Name changes, citizenship and BRP(RC) -need advice

[GrahamD85]

Hi guys,

I'm British, my fiancée is American with ILR under Unmarried Partner and we both live together in the UK.

We're getting married in the US in October (she has more family than me!) and after that she will be taking my surname. Last night we looked into changing the name on her US passport and biometric card, and it seems like this whole process could take up to five or six months. The problem is that she uses her passport for work as she travels abroad frequently.

We wondered if there was a way to bypass this for the timebeing. If she changes her name on our documents (bank, utilities etc) does it matter that her passport and biometric card are in her maiden name? Also, would this be a problem when she came to apply for citizenship as the document names won't match the passport/BRP names? Am I right in thinking she doesn't have to get a new BRP just because we're now married?

Her passport runs out in January 2015, I think that's before she's eligible for citizenship, but we'd just get that changed and apply for a new biometric card then as she'll use her new name in the passport. So actually her name would be changed by the time she applied for citizenship, but by then our marriage certificate will be a few years old and I don't know if that makes a difference. I presume you can change a name whenever you like really.

If it has to be done the other way and she's without her passport that's fine, but we'd like to put it off a bit if possible.

As always, any insight and advice is hugely appreciated.

[Jambo]

Your plan sounds reasonable. It is quite common that people keep their maiden name in their ID documents until they are upto for renewal.

How long has she been living in the UK? If she has ILR, she can apply for naturalisation once married and spent 3 years in the UK. She can apply under the married name for naturalisation. The marriage certificate is all that is needed. Utility bills are not required for naturalisation (and even if they were required, it's not a problem they would be on her married name).

[GrahamD85]

Hi Jambo,

Cheers for your thoughts.

She came here in September 2007 to get her Masters qualification. She then transferred to the old Post Study Work visa and by the time that came to an end we'd been living together two years so we went for FLR(M). ILR was obtained in September 2012. We've never looked too far ahead because the focus has always been on getting through the next stage!

There's mention of a hefty fine for not giving UKBA new details, but from what I can tell, and from what you're saying, the BRP only needs updating once the passport has changed and the passport can be changed when it runs out, even if she's using the married name in documents. Is that right?

I haven't looked too much into naturalisation as I know we can do that once we're ready, but I do remember something about a 180 day rule for travel abroad. My fiancee is out of the country for at least 5-6 weeks a year, so it may be a while before she qualifies anyway.

We don't mind paying the £37 for the BRP to be updated, it's just the insanity of potentially waiting five months for someone to perform the most menial task!

[Jambo]

There's mention of a hefty fine for not giving UKBA new details, but from what I can tell, and from what you're saying, the BRP only needs updating once the passport has changed and the passport can be changed when it runs out, even if she's using the married name in documents. Is that right?

Strictly speaking, she needs to update the BRP but I don't think the HO would impose the fine because of late name change following a marriage. As long as it matches the passport, one can always claim they haven't officially changed their name. I don't think that having a married name on the electricity bill is considered "changing your name officially"....

I haven't looked too much into naturalisation as I know we can do that once we're ready, but I do remember something about a 180 day rule for travel abroad. My fiancee is out of the country for at least 5-6 weeks a year, so it may be a while before she qualifies anyway.

The residential requirements for spouse of BC are less than 270 days absence in 3 year prior to the application including less than 90 days in the 1 year before the application. A few weeks of holiday a year would be fine.

We don't mind paying the £37 for the BRP to be updated, it's just the insanity of potentially waiting five months for someone to perform the most menial task!

I agree. The HO backlogs are ridiculous.

[GrahamD85]

I see what you're saying.

Our marriage is recognised in the UK, but as it will be taking place in America it isn't legally recognised in the UK. We can't sign a register after or give notice before as that's only done in the UK. Also, the marriage certificate will say that we are now married, but it will still have her maiden name on it.

I think we might just carry on using her maiden name on everything and then begin the process when we update the passport and BRP. Many keep their original surname and others change it eventually, so we'd be in the latter camp. Not everyone decides straight after the wedding and I'm sure UKBA can appreciate that.