No last name in passport - Post landing issues

[pramodsah]

Hi All,

I came to know that not having the last name in the passport might land us in trouble while applying for the medical card in Canada. Please find below the link where many people shared the issues they faced:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/name-split-in-passport-copr-and-pr-card.394798/#post-5471443

My spouse also has this issue. As I am yet to submit my application, I thought of considering changing her passport and including last name there, in order to avoid any post-landing issue. However, if I opt for that, there would be a mismatch in her name in marriage certificate and her passport. Thus, I want to be 100% sure before opting to change her name in her passport. It would be great if folks who have landed in Canada and had this similar issue can answer my few queries. Suggestions from others are also welcome:

1. Is it really not possible to apply and receive a medical card, without any last name in the passport?
2. I also got to know that medical card for each province has their own set of rules and this might not be applicable for all the provinces. I would be either landing in Ontario or in BC. Could you please let me know if that would an issue there as well?
3. In case it is mandatory to have the last name and I opt for the change of the passport. Would it be an issue, in case I provide a notarized affidavit stating both the names (modified name in passport and old name in marriage certificate) are the same person?
4. Also, in case I opt to change my spouse passport. Do I need to change mine as well (as spouse name in my passport would be her old name)?
5. Are there any other issues associated with no last name, or only it is for the medical card?
6. What are the provisions for someone who have only a single word as their first name..like "John"? Obviously name split is not an option here. I am asking this because my spouse has this.

Please help me out with the above queries, so that I can proceed with my application.

Thanks,

 

[steaky]

How about same names in both passport and marriage certificate ?

 

[Buletruck]

My wife only has a single name. No issues. Government agencies generally are experienced and issue documents with a single name (PR card, drivers license, health card) or the use FNU (first name unknown) or LNU(last name unknown) or in the case of private companies (banks, reward cards, etc), she uses her name for both first and last.

 

[pramodsah]

How about same names in both passport and marriage certificate ?

I already have the marriage certificate ready, and it is not possible to change it now.. I inquired on it.. Any alternate way out?

 

[pramodsah]

My wife only has a single name. No issues. Government agencies generally are experienced and issue documents with a single name (PR card, drivers license, health card) or the use FNU (first name unknown) or LNU(last name unknown) or in the case of private companies (banks, reward cards, etc), she uses her name for both first and last.

Thanks a ton Bluetruck for your reply!!

Just want to double check, am I good to proceed with only a single name of my spouse? Also, did your wife have a health card with photo? and from which province you are?

As I already shared a link where many people faced this issue and they narrated their story. However, I was still have a feeling that denying the application for anything just because we don't have a last name is simply insane!! So, I thought of double checking this with you once again.

Moreover, please let me know any place where you think single name can cause an issue, or we are perfectly ok to proceed with it?

Thanks a lot once again!

 

[Buletruck]

We are in Alberta, so there is no picture with the health card. However her drivers license, COPR, PR card all have only one name. I. Her case it is considered her last name. Her health card only has only one name. Government issued documents are all set up so that a single name is acceptable.

The only time she has encountered issues is with third party insurers, banks and other non governmental organizations (although her school accepts a single name). As I mentioned, in those cases she simply enters her name as both her first and second name. That has always satisfied their requirements. If your official government ID (PR card or license or provincial ID) is issued with one name, there should be no issues. The only issue comes from computer data entry that requires a first and last name. And that can be fooled by duplicating the name for both first and second name on the forms. You just have to be smarter than the machine.

 

[pramodsah]

We are in Alberta, so there is no picture with the health card. However her drivers license, COPR, PR card all have only one name. I. Her case it is considered her last name. Her health card only has only one name. Government issued documents are all set up so that a single name is acceptable.

The only time she has encountered issues is with third party insurers, banks and other non governmental organizations (although her school accepts a single name). As I mentioned, in those cases she simply enters her name as both her first and second name. That has always satisfied their requirements. If your official government I'd (PR card or license or provincial ID) is issued with one name, there should be no issues. The only issue comes from computer data entry that requires a first and last name. And that can be fooled by duplicating the name for both first and second. You just have to be smarter than the machine.

Thanks Bluetrak,

That's a real relief!! So, as you told that she don't have her photo in her medical card, won't it cause any issue while availing the medical services in Canada? If not, then I feel, I should proceed with the single name only. Also, as you suggested, I would repeat the same name at both the places (first as well as last name).

Also, it would be great if you can let me know, what you did for the third party insurers, banks and other non governmental organizations, any work around to deal with them. Would that cause any issue while getting a job? I mean, as you said that non-government organizations doesn't accept such cases, will it also be an issue to grab an offer from private organizations ?

Thanks,

 

[Buletruck]

It's not that they don't accept it, it's that their computer systems are designed for Christian names (given name, family name). As mentioned earlier, IRCC uses LNU or FNU. These are options you can use to circumvent the computer system. As far as accessing medical services or job, your SIN is just a number (CRA doesn't care about your name, you are just a number and a name is just confirmation) and if your government issued ID is "one name only", there really isn't anything they can do to reject you. It's your legal,recognized name. They just have to figure out how to enter it into their system. You can't legally be refused health care in Canada if you are a legal resident. As long as you can offer them the options they can use, primarily because it's not an issue they see very often and have no experience on how to overcome the problems, you will be fine.

 

[pramodsah]

It's not that they don't accept it, it's that their computer systems are designed for Christian names (given name, family name). As mentioned earlier, IRCC uses LNU or FNU. These are options you can use to circumvent the computer system. As far as accessing medical services or job, your SIN is just a number (CRA doesn't care about your name, you are just a number and a name is just confirmation) and if your government issued ID is "one name only", there really isn't anything they can do to reject you. It's your legal,recognized name. They just have to figure out how to enter it into their system. You can't legally be refused health care in Canada if you are a legal resident. As long as you can offer them the options they can use, primarily because it's not an issue they see very often and have no experience on how to overcome the problems, you will be fine.

Great!!
Thanks a ton for your valuable insight..
Now I think, I should proceed only with first name. As everything can be handled by SIN.

Thanks a lot sir..I really appreciate your invaluable comments..

 

[Buletruck]

You're most welcome.

 

[alok4best]

Have lived all my life with just a first name. Never had any problems living and working in 4 different countries. You should be perfectly fine.

 

[pramodsah]

Have lived all my life with just a first name. Never had any problems living and working in 4 different countries. You should be perfectly fine.

Thanks sir..
Now I would proceed with only the first name..Was a bit worried after reading the comments from the link shared by me..
Now after having so many positive comments from you all, I feel confident in proceeding without any modification in the name..

 

[Neha56]

Hello everyone,
I am applying for marriage license in Ontario and have run into some issues. My passport has no last name and my complete name goes into given name field. After coming to Canada, all my government ID's have my full name in last name field and no first name, since in Canada, last name is required by law.

I was filing out the form for license and it requires both first and last name fields. Any suggestions please? I will appreciate any sort of help. Thank you.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hello everyone,
I am applying for marriage license in Ontario and have run into some issues. My passport has no last name and my complete name goes into given name field. After coming to Canada, all my government ID's have my full name in last name field and no first name, since in Canada, last name is required by law.

I was filing out the form for license and it requires both first and last name fields. Any suggestions please? I will appreciate any sort of help. Thank you.

1. Put None in first name field

 

[Buletruck]

FNU: first name unknown
Or alternately
LNU: last name unknown.