Undergoing Legal Name change(middle name) because of marriage (Philippines)

[pelipeli2]

So in the midst of gathering my documents for citizenship application, and wanting to start using my married name already, I had to have my Alberta ID's changed first.
Changing maiden surname to a married surname- shouldn't be a problem right? Right. This was easy.

Problem now is my middle name. You see, in the Philippines, your middle name is your mother's maiden surname. And when you get married, your maiden name automatically becomes your middle name.
To illustrate, when I was single, my name is CHRIS ANNE GO CHU
First name: CHRIS ANNE
Middle name (mother's maiden surname): GO
Last name: CHU
I was single when I landed as an immigrant. Note that on the immigration application forms, there is no space for "middle name". It is just GIVEN NAME and SURNAME.
So my immigration, landing papers and PR Card shows:
Given name: CHRIS ANNE GO
Surname: CHU

Now, fast forward to now that I am married, and have renewed my Philippine Passport , it shows:
First name: CHRIS ANNE
Middle name (now MY maiden surname): CHU
Last name(husband's surname): LEE

And now I want my name to be CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE, on my ID's and Citizenship application
Apparently, this is not possible. I went to the registry and was told I can only change my surname but not my middle name as middle names in Canada don't automatically change by marriage as it does in the Philippines.
So now my Alberta ID's will read CHRIS ANNE GO LEE
And my Philippine passport reads CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE

And if I want my middle name changed, I should undergo LEGAL NAME CHANGE.

I'm not sure what to do. Sure I can do legal name change just to set things straight and make things right once and for all. Hopefully I will be able to finish this and send my citizenship application before that new law passes.
Or I can proceed applying but my passport and Alberta ID's wont match and I'm not sure if CIC will even allow that.

Help! has anyone experienced this?

Thank you, I would appreciate insights and comments

 

[IamAlbertan]

CHRIS ANNE GO CHU LEE

I was in the same boat as you when I submitted my application last year. My passport has my name when I was single, my Alberta identifications (license and AB health card) have my married name.

In your case, your name in your citizenship application will be Chris Anne Go Lee. I am not sure why and they cannot explain why, but they told me in the registry that once I get married in AB, my middle name will be my mother's maiden name. I had to drop my maiden last name. For example my maiden name is ANA CRUZ SANTOS. My husband's last name is REYES. My citizenship appliation will appear as ANA CRUZ REYES.

Be sure to specify in your application the name that you want to appear in youyr certificate and provide the documents like marriage certificate, AB identfications.

 

[zwt10]

Went through same stuff. I just dropped my maiden name altogether and just used my given name and married name to avoid confusion.

 

[pelipeli2]

CHRIS ANNE GO CHU LEE

I was in the same boat as you when I submitted my application last year. My passport has my name when I was single, my Alberta identifications (license and AB health card) have my married name.

In your case, your name in your citizenship application will be Chris Anne Go Lee. I am not sure why and they cannot explain why, but they told me in the registry that once I get married in AB, my middle name will be my mother's maiden name. I had to drop my maiden last name. For example my maiden name is ANA CRUZ SANTOS. My husband's last name is REYES. My citizenship appliation will appear as ANA CRUZ REYES.

Be sure to specify in your application the name that you want to appear in youyr certificate and provide the documents like marriage certificate, AB identfications.

It's a headache for sure. Yes I suppose I could go for CHRIS ANNE GO LEE , which would be using my mother's maiden surname and my married surname (dropping my maiden surname or my father's surname) because that is now what my Alberta ID and health card is showing, which would be different from my passport (CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE) and my PR card (CHRIS ANNE GO CHU)

But I'm not sure if it feels right! I think this will just lead to more name confusions in the future because I would still be accustomed to CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE which is my correct name.
I'm leaning towards doing the legal name change now to fix everything before it gets worse.... Or I could apply for citizenship now and do a legal name change later I suppose? Sigh. So confused on what to do

 

[pelipeli2]

Went through same stuff. I just dropped my maiden name altogether and just used my given name and married name to avoid confusion.

I was going to do that. I asked the Registry if I could just drop it and they said no, because when we immigrated, the middle name became a part of my given name (On the PR Card and COPR)
And to drop it , I would have to get a legal name change.

Hmmm maybe one option is, to apply only as CHRIS ANNE LEE (no middle name) since the application only asks for Given name and Surname anyway.
Problem is, my Alberta ID's will show a middle name as GO and my passport will show CHU

and then, when I get the citizenship certificate 2 years from now, change my Alberta ID's to drop the middle name showing the citizenship certificate as evidence?


Do you think CIC will go for that? Do you think they will drop that middle name even if it is a part of my given name on the PR Card and COPR?

 

[Aspat]

It's a headache for sure. Yes I suppose I could go for CHRIS ANNE GO LEE , which would be using my mother's maiden surname and my married surname (dropping my maiden surname or my father's surname) because that is now what my Alberta ID and health card is showing, which would be different from my passport (CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE) and my PR card (CHRIS ANNE GO CHU)

But I'm not sure if it feels right! I think this will just lead to more name confusions in the future because I would still be accustomed to CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE which is my correct name.
I'm leaning towards doing the legal name change now to fix everything before it gets worse.... Or I could apply for citizenship now and do a legal name change later I suppose? Sigh. So confused on what to do

Why don't you use your new passport (married name) and Pr card (maiden name) as your IDs? Avoid the Alberta IDs which don't have the proper names.

 

[pelipeli2]

Why don't you use your new passport (married name) and Pr card (maiden name) as your IDs? Avoid the Alberta IDs which don't have the proper names.

Hmmm..... Are we not required to provide additional ID's for requirement # 5 which is Two (2) pieces of personal identification, aside from the passport and PR card, which is a separate requirement altogether ?

