skinderella

On the first page of the UK child's first passport application, there is a question that says: "Has the child's name been changed other than by adoption?". We answered "NO" because our daughter never had an actual name change that was ordered by the courts. She was assigned my surname as mandated by Georgia law until we added the father to the birth certicate 17 months later by signing a mandatory and standard procedure paternity aknowledgement form. My main concern is, did we answer this question correctly on the passport application form? And if we did not, could we be penalized for it?

JAJ

Bottom line is that if the child's name is different to birth certificate, you will need some documentation supporting this.

skinderella

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have a certified confirmation of birth from the hospital, her long form birth certificate, a certified paternity acknowledgement from the state of GA, immunization and medical records, social security cards, and insurance records. Pretty much exactly what they requested for me to "prove" that our daughter was not adopted to proceed with our daughter's passport application. Also since then, her father and I have gotten legally married. We pretty much have all of the documentation they could ask for outside of a DNA test. My question was- did we answer the question on the passport application correctly? No one can seem to give me a straight answer on this and I have asked several legal sources as well as the passport assistance line. When I asked the Georgia State Dept Of Vital Statistics if this considered a name change- they said "No. All children in GA born to unwed mothers have their mother's surname until a paternity acknowledgement is signed by both parents- then the child is designated a name chosen by both parents." We never got around to signing the PA until 17 months after she was born. In all honesty- getting her birth certificate right away was not a pressing issue for us. All of her records prior to the PA being signed are in my surname as required by GA law, and I am hoping that this does not pose any problems or issues.

dingbat

When did you get her long form BC? After the PA was signed? If so, "NO" was the correct answer. If not, you should have checked "YES" and given them all of the above. I am assuming your daughter now bears your husband's last name, so, in essence, outside of GA, and for British passport purposes, this is a technical name change, if her bc is in your name. Legally, in GA, of course it is not. My sister had her son in GA, similar issues. She got his passport.....in the end.

skinderella

Thanks so much Ding! We have been plagued by this riddle for the past week now, and you really put my mind at ease. Yes- we got her long form BC after signing the PA, so I guess we did answer the question correctly then. Thank you so much for explaining the situation to me and cheers!