To want to use my maiden name?

[RedxRobin]

Currently going through a ridiculous situation at the moment and wondering if others have any experience.
I was born in the UK and have lived here all my life. I have Dutch parents & have always had a dutch passport (not sure why, we all did & it was never a big deal). After Brexit I decided to apply for a UK passport.
My dutch passport is in my maiden name & I applied for my UK passport in my married name - not realising that they had to match. Since then I've had a nightmare - the passport office first said that I had to change my dutch passport to my married name. I pointed out that in holland you don't tend to change your name & I would rather have my maiden name of both passports as I still use my maiden name professionally & often travel for work.
I've now been sent a letter telling me that if I want to have my maiden name on my UK passport I have to have a change of name deed showing that I was reverting to my maiden name & sign a statement declaring that I will only be know by my maiden name from now on.
As far as I can see, I can legally use both names so I don't see why I would have to do a change of name deed (I never officially changed it in the first place) or renounce the use of my married name. Has anyone else experience this???

You say you never officially changed your name. So why is your British passport in your married name?

I think whoever the contact is may be wrong. I say this because I reverted to my birth name after divorce and for that in England you do not need a deed at all as it's the name on my birth certificate. I'd write to them - email should be fine - and ask them what the legal basis is for this.

Surely you only need to resubmit your UK passport application in your birth name?

@IcedPurple - I thought I could put my married name on my passport application. I didn't realise it was wrong.

why not go the double barrelled route and use both names on both passports

[quote RedxRobin]@IcedPurple - I thought I could put my married name on my passport application. I didn't realise it was wrong.[/quote]
If your Dutch passport is in your birth name why not your British passport too? It's still your name.

Can’t you send them copies of your birth certificate and marriage certificate (I’d make sure you have copies - ie that you aren’t sending them the only original you have - in case they lose it)? Do you have a driving license? What name is it under?

You only have a “married name” if you actually legally change your name after marriage. You never did, so you have no married name.

I would just explain in a letter that your initial U.K. passport application was erroneous, you don’t have a married name, and apply for it with your birth name.

@IcedPurple - I applied for the UK one in my married name because I thought it would be easier when travelling with my children to have a passport in my married name. I didn't realise both passports had to be in the same name.

@Namenic - they've already had both my birth certificate and marriage certificate (they only accept originals and they've sent back my marriage certificate but not my birth certificate so who knows where that one is now!). My driving license is in my maiden name but I've just had to send it off to renew it (I can't renew it online as I don't have a UK passport!!)

[quote RedxRobin]@IcedPurple - I thought I could put my married name on my passport application. I didn't realise it was wrong.[/quote]
It’s a legal document. If has to be legally correct.

You may as well have put Princess Bananahammock on there 🤷‍♀️ It’s just as equally not your name.

You called?

😂😂 Excellent username!

Sorry OP, I'm fairly sure you have got this wrong. Your legal name is whatever is in your passport (from any country). If you have never officially changed your surname, then you don't actually have a married name. At the time I got married (brit, married abroad), both DH and I had to declare what our names after marriage will be, as well as any future children's surnames. If I now were to change my name, I'd have to apply to have my name changed as I can't just pick and choose from the the surnames. Whatever your current passport says, goes.

@seaandsandcastles yes, but my married name is also my name. I didn't say I was Mrs Harry Styles!!! As far as I understand it, I can use either my married name or my maiden name. The passport office said that the two passports have to match in name. The issue is that changing the name on my passport application to my maiden name seems to be causing issues.
I would also point out that my sister made the same mistake as me but was able to call up & they just changed it so it matched the maiden name in her dutch passport with no issues!

Council tax, electoral register, bank accounts...what name do you have on those and have you ever had to provide any proof?

my married name is also my name.

What legal documentation do you have to prove this?

So: your marriage certificate - presumably sent to the British passport office when applying for your British passport - is what they have accepted as proof of your married name.

For you to change this legal document into another name, you need a deed poll to reflect that before they can accept it.

You can call yourself anything you like, but the marriage certificate is what's legally changed your name for your passport.

It doesn't matter much what your bank account, council tax, or anything else is registered in as long as you can prove who you are to them as well.

If you've given that marriage certificate to anywhere else as proof of your name change to your married name, you'll also need to provide a copy of a deed poll to them to change it to anything else.

This is purely down to legal documentation.

I have council tax, electoral register, hmrc, some bank accounts in married name.
Dutch passport, medical records, all work stuff, and slightly randomly our joint account in my maiden name.
As far as I understand it from the deed poll website you can use both your married name and your maiden name. A lot of people opt to use their maiden names professionally after marriage - I do so, so anything associated with work (eg work credit cards etc) are in my maiden name

I’d call back and speak to someone else.

@RedxRobin you're correct, but the difference is between legal documents such as a passport and what you call yourself at work.

You may also want to review your personal finance names so they all marry up - especially if you are looking to get or change a mortgage etc.

You don't need a change of name by deed poll to use your married name. Your marriage certificate is all the proof you need to use your married name after marriage. Same as when you get divorced you don't need a deed poll to change your name back, just a decree absolute is enough.
So you shouldn't ever have a deed poll to change your name to your husbands surname, as its not needed, so I believe the passport office is wrong

You can only have one legal name. It can be either your maiden name or married name (or anything else you like via deed poll). It's defined by what is on your legal documentation eg passport or driving license.

You can call yourself whatever you want on a day to day basis though.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/965566/Names_-_aligning_names_on_foreign_documents.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjp6tPV_bXzAhVGiFwKHQPEAGQQFnoECAQQBg&usg=AOvVaw2-ckxbKSYv2bYJmVLlbT98" rel="nofollow" target="blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/965566/Names-_aligning_names_on_foreign_documents.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjp6tPV_bXzAhVGiFwKHQPEAGQQFnoECAQQBg&usg=AOvVaw2-ckxbKSYv2bYJmVLlbT98

A lot of people opt to use their maiden names professionally after marriage - I do so, so anything associated with work (eg work credit cards etc) are in my maiden name

In case people (like me!!) may not understand your point. Have you officially, physically changed your name after you got married, OP? (Note: marriage certificate is not a proof of name change, it's a proof that you are married).

Have you ever submitted a request to change your name? Legally??

Oops posted too soon. This documents explains why you can't have 2 different names

2 different names on foreign documents that is