Maiden name vs married name and Dutch passport/identity

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

A question to the Dutch/American couples. I am in the process of obtaining a K1 visa and intend to marry my USC upon arrival around september/october. I intend to take his name upon marrying him. 

In the US, when you take your husbands name, your name officially changes. You no longer use your maiden name. In the Netherlands however your name does not officially change after marriage. You are allowed the use of your husbands name (even when dealing with the government and financial institutions), but you will always be officially registered by your maiden name. Your passport is in your maiden name. In the Netherlands you will have an addition on your passport saying 'wife of' to signify your marriage. 

 

My fiancé is worried that this will get me in trouble. I will have my Dutch passport as an identifying document in one name, and my greencard in another. Worse yet, when I apply for citizenship later on I will have two passports in two different names. He is worried officers will not understand and will arrest me for identity fraud. 

 

I understand there is a way that lets you change your official Dutch name to your married name based on a law of conflicting names(?) where one countries laws dictate a different use of name than another and you choose one law that the other country has to obide by. But if I do that it will also change my name on my birthcertificate. I do not want that. 

And yes, I understand that I can also choose to keep my maiden name to avoid all this trouble. I don't want that either. Me and my fiancé are pretty traditional in these matters. I want to take his name. 

 

I want to know: has anyone ever gotten in trouble for this? I understand a lot of people will just fly by without ever having to deal with this and tell me not to worry. 

[BFTE 41]

You could opt for a hyphenated surname. Just like it traditionally goes in the Netherlands? So "Husbands last name" - "Maiden name". This is becoming more and more popular in the USA..

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

I've sent an email to the consulate to ask for clarification and this is their answer.

Quote

 

Dear Kim and Brent,

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to my desk for a response.  I can inform you as follows:

The passport of a Dutch lady would always come in the maiden name, and if requested, the name of the spouse would then be added as a separate line under the name saying “wife of….” In three languages, Dutch, French and English,

Normally this is sufficient to connect the names, however, sometimes Dutch citizens are asked additional questions at airports, that is IF they book their travel tickets with their married name.  It should not be a problem if you use the US issued identity documents that have the married name on them, however, having also the marriage certificate whenever it is requested to connect the name might also be useful.  If possible, you can also keep the maiden name the same on all documents to make it simpler, however, we can understand that this might not always be possible or wanted.

Please note though, that in some states USA it is possible to have the last name after marriage determined during the process, so that the name after marriage, appears on the marriage certificate.  If this does show on the marriage that the name of the spouse would be taken over after marriage, then at the next Dutch passport renewal, we can take this name over.

Other than the above, the addition of the line showing the spouse’s name in the passport is usually the standard solution for this, as well as remembering to book travel tickets with the maiden name as it is mentioned in the passport.

The long term solution is to officially change the name in the Netherlands with the Ministry of Security and Justice information of which you can find on the following link:  https://www.justis.nl/producten/naamswijziging/achternaam-wijzigen/index.aspx  (only in Dutch).  Also attached here, is a brochure with more detailed information.

With kind regards,

Senior Consular Officer Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

 

This would mean that inside the United States it would be no problem once I get my greencard or drivers license as I will identify myself with either of those. Only when I fly internationally will it become an 'issue' in which I need to book with my Dutch passport and thus my maiden name. This will only be the case till I gain citizenship and I can book on my American passport. It is however advised to carry the marriage certificate to connect the names.

[Hadassah123 523]

9 hours ago, Little_Vixen said:

I've sent an email to the consulate to ask for clarification and this is their answer.

This would mean that inside the United States it would be no problem once I get my greencard or drivers license as I will identify myself with either of those. Only when I fly internationally will it become an 'issue' in which I need to book with my Dutch passport and thus my maiden name. This will only be the case till I gain citizenship and I can book on my American passport. It is however advised to carry the marriage certificate to connect the names.

The answer from the consulate is pretty clear.

 

Once you get your SSN, EAD, GC etc, those can all be in your married name. The only thing that will be different is that until you get your American passport, you'll have to book travel under your maiden name. Traveling to NL should obviously not be a problem with your Dutch passport. Entering the US will be with your Dutch passport in combination with EAD/AP and later Green Card until you get citizenship. Suppose that carrying the marriage certificate could be beneficial (just make a copy and stick in the back of your passport?).

 

The only difference would be that if you travel to other countries that require a visa - you'll have to get the visa based on the requirements for Dutch citizens.

 

If it's just for travel - why go through the hassle of completely changing your maiden name? I've heard/read that it's possible, but difficult to get done with the Dutch authorities.

 

For myself - I'll keep my maiden name in my Dutch passport, but married name on everything else. I just renewed my passport, so it won't have my married name on it until I get a new one - so likely in 10 years time, unless I need to renew sooner.

