Name Change

[jldut80 0]

Hi Guys,

I have been researching changing my maiden name to married name on my passport and it seems that the queensland gov doesnt recognise overseas marriages. I think i need to change my name through births, deaths and marriages, then use this certificate to change my australian passport at the australian consulate here in the usa. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so would love your help!

Thanks!

Jodie

[kaffy 2]

Are you Australian born?

If you are Aussie born you can just change your passport name directly using your US marriage certificate.

If you are not Aussie born (and obtained citizenship through naturalization) you need to change the name on your citizenship certificate, then use that to apply for your passport name change.

The Australian embassy in Washington DC accepts overseas marriage certificate as proof of name change, you do not need to get the Aussie BDM involved

Edited March 6, 2010 by kaffy

[jldut80 0]

Are you Australian born?

If you are Aussie born you can just change your passport name directly using your US marriage certificate.

If you are not Aussie born (and obtained citizenship through naturalization) you need to change the name on your citizenship certificate, then use that to apply for your passport name change.

The Australian embassy in Washington DC accepts overseas marriage certificate as proof of name change, you do not need to get the Aussie BDM involved

Thanks! Yes im australian born. Are you sure this applies to queensland born citizens?

[kaffy 2]

Yes, you only need to involve the BDM if you are residing in Australia, which you aren't

The advice I gave above came directly from the Washington DC embassy from when I inquired about the steps I'd have to take when changing my name here in the US with them

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Yes, you only need to involve the BDM if you are residing in Australia, which you aren't

The advice I gave above came directly from the Washington DC embassy from when I inquired about the steps I'd have to take when changing my name here in the US with them

I'm sorry Kaffy but whoever you spoke to lied to you. If you are BORN in Australia then you MUST have BDM officiate the name change. If you were NOT born in Australia then you can use overseas info.

Here is the link for Aussie passports obtained in the US: http://www.usa.embassy.gov.au/whwh/PassportsFAQ.html it says: "If you were born in Australia – a revised birth certificate, marriage certificate or name change certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the Australian state where you were born or married. Foreign marriage certificates are not acceptable for name change purposes."

Also, as you're female it's important that you know that you are entitled to a "gratis" passport (i.e. free) if you change your passport within 12 months of marriage but I can't find anything on the Australian Embassy in the US page that tells me how to go about it in the States...

[kaffy 2]

Are you sure? Because the person at the Embassy I spoke to verified that they could over-ride the "Foreign marriage certificates are not acceptable for name change purposes" rule

Can anyone who has changed their name confirm or deny the above?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Are you sure? Because the person at the Embassy I spoke to verified that they could over-ride the "Foreign marriage certificates are not acceptable for name change purposes" rule

Nope I'm not sure BUT I can tell you that whether the embassy is in Australia, the US, or Germany the embassy means "Australian ground" and so Australian rules. Australian rules need an Aussie marriage licence or a name change doc (this i have looked into extensively 'cause it's YET ANOTHER expense :S).

There was a special note in the link I posted but it's all for people born overseas. The other issue being I couldn't find the gratis passport so if i can get out of paying, I will