Hello,
Long story, I wanna change my first name since I am facing many issues at work and meeting friends.
I live in Alberta, and I went to apply for a legal change of name today. However, the lady in the registry agent office told me as a permanent resident I don't have the power to change my name and I might lose my permanent resident status. And she refused to process my application... Maybe I am wrong, but the CIC website does say that permanent resident can change their name as long as they provide the legal document, and what I need to do is to apply for a new PR card.
Has anyone change their name while being a permanent resident in Canada ?
Sorry you're having issues at work and socially. See where I've described below* but you can start
using whatever first name you prefer in almost all contexts that you wish to. And you can do it right now, without any paperwork. Just tell people you'd prefer to be addressed as [new name.] In Canada most people and many institutions will accept this - it's just considered polite and normal.
As others noted: the person at the registry office is just wrong. IRCC/Canadian government will recognise the change of name done in Alberta; the only requirement should be that you are a resident of the province.
https://www.alberta.ca/legal-name-change.aspx
Once you do the legal change of name, you can begin to apply for new documents in various institutions. In general (and esp since it's a first name only), whatever identification documents you have (PR card or passport for example) plus the change of name document will be enough for most institutions to make the change in their systems and issue you something new.
* Common law name change: actually under common law of all provinces except Quebec, you can legally change your name (esp first name) just by using it. This type of name change is referred to in different ways, common law name change, habitual use, or (my favourite term) 'use and repute.'
The disadvantage of this type of name change is that some institutions are a bit more conservative in accepting and esp issuing new documents - notably for changes of last name; if you do not care about the documents as much or at all, this is fine. This is a very common way to proceed for those who are only using a different first name, a variant of their existing first name, dropping middle names, etc. Even many / most government institutions and banks will be fine doing this esp where new first name is a shortened or 'simplified' version of documented first name. (I have done this myself and now almost all docs have my preferred name)
So it's up to you. For your comfort and social purposes, start using whatever name you prefer
today. There is nothing wrong with it. If you find it helpful - print up cards with your preferred name and spelling (even pronunciation if necessary) and give it to people to help them remember. (Like a business card size). You can give people whatever reason you wish to share or none at all; my own advice is try not to get annoyed if people ask why, people are just curious, and even so they most often will accept "I just prefer the sound of [new name.]"
And in due course, you can decide whether you need to have all legal documents changed via the legal change of name process at the government registrar/vital stats office, or if you're okay with doing it the 'common law' way.
Also note: there's no contradiction between the common law / customary way and doing the formal legal name change later, they are complementary. Of course if you're dealing with government bodies outside Canada, it's quite possible they won't accept a name change unless it's through the formal legal process.
[Of course there are some restrictions on name changes - you can't be changing your name to deceive or defraud others, for example.]
To repeat so absolutely clear: almost all people and many institutions will take your name to be what you tell them it is. Using a name consistently means that it becomes your name - legally. You can use your preferred name now. It may make snese for you to also do the formal legal name change process (eventually) - mainly just to make documentation everywhere consistent and simple.
Good luck.