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

I don't need to change my maiden name on my Dutch papers. My fiance is just worried that having two papers saying different names would get me in trouble. According to the consulate it shouldn't pose a problem.

[Fr8dog 312]

You could run into trouble on flights into the US where an airline employee at check in is not able to match your name (booked under passport) with your permission to enter the US (your green-card). I know you want a definitive answer, but nobody can give you one. Technically your passport will never match with your green card if you do a "traditional" US name change. In these days of computer verification that may or may not give problems.

The immigration officer at the entry port is an easier hurdle. You just give them the green card. If you end up with 2 passports you should be fine. As long as you book and fly under the same one on both trips.

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

3 hours ago, Fr8dog said:

You could run into trouble on flights into the US where an airline employee at check in is not able to match your name (booked under passport) with your permission to enter the US (your green-card). I know you want a definitive answer, but nobody can give you one. Technically your passport will never match with your green card if you do a "traditional" US name change. In these days of computer verification that may or may not give problems.

The immigration officer at the entry port is an easier hurdle. You just give them the green card. If you end up with 2 passports you should be fine. As long as you book and fly under the same one on both trips.

I will always carry my passport, greencard and marriage certificate with me. So hopefully that will be enough to convince the employee. I am planning on getting citizenship at one point, but that will be a long way off.

 

I forgot to post the updates. I asked the consulate some further questions that I will post here for anyone who is interested.

This is the complete conversation.

 

Quote

Dear Kim and Brent,

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to my desk for a response.  I can inform you as follows:

The passport of a Dutch lady would always come in the maiden name, and if requested, the name of the spouse would then be added as a separate line under the name saying “wife of….” In three languages, Dutch, French and English,

Normally this is sufficient to connect the names, however, sometimes Dutch citizens are asked additional questions at airports, that is IF they book their travel tickets with their married name.  It should not be a problem if you use the US issued identity documents that have the married name on them, however, having also the marriage certificate whenever it is requested to connect the name might also be useful.  If possible, you can also keep the maiden name the same on all documents to make it simpler, however, we can understand that this might not always be possible or wanted.

Please note though, that in some states USA it is possible to have the last name after marriage determined during the process, so that the name after marriage, appears on the marriage certificate.  If this does show on the marriage that the name of the spouse would be taken over after marriage, then at the next Dutch passport renewal, we can take this name over.

Other than the above, the addition of the line showing the spouse’s name in the passport is usually the standard solution for this, as well as remembering to book travel tickets with the maiden name as it is mentioned in the passport.

The long term solution is to officially change the name in the Netherlands with the Ministry of Security and Justice information of which you can find on the following link:  https://www.justis.nl/producten/naamswijziging/achternaam-wijzigen/index.aspx  (only in Dutch).  Also attached here, is a brochure with more detailed information.

With kind regards,

*Name*

Senior Consular Officer

 

 

Dear *Name*,

Thank you very much for your swift and extensive answer.

I am not sure if I understand correctly what you mean by the 4th paragraph. "Please note though, that in some states USA it is possible to have the last name after marriage determined during the process, so that the name after marriage, appears on the marriage certificate.  If this does show on the marriage that the name of the spouse would be taken over after marriage, then at the next Dutch passport renewal, we can take this name over."

In Indiana you get the SS-5 form to change your name when you apply for a marriage license. So I assume the name change will be shown on the certificate.  Do you mean I can change my name on the passport with the next renewal, or do you mean add my married name as a "wife of".

Kind regards,

Kim

 

 

Dear Kim,

 If it is specifically mentioned on the form, in its own field as follows:

“Last name / new name after marriage” then with your next renewal, we would be able to take the name over and not just add the e/v.  If this field is not specifically mentioned on the certificate, then we would only be able to add the last name as e/v on the new passport, which is the standard way of adding the spousal name to a Dutch passport.

I hope this helps.

With kind regards,

*Name*

 

 

Dear *Name*,

 Thank you for explaining. It is slowly getting more clear. I would love to change the name on my Dutch passport in stead of just adding e/v. But I thought that was only possible after an official namechange in the Netherlands (with the Ministry of Security and Justice like you mentioned in the last paragraph of your first email). And that would also change the name on my birthcertificate, correct? This last part is what I want to avoid as to me it feels like renouncing my fathers name.

Kind regards,

Kim

 

 

Dear Kim,

Changing the last by marriage is a possibility, again, however, there has to be a mention on the actual marriage certificate that the last name of the bride would be changed after marriage as I mentioned in my last email.  Yes, I can understand you might not want to change the birth certificate.  I understand that completely.  However, you still have the two option, through marriage as described, or just as e/v in your passport, which is the most common method.

With kind regards,

*Name*

 

So if I understand correctly, if my marriage license specifically states I will change my name after marriage I will be able to change the actual name in my passport (not add as e.v. as usual) without going through the whole official name change which will also change my birth certificate.