 

[pelipeli2]

One option is this too:

1. Just go with CHRIS ANNE GO LEE in the citizenship application which will match my Alberta ID's (And CIC will allow this change against my PR and landing docs , because it is just a change via marriage)
2. Provide a letter of explanation on why my Philippine passport is CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE, explaining that via Philippine norms, this is how maiden names work.
-because Philippine passport vs. Alberta ID's, I think they would give more weight to Canadian issued ID's rather than Philippines ones

And then after the citizenship process once I have my certificate, do the legal name change for my middle name just to make things right.

What do you guys think?

 

[Aspat]

Hmmm..... Are we not required to provide additional ID's for requirement # 5 which is Two (2) pieces of personal identification, aside from the passport and PR card, which is a separate requirement altogether ?

For my kids, I provided the PR card as photo ID besides the health card because they don't have photo IDs. So I've provided the PR card copy twice for different purposes.

I'm not sure if a health card is a mandatory piece of ID. If it's not, you can avoid the health card. Do they ask for it specifically? (I don't really remember, I provided health card and driving licence).

If it is just 2 IDs, one with a photo, (they mention it should be one which has your photo, name and date of birth and another which need not have a photo) you can provide passport and PR card which have the requisite details.

 

[Aspat]

One option is this too:

1. Just go with CHRIS ANNE GO LEE in the citizenship application which will match my Alberta ID's (And CIC will allow this change against my PR and landing docs , because it is just a change via marriage)
2. Provide a letter of explanation on why my Philippine passport is CHRIS ANNE CHU LEE, explaining that via Philippine norms, this is how maiden names work.
-because Philippine passport vs. Alberta ID's, I think they would give more weight to Canadian issued ID's rather than Philippines ones

And then after the citizenship process once I have my certificate, do the legal name change for my middle name just to make things right.

What do you guys think?

You are probably right. Weigh your options well before making the final decision. Whatever you choose, make sure you add a detailed explanation.

 

[alexdive]

Hey guys,
[My sister's question]
Just wondering if she is allowed to add a middle name/preferred name once has done oath?

Both her's first and last name are very difficulty to pronounce that's why she doesn't want to change her legal full name but just wants to add a nick/preferred name into her citizenship cert. and passport.

Please advise,

Thank you!

 

[pelipeli2]

You are probably right. Weigh your options well before making the final decision. Whatever you choose, make sure you add a detailed explanation.

So I called CIC. The agent I talked to said that I could probably do this option as long as I explain why my passport middle name does not match the middle name on Canadian ID's (PR, Alberta ID, health) but ultimately, it is the decision of the officer whether he will accept it or not and there would still be a risk of the application getting returned. ??? ??? ??? ???

 

[IamAlbertan]

So I called CIC. The agent I talked to said that I could probably do this option as long as I explain why my passport middle name does not match the middle name on Canadian ID's (PR, Alberta ID, health) but ultimately, it is the decision of the officer whether he will accept it or not and there would still be a risk of the application getting returned. ??? ??? ??? ???

In my situation, I had my Alberta health card & license in my new married name while my passport and PR card in my maiden name. I also submitted a copy of my marriage certificate with my married name, ANA CRUZ REYES. I used my married name in my citizenship application. Few weeks after I submitted my application, CIC sent me a letter asking to confirm the name that I want to reflect in my citizenship certificate and provide supporting documents and identification. Although I already submitted the identifications, I responded to their letter and sent them once again the documents they were asking.

For me, I do not want to go through the legal name change process as it will take time. I just want to process my citizenship application the soonest possible time. It's up to you if you want to go through the legal name change. But make sure that whatever name you decide to use, have an identification to support it.

 

[pelipeli2]

In my situation, I had my Alberta health card & license in my new married name while my passport and PR card in my maiden name. I also submitted a copy of my marriage certificate with my married name, ANA CRUZ REYES. I used my married name in my citizenship application. Few weeks after I submitted my application, CIC sent me a letter asking to confirm the name that I want to reflect in my citizenship certificate and provide supporting documents and identification. Although I already submitted the identifications, I responded to their letter and sent them once again the documents they were asking.

For me, I do not want to go through the legal name change process as it will take time. I just want to process my citizenship application the soonest possible time. It's up to you if you want to go through the legal name change. But make sure that whatever name you decide to use, have an identification to support it.

You are right, I also want to avoid if I can undergoing legal name change now because I want to send my citizenship application ASAP before the new law becomes effective.
But in my case, I now have 3 different names:

1. Name on my PR and COPR reflecting my maiden name
2. Name on my Alberta ID and Health Card reflecting my married name but with a different middle name as my passport, and
3. Name on my Philippine passport reflecting also my married name but with a different middle name from #2.

I actually even have a 4th name, according to CIC, because my name on my PR and COPR has been truncated / shortened from what is shown on my PR Visa and passport (when I landed) which is now expired.

Which makes things more complicated! I am so confused right now! :-[ :-[ :-[

 

[IamAlbertan]

You are right, I also want to avoid if I can undergoing legal name change now because I want to send my citizenship application ASAP before the new law becomes effective.
But in my case, I now have 3 different names:

1. Name on my PR and COPR reflecting my maiden name
2. Name on my Alberta ID and Health Card reflecting my married name but with a different middle name as my passport, and
3. Name on my Philippine passport reflecting also my married name but with a different middle name from #2.

I actually even have a 4th name, according to CIC, because my name on my PR and COPR has been truncated / shortened from what is shown on my PR Visa and passport (when I landed) which is now expired.

Which makes things more complicated! I am so confused right now! :-[ :-[ :-[

The fourth name you have which was truncated is because they have limited space in their system that's why our name was shortened. It happened to me too.

Why don't you use your name in your AB identificaitons and then do the name change when you get your citizenship.