Name Change Process

I have a UK Spousal Visa in my maiden name.  My British husband and I were married in Virginia (where I am from) earlier this year.  I want to change my name, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it.  From what I have read you should first change your name on your Social Security Card details by post and then change your name on your driver's license.  Is it possible to change your driver's license from abroad or can I simply bypass the drivers license step until a later date?  Can I change my name on my passport without changing my driver's license or will that cause problems? 

Is your visa issued as a sticker in your passport?

If so, you can change your name in your passport and carry both your old and new passports (and possibly a copy of your marriage license) with you when you travel and be okay that way.

If you have a BRP, it's a whole different story.

I did change my name with Social Security through the US Embassy in London (their website has clear instructions on doing this while living in the UK), same with the passport.

I did not bother with anything else US-related as my life is here in the UK now.  My US drivers license (which is likely no longer considered valid as I do not reside in the US) is still in my maiden name.

You can use your married name here in the UK even without changing your passport.  You can have your UK bank accounts and UK driving license issued in your married name.

My spousal visa is not in my passport, I have a BRP.  My driving license is still valid for another 8 years in the States.  Can I change that at any point I like?  I know I will have to change my name on my BRP, but not sure if that is easily done myself or if I should have a lawyer help out. 

My spousal visa is not in my passport, I have a BRP.

If you have a BRP, then it's probably not worth changing your name in your passport.

If you do change your name in your passport, then you must change your name on the BRP within 3 months - if you don't, you can be fined £1,000 and possibly even have your visa cancelled!
 
You don't need a lawyer - you just fill out a form, pay a fee of £37 and send off your BRP and passport. However, it has been taking about 4 months for processing, which means you would be without your passport for all that time.

Since it's not a requirement to change your name on the passport and BRP, it's probably not worth the hassle.

One option would be to change your name on the passport just before you apply for your next visa so that your next BRP will be issued in your married name and you won't have to worry about changing your current BRP.

But, if you're happy to use your married name for everything else, you can just keep your passport and visas in your maiden name right the way through. You just have to make sure you book travel in your maiden name so it matches your passport.

Changing the name on the BRP is a bit of a pain.

First you change your passport, then the BRP.  The passport will take about a month to do.  The BRP could take quite some time.  Unfortunately the UKBA gives no indication of wait times on BRP name changes.  When I did mine, it only took 2 months after I got my MP involved to find out what was going on.  The normal processing time is 4-6 months though, unfortunately.  And if you change your name in your passport, you MUST change the BRP.  You'll be without your passport and your current BRP during this time, so make sure you don't have any travel plans.

Check with your state on the validity of your drivers license, as there is a chance that since you are no longer a resident that it is no longer considered valid.  If it is valid, of course you can change your name but how you do it will be dependent on the state.  You may need to do it in person and need a local address.

You definitely don't need a lawyer to change your name on the BRP.  It's a simple form that you mail in with your passport and current BRP.  You'll get a letter to re-enroll your biometrics at the Post Office and then you wait for the new BRP to be issued.

x-posted with ksand.  )

Thank you for the replies and advice.  I will have to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in a little over two years (I just received my BRP after getting married in April).  If I leave my passport and BRP as is and change my name on things like bank, council tax, etc., will that create problems when I apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?  I know I will have to submit documents when I apply and I don't want the name change to mess things up. 

If you got married in April then I'm assuming you are on the new visa rules. How long is your BRP valid for... is it 24 months or 30 months?

If it's 30 months, this means that you cannot apply for ILR until 5 years from the date that your BRP was issued - you have to spend 2.5 years on your current FLR(M) visa, then another 2.5 years on a second FLR(M) visa, and then finally you can qualify for ILR in 2018 after 5 years on the two FLR(M) visas.

I see from your posts that you were in the UK on a Tier 1 visa and that you married and applied to switch to FLR(M) a few months ago. You can only apply for ILR after 2 years if you were married and applied for your FLR(M) visa before July 9th 2012.

My BRP is valid for 30 months (I applied for it July 2013).  Since I have been in the UK on Tier 1 visa since August 2010, I will have been here for 5 years by the time I need to renew my BRP and switch to ILR, right? 

You can either qualify for ILR after 5 years under the work visa route or you can qualify for ILR after 5 years on the spousal visa route, but you can't use a combination of both to make up the 5 years - you either apply for ILR based on 5 years of work visa status or you apply based on 5 years of marriage visa status.

So, by switching to FLR(M), you unfortunately restarted your 5-year clock to ILR and so you have to spend 5 years on FLR(M) visas first before you will be able to qualify for ILR.

If you had stayed on a Tier 1 you could have applied for ILR in 2015, but now that you've switched, you will have to wait another 5 years, until 2018, to be able to get ILR, and instead you'll need to apply for another FLR(M) visa when your current one expires.

