Trouble finding proof of change of name

[Jayjap]

Hi, any advice would be much appreciated.

My wife changed her name when first living in the UK way back in 2003 we believe around May time. This wasn't just a simple change of surname due to marriage but also she changed her first name as well. We actually got married in Japan before relocating to the UK if that makes a difference. We lived in Japan for 3 years and registered this marriage with the British Pro-Consul at Tokyo. Now I assume we must have done this through all the correct legal channels/processes as she has her bank account driving license etc all in this new name. Having moved several times we are having trouble obtaining any paperwork and I can't see any emails relating to this either.

Now she is finally applying for British citizenship through naturalization it asks the question online about whether she has used or is now using a different name and then wants the date. I can obviously just guess it was around May 2003 and enter this but I am worried they might need proof of this which I am having trouble finding. Having been online I checked on the Gazette but have been unable to find any records. It then states I must either contact a solicitor or citizens advice to try and find out if it was recorded properly.

Are these my only options? It is worth just going ahead with the application with what I think is roughly the correct date? We don't want to lose such a massive fee so are trying to preempt every possible question / issue. I do have a letter from the home office dated April 2003 regarding her application to remain in the UK following our marriage. This was addressed to her in her married name but still with her original first name though.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[Zerubbabel]

What's about the Birth Certificate? It's required for the British Passport. If the name on it is not consistent with the rest, they will ask for evidence of name change.

[Djsuccess]

Hi, any advice would be much appreciated.

My wife changed her name when first living in the UK way back in 2003 we believe around May time. This wasn't just a simple change of surname due to marriage but also she changed her first name as well. We actually got married in Japan before relocating to the UK if that makes a difference. We lived in Japan for 3 years and registered this marriage with the British Pro-Consul at Tokyo. Now I assume we must have done this through all the correct legal channels/processes as she has her bank account driving license etc all in this new name. Having moved several times we are having trouble obtaining any paperwork and I can't see any emails relating to this either.

Now she is finally applying for British citizenship through naturalization it asks the question online about whether she has used or is now using a different name and then wants the date. I can obviously just guess it was around May 2003 and enter this but I am worried they might need proof of this which I am having trouble finding. Having been online I checked on the Gazette but have been unable to find any records. It then states I must either contact a solicitor or citizens advice to try and find out if it was recorded properly.

Are these my only options? It is worth just going ahead with the application with what I think is roughly the correct date? We don't want to lose such a massive fee so are trying to preempt every possible question / issue. I do have a letter from the home office dated April 2003 regarding her application to remain in the UK following our marriage. This was addressed to her in her married name but still with her original first name though.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

What name does she have on her current passport?

[Jayjap]

Thank you for the replies. Name on current passport is her birth name which is not the name she is legally known as now in the UK. This is her Vietnamese name, however she has Japanese blood as well and moved to live in Japan. Whilst in Japan she assumed a Japanese name completely different to her birth name.

The name she is known as now in the UK (and on her bank account/driving license) is a mix of the 2 with my surname.
FIRST NAME - HER JAPANESE NAME SHE WAS KNOWN AS IN JAPAN NOT BORN WITH
MIDDLE NAME - HER VIETNAMESE MIDDLE NAME SHE WAS BORN WITH
SURNAME - MY ENGLISH SURNAME.

I plan of course on doing a covering letter to explain all this.