Poppydreams

Hello

I'm an Aussie citizen and my husband is British - looking to move out to my home town of Brissy with our daughter (seeking citizenship by descent). The forms are quite complicated but we are getting there.

Just a question to throw out to anyone who may be able to help please. My passport name is still in my maiden name, however, since I got married nearly 7 years ago, I took my husband's surname - so everything (including my daughter's birth certificate) apart from my passport is in my married name. I didn't bother to change my passport initially because it had some years left before it expired. However, I have since discovered that I need to register a 'change of name' with the Registry office in Australia where I was born and obtain a 'certificate of change of name' which kind of replaces your birth certificate.

My question is do I need to provide this certificate for my husband's application and my daughter's citizenship by descent application? After reading all the guidance information it is unclear and does not specifically state this. In any case, the marriage certificate is evidence of change of name.

Would be grateful for your advice.

Poppydreams

JoolsB

Hi Poppydreams

I am the Aussie and kept my maiden name on passport and bank account but everything else such as mortgage papers, utility bills, insurance docs and all other evidence I had of our life together was in my married name.

This did not create a problem. I just put myself down under my maiden name on all the forms in order to correspond with my passport and then in my personal statement of our relationship put down my maiden name again but with my married name in brackets i.e. (married name: .........)

I just trusted that they would see the marriage cert as evidence of our legal matrimony rather than my complete usage of OH's surname. All was fine, no queries, OH's visa granted 3 weeks after app.

Hope that helps & best of luck

Poppydreams

Thank you so much for your help and information. That has certainly helped.

Poppydreams

Just to ask you a question, when you say you put your maiden name on the application and personal statement - did you sign the forms with your maiden name as well. This is probably an obvious and stupid question but just wanted to clarify. THanks again.

JoolsB

Yes I did sign in my maiden name, also the people who competed the Form 888 Statutory Declarations for us also used my maiden name.

On the forms my OH filled in he also put me down as maiden name but where it asked for any other names his spouse had been/was known by he entered the married name.

Also, in the final paragraph of my Personal Statement I put something along the lines of..."although my passport and bank account remain in my maiden name for all other intents & purposes I am known by my married surname of..."

Poppydreams

That's brilliant. Thank you so much for your help. I'm now wondering whether we should obtain new Form 888 stat decs because the people who completed them used my married name. In any case, we will have to probably get a revised one for one of them as they put down my name instead of my husband's in the applicant name box! Thanks for the extra tip for the personal statement as well.

JoolsB

I think that as long as they can see that both are names you go by and the marriage cert all will be fine-they msut come across this alot-I know most of my friends haven't been organised enough to change everything over-and as for me-Ive been married 10 years

JAJ

Your overseas marriage certificate ought to be acceptable evidence of name change. You may not be able to get a certificate from an Australian Registry if you are not resident in Australia.

As you have a child and have been together >2 years, your husband should get a permanent migration visa, not a temporary visa. (this is a good thing). Make sure you provide plenty of evidence of how long you have been together.

And if you haven't got British citizenship, now is a good time to get your naturalisation done before you leave the U.K.

Poppydreams

Thank you. All your advice has been most helpful and has put our minds at rest.
Also I put in an application for naturalisation about a month ago as a 'just in case'.

I will keep you posted on both applications (as well as citizenship by descent for my daughter) if I don't have any more questions before then!!

medwaymark

You could put a covering letter in to explain too.