Not great news, especially because it's so costly!  Thank you for letting me know.  Will it be a problem when I reapply if I change my name on various documents like bank statements?

Not great news, especially because it's so costly!  Thank you for letting me know.  Will it be a problem when I reapply if I change my name on various documents like bank statements?

No it won't be a problem... many people here have done exactly the same thing and have not had any issues.

You will be including your marriage certificate with your next visa application, which will show the link between the name on your passport and the name on your documents, so they will be able see that you're the same person .

Thank you so much ksand24 for the advice!  I really appreciate it!

If the OP doesn't mind, I'd like to tag another related question onto this thread catering for my specific situation.   All of my documentation is in my maiden name, and I haven't started using the married name, but am trying to determine the best time to change names legally, as I will likely want to have one family name once we get around to having children. 

I have a FLR(M) BRP valid until Jan 2015, at which point I will apply for ILR under the old rules.  After receiving ILR, I think I will be able to apply for citizenship pretty much straight away (based on my PSW visa from Feb 2012-- as last I checked, time on a T4 didn't count towards residency, but PSW did, right?). 

However, my US passport expires in May 2015.  I will  certainly have to renew this prior to applying for ILR, and will likely do so sometime around Oct 2014.  If I decide to renew in the married name, I would then have to apply for a new FLR(M) BRP, wait for ~4 months to receive this (Jan-Feb 2015), then apply for ILR straight after, thus really restricting my ability to travel in this time frame.  To save on hassle/stress/time/frustration, I would like to renew in my maiden name.  However, I have questions regarding the implications of this:

1. When applying for ILR, is this also issued as a BRP, and therefore have to match my US passport?
2. When applying for UK Citizenship, does the name used for that have to match up with both the BRP and US Passport? 
3. If applying for UK Citizenship in my maiden name, how easy(cost, time, etc) is it to change to a married name once I decide to do so? 
4. If applying for UK Citizenship in the married name, how does this affect:
     a) US identity (passport, drivers license, SSN/tax info, banking details, etc)
     b) UK identity (drivers license, NIN/tax info, banking details, lease/bills, etc)

I guess this was sort of a long-winded explanation, but mostly, does anyone have a recommendation on the easiest path forward in this instance?

However, my US passport expires in May 2015.  I will  certainly have to renew this prior to applying for ILR, and will likely do so sometime around Oct 2014.  If I decide to renew in the married name, I would then have to apply for a new FLR(M) BRP, wait for ~4 months to receive this (Jan-Feb 2015), then apply for ILR straight after, thus really restricting my ability to travel in this time frame.  To save on hassle/stress/time/frustration, I would like to renew in my maiden name.

No need - you're making it too complicated.

You can renew your passport in your married name in Oct 2014, then apply for ILR in your married name in Jan 2014... your new BRP will be issued in your married name and you won't need to change your name in your old BRP because the new one will override it.

The rule is that you have to apply to change your name in your BRP within 3 months of changing your passport name. There are less than 3 months between Oct and Jan so you can just apply for ILR instead of updating the BRP - there's no point in updating the BRP and because it will become invalid when you apply for ILR.

1. When applying for ILR, is this also issued as a BRP, and therefore have to match my US passport?

Yes - as I said above, just renew your passport your married name and your new BRP will be issued in your married name too.

2. When applying for UK Citizenship, does the name used for that have to match up with both the BRP and US Passport?  

Yes, your BRP and passport MUST have the same name at all times.

ETA: Sorry, I misread this one.

No, your UK citizenship can be in any name - it doesn't have to match your passport and BRP (but the passport and BRP must always be in the same name before you get citizenship).

3. If applying for UK Citizenship in my maiden name, how easy(cost, time, etc) is it to change to a married name once I decide to do so?  

You can just apply for citizenship and your UK passport in your married name. It doesn't matter which name is in your US passport at that time.

4. If applying for UK Citizenship in the married name, how does this affect:
     a) US identity (passport, drivers license, SSN/tax info, banking details, etc)
     b) UK identity (drivers license, NIN/tax info, banking details, lease/bills, etc)

Well, your UK identity is up to you - all you have to do is start using your married name here... you can do this even if your passport is still in your maiden name... just call the companies and change your details.

Not sure about the US side of things.

I guess this was sort of a long-winded explanation, but mostly, does anyone have a recommendation on the easiest path forward in this instance?

Easiest thing:

- Change your name on UK documents now/whenever you want to do it

- Look into changing your name on US documents if you wish to

- Change your name in your passport in Oct 2014. You don't need to change your name on your BRP as long as you change the passport less than 3 months before applying for ILR.

- Apply for ILR in your married name in Jan 2015 - you will get a new BRP in your married name and the old one will be destroyed.

Thanks, I just realized when reading another thread that there's a 3 month window to allow for this, so thank you for your detailed explanation.