Forums > Help! > What name to give?

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Firetrampold hand
898 posts
Location: Binstead, Isle of Wight


Posted:
Not really needing help just yet, only some advise to start with.
I seem to have ended up in a loophole concerning Indigo's surname and I'm not sure what to do now. (Indigo is my baby, born in UK.)

I gave her my surname as I'm not together with the father but he agreed to put his name on the birth certificate so it wouldn't say: "Father: Unknown".
All good so far but then...

I applied for a British passport (the dad is British and Indigo was born in UK after all). But...passport refused as I'm not married to the dad and I haven't lived in UK for five years. (I'm from Belgium.)

Then I applied for a Belgian passport, I'm Belgian after all. Now the trouble really starts! Belgian law says that if the father is known (name on birth certificate), the child must have the father's name.

At the moment, Indigo will have a passport under a different name than on her birth certificate!

And I will have to go through a lot of hassle to get her name sorted out! That means, changing the birth certificate (is that even possible?), change her name to one that will be accepted. But both the father and me would prefer my name for Indigo.

Well, I'm stuck really and wondering if anyone has been through anything similar?

Ask a question and be a fool for a minute...don't ask and be a fool your whole life.


pkBRONZE Member
Lambretta Fanatic
4,997 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
I know that in England that it is possible to change your name by "deed poll", you can even do so on the internet for a fee, some websites £25 and anything upto £1000 i have seen.. i know i have looked in to this.

A friend of mine chaned his name several years back from Andrew Johnson to Roorah Mew Crumbs smile , he then had his passport changed and bank accounts etc without problem.



To have a birth certificate changed i would presume that you have to do so by deed poll and then you should be provided with all of the relevant forms of identification to have all of your important documents, passport, birth certificate, bank details reissued in your or your childs name.



I hope that these links below will help you some what. confused but worth a try non the same.



UK Documents for certificate replacements



UK Deed Polls for upto date information to change your name and what you need to provide or do.



I understand that this must be a problem for you, but however Belgium is part of the European Community which gives you and your child the right to pass freely to live in anothe EU member state, providing you have any relevant permissions for work etc.



My Son is ITalian and i am still a British Citizen, my son is DUEL NATIONALITY which gives him rights in both countries and i would presume the same for Indigo. I may abide in Italy but im not entitled to any Italian documents other than permission of work, until i am given citizenship... which you get when you marry. but thats not the discussion.. your child should have the right to either a British or Belgium Passport.

You could always seek advice from the UK citizen advice bureaus.



Citizens Advice Online.



Has Indigo's Father applied for your childs passport?.



Also can not you child be included on your own passport? wouldnt that be more simple than having names changed etc?.



You will find that when dealing with another countries ways.. there are loopholes, i know very well has i have found that Italy's systems are inadequate to the British systems and contain many loopholes in imgration and health sectors for migrant workers like myself.



I hope that helps or advises in some way, i dont fully understand your situation or why you need to have the name changed, maybe im just confussed.



but good luck. hug

NOnactivist for HoPper liberation.
1,643 posts
Location: ffidrac


Posted:
is it really a problem if she has a different name on the passport? i know a friend of mine had legal documents passport etc, in a different name to the one she actually used in day to day life.

and if the belgian authorities automatically take the father's name from the birth certificate, do you even really need to get the birth certificate changed? because she was born in the uk and has a uk birth certificate, and her name is a legal choice in the uk.

So you could apply for the belgian passport now using her father's name, then presuming you stay in the uk until 5 years, then you could apply for a british one for her with your name. You'd probably have to check that that would work, but since she's not exactly going to be travelling around on her own for a few years yet, you will always be with her and can anyway use the birth certificate to prove you are the mother even though the name is different.

I would have thought she could also have a british passport with her father's name on also, although maybe you would need to change the birth certificate for that...

did that make sense? i don't know enough about immigration policy to know if it'd work, but i think you can find out. Try Citizens advice bureau first like PK suggested...

Aurinko freedom agreement reached 10th Sept 2006

if it makes no sense that's because it's NOn-sense.


pkBRONZE Member
Lambretta Fanatic
4,997 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
My Aunt and Uncle many many years ago moved to the Gambia, where my cousin was born, he has a Gambian Birth Certificate and a British Passport.. confused

Some more links to try.


immigration UK

Dual Nationals

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)

So I just found the best news for you!!!!!

British citizenship by birth in the United Kingdom.

And i just read that now i have to register my Son before he is a year old ... then he will be officially a British Citizen too. smile

NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
 Written by: Firetramp


Belgian law says that if the father is known (name on birth certificate), the child must have the father's name.




That's horrible! frown

This sounds like a "Belgian issue" more than anything else. Are there Belgian websites or support groups out there? There must be tons of single moms out there with this very same problem!

hug

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


Firetrampold hand
898 posts
Location: Binstead, Isle of Wight


Posted:
I'd like Indigo to keep my name but "Belgium" doesn't accept it. They'll only issue a passport with the father's surname thus, I have to change her name.

I have e-mailed a Belgian support group who deals with that kind of stuff. Waiting for reply.

Waiting five years is not an option. They mean, five years before the birth of the child.

PK: I'm gonna check all those links. Thank you.

But for now, her name on her passport is different than the one on her birth certificate. Surely, that can't be right? Isn't the Belgian embassy doing something illegal here?

Ask a question and be a fool for a minute...don't ask and be a fool your whole life.



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