they are expecting their first child together and he has been told that because his surname on birth certificate is not his changed name, he cannot register the child in his name!
Has anyone else come across a similar situation in Germany please and if so how did you solve it?
Jan 28th 2015, 6:48 pm
#2
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Change of name
We need more information:
- nationality of your son
- his partner's nationality
- who is refusing to recognize your son's new name (Standesamt?)
- what you mean by "register the child in his name", i.e. would your son and his partner like their child to receive your son's (new) surname, or is it just a question of the child being registered (presumably with his or her mother's surname) but with your son registered as his or her father using his new name
- nationality of your son
- his partner's nationality
- who is refusing to recognize your son's new name (Standesamt?)
- what you mean by "register the child in his name", i.e. would your son and his partner like their child to receive your son's (new) surname, or is it just a question of the child being registered (presumably with his or her mother's surname) but with your son registered as his or her father using his new name
Jan 28th 2015, 7:54 pm
#3
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Re: Change of name
We need more information:
- nationality of your son
- his partner's nationality
- who is refusing to recognize your son's new name (Standesamt?)
- what you mean by "register the child in his name", i.e. would your son and his partner like their child to receive your son's (new) surname, or is it just a question of the child being registered (presumably with his or her mother's surname) but with your son registered as his or her father using his new name
- nationality of your son
- his partner's nationality
- who is refusing to recognize your son's new name (Standesamt?)
- what you mean by "register the child in his name", i.e. would your son and his partner like their child to receive your son's (new) surname, or is it just a question of the child being registered (presumably with his or her mother's surname) but with your son registered as his or her father using his new name
British
German
Registry of Birth
child to be registered in my sons (new) Surname
Jan 29th 2015, 10:24 am
#4
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Change of name
Lyndsa, I am still not absolutely sure that I understand correctly what you mean by "child to be registered in my sons (new) Surname".
Assuming that you mean that your son and his partner want their child to have your son's (new) surname:
Normally, when the birth of a child of unmarried parents is registered with the German authorities (Standesamt) under German law, it will acquire the mother's surname. See:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namensrecht_%28Deutschland%29
"sind die Eltern bei der Geburt des Kindes nicht miteinander verheiratet, bekommt das nichteheliche Kind in der Regel den Namen der Mutter, es sei denn, dass beide Eltern für das nichteheliche Kind eine Sorgeerklärung nach § 1626a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 BGB abgegeben haben"
According to this, for the child to be given a different surname, the unmarried parents must make a declaration of parental custody (Sorgeerklärung). (There is a link to a page explaining this in the passage quoted above.) So this declaration would appear to be a prerequisite anyway. Did your son and his partner do this?
Also according to Wikipedia, it is possible for a child to be registered with the German authorities but under the laws of a different country. That strikes me as being even more complicated though.
By my understanding, if the child is entitled to British citizenship, it could also be possible for the birth to be registered with the British embassy, in which case UK law would apply to the name. However, I don't know whether it would in fact be entitled to British citizenship (though it should be easy to find out), and the possibility of the child ending up as a binational with two different names is something that I personally would think carefully about!
I wonder though whether this is really what you mean, because it strikes me as odd that a German mother living in Germany would want her child to have the surname of her unmarried partner, particularly considering that it is very difficult for German citizens to change their names.
Conversely, if you mean that the child is to acquire its mother's surname and your son wants to be registered as the father but with his new name, I am a little surprised that the register office does not simply accept the name that appears in his passport.
I changed my name as a British citizen in the 1990s whilst living in Germany. My experience is that in Germany, the name of a foreigner as stated in his or her passport is accepted without question. So a deed poll would not impress the German authorities in the least, but equally, they (and other German institutions such as banks etc.) are not interested in how the name in your passport was arrived at.
Assuming that you mean that your son and his partner want their child to have your son's (new) surname:
Normally, when the birth of a child of unmarried parents is registered with the German authorities (Standesamt) under German law, it will acquire the mother's surname. See:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namensrecht_%28Deutschland%29
"sind die Eltern bei der Geburt des Kindes nicht miteinander verheiratet, bekommt das nichteheliche Kind in der Regel den Namen der Mutter, es sei denn, dass beide Eltern für das nichteheliche Kind eine Sorgeerklärung nach § 1626a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 BGB abgegeben haben"
According to this, for the child to be given a different surname, the unmarried parents must make a declaration of parental custody (Sorgeerklärung). (There is a link to a page explaining this in the passage quoted above.) So this declaration would appear to be a prerequisite anyway. Did your son and his partner do this?
Also according to Wikipedia, it is possible for a child to be registered with the German authorities but under the laws of a different country. That strikes me as being even more complicated though.
By my understanding, if the child is entitled to British citizenship, it could also be possible for the birth to be registered with the British embassy, in which case UK law would apply to the name. However, I don't know whether it would in fact be entitled to British citizenship (though it should be easy to find out), and the possibility of the child ending up as a binational with two different names is something that I personally would think carefully about!
I wonder though whether this is really what you mean, because it strikes me as odd that a German mother living in Germany would want her child to have the surname of her unmarried partner, particularly considering that it is very difficult for German citizens to change their names.
Conversely, if you mean that the child is to acquire its mother's surname and your son wants to be registered as the father but with his new name, I am a little surprised that the register office does not simply accept the name that appears in his passport.
I changed my name as a British citizen in the 1990s whilst living in Germany. My experience is that in Germany, the name of a foreigner as stated in his or her passport is accepted without question. So a deed poll would not impress the German authorities in the least, but equally, they (and other German institutions such as banks etc.) are not interested in how the name in your passport was arrived at.
Jan 30th 2015, 9:03 pm
#5
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Re: Change of name
Thanks for this, I have passed this over to my son for him to read and I will, if I may, get back to you very soon.
What I can say is that my son and his partner both want the baby in my sons surname prior to them getting married later in the year.
Thanks again
What I can say is that my son and his partner both want the baby in my sons surname prior to them getting married later in the year.
Thanks again
Jan 31st 2015, 8:51 pm
#6
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Not in Paris
Posts: 18,194
Re: Change of name
Generally speaking you cannot change your name in Germany without a court order. Conversely the UK is one of the easiest places in the world to change your name as you point out. Rather than second guessing I would simply ask the Standesamt what they need to see. Your son may get away from a UK Deed Poll as the name change was done in the UK. They can be dated respectively to the date that your son started using his new surname.
As an aside the child's birth won't be able to registered with the British authorities without a local birth certificate.
As an aside the child's birth won't be able to registered with the British authorities without a local birth certificate.
Feb 8th 2015, 9:36 am
#7
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Re: Change of name
Lyndsa, I am still not absolutely sure that I understand correctly what you mean by "child to be registered in my sons (new) Surname".
Assuming that you mean that your son and his partner want their child to have your son's (new) surname:
Normally, when the birth of a child of unmarried parents is registered with the German authorities (Standesamt) under German law, it will acquire the mother's surname. See:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namensrecht_%28Deutschland%29
"sind die Eltern bei der Geburt des Kindes nicht miteinander verheiratet, bekommt das nichteheliche Kind in der Regel den Namen der Mutter, es sei denn, dass beide Eltern für das nichteheliche Kind eine Sorgeerklärung nach § 1626a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 BGB abgegeben haben"
According to this, for the child to be given a different surname, the unmarried parents must make a declaration of parental custody (Sorgeerklärung). (There is a link to a page explaining this in the passage quoted above.) So this declaration would appear to be a prerequisite anyway. Did your son and his partner do this?
Also according to Wikipedia, it is possible for a child to be registered with the German authorities but under the laws of a different country. That strikes me as being even more complicated though.
By my understanding, if the child is entitled to British citizenship, it could also be possible for the birth to be registered with the British embassy, in which case UK law would apply to the name. However, I don't know whether it would in fact be entitled to British citizenship (though it should be easy to find out), and the possibility of the child ending up as a binational with two different names is something that I personally would think carefully about!
I wonder though whether this is really what you mean, because it strikes me as odd that a German mother living in Germany would want her child to have the surname of her unmarried partner, particularly considering that it is very difficult for German citizens to change their names.
Conversely, if you mean that the child is to acquire its mother's surname and your son wants to be registered as the father but with his new name, I am a little surprised that the register office does not simply accept the name that appears in his passport.
I changed my name as a British citizen in the 1990s whilst living in Germany. My experience is that in Germany, the name of a foreigner as stated in his or her passport is accepted without question. So a deed poll would not impress the German authorities in the least, but equally, they (and other German institutions such as banks etc.) are not interested in how the name in your passport was arrived at.
Assuming that you mean that your son and his partner want their child to have your son's (new) surname:
Normally, when the birth of a child of unmarried parents is registered with the German authorities (Standesamt) under German law, it will acquire the mother's surname. See:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namensrecht_%28Deutschland%29
"sind die Eltern bei der Geburt des Kindes nicht miteinander verheiratet, bekommt das nichteheliche Kind in der Regel den Namen der Mutter, es sei denn, dass beide Eltern für das nichteheliche Kind eine Sorgeerklärung nach § 1626a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 BGB abgegeben haben"
According to this, for the child to be given a different surname, the unmarried parents must make a declaration of parental custody (Sorgeerklärung). (There is a link to a page explaining this in the passage quoted above.) So this declaration would appear to be a prerequisite anyway. Did your son and his partner do this?
Also according to Wikipedia, it is possible for a child to be registered with the German authorities but under the laws of a different country. That strikes me as being even more complicated though.
By my understanding, if the child is entitled to British citizenship, it could also be possible for the birth to be registered with the British embassy, in which case UK law would apply to the name. However, I don't know whether it would in fact be entitled to British citizenship (though it should be easy to find out), and the possibility of the child ending up as a binational with two different names is something that I personally would think carefully about!
I wonder though whether this is really what you mean, because it strikes me as odd that a German mother living in Germany would want her child to have the surname of her unmarried partner, particularly considering that it is very difficult for German citizens to change their names.
Conversely, if you mean that the child is to acquire its mother's surname and your son wants to be registered as the father but with his new name, I am a little surprised that the register office does not simply accept the name that appears in his passport.
I changed my name as a British citizen in the 1990s whilst living in Germany. My experience is that in Germany, the name of a foreigner as stated in his or her passport is accepted without question. So a deed poll would not impress the German authorities in the least, but equally, they (and other German institutions such as banks etc.) are not interested in how the name in your passport was arrived at.
Thank you so much for this info which I passed over to my son last week. He made another appointment at his local town hall and was told straight away that his passport was perfectly acceptable and they even quoted what you had said, "that a British Passport is a legal document in itself". My son asked why he had been given different information by two previous staff members putting him to unnecessary expense and stress. He was told this would be looked into.
I would like to personally thank you for your information, you have not only made me very relieved, but my son and his partner are now very happy and able to look forward to the birth of their child without any more stress. A HUGE thank you. Lyndsa
