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Changing Name Before Visa

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I have done a search in here but i could not find an answer to this one so hoping someone here can help.

I am traveling to Thailand to get Married in March.

We will be operating in a small time window due to work issues i have at home and the inability to get more than 3 weeks off.

Initially will be getting married as soon as possible after i land in Bangkok. A simple Amphur legal marriage and a small buddhist ceremony roughly 6 months later in her home village.

She will be hyphenating her name as wants to keep both her family name and take mine as well.

Immediately after getting married, the idea is to put her settlement Visa application in. This is in the probably silly hope she will be able to travel back the UK with me a mere 16 days later. To this end i am preparing a visa application using Robs excellent stickied post as a basic template and gathering every bit of evidence i can.

Now i realise there is a good chance things could go wrong and an equally good chance that even if things go well with the application, it could take more than the 2 and a half weeks i will have remaining in Thailand but we are still hoping it will manage to go through quickly. Simple fact is that i am sick of the long distance calls and the lonely nights without her.

My question is this

If we should put the visa application in with her new name Hyphenated or not.

Her passport will eventually be changed over to the new double barrelled name but currently her passport only has her surname on it and obviously not mine.

If the Visa has only her name on the front cover, will this effect in any way her entry to the UK, her ability to travel back and forth to Thailand from the UK for holidays to see her father etc?

Will she be able to change the name showing in her passport, in a Thai embassy or consul in the UK or does she have to do the documentation in Thailand itself. If she does change the name on her passport and the Visa is without my half of the surname, can this effect her ability to travel?

None of this would be a problem as such were it not for the time constraints and the need to enter the application at the earliest possible opportunity.

I hope someone can advise and would be grateful for any input.

She will be hyphenating her name as wants to keep both her family name and take mine as well.

I am not sure Thailand does that. I think it's either/or here.

Why dosn't she want to take your name. If she is thinking that it will reduce her rights as a Thai she is wrong.

Many people are under the false impression that they cannot buy land if they are married to a foreinger. That law went away several years ago.

I think that you will find that her not having your name is going to complicate a lot of things for years to come.

She can choose not to have Mrs. put on her ID card if she wants and just take your family name.

My wife has never had any problem having my name.

I have done a search in here but i could not find an answer to this one so hoping someone here can help.

I am traveling to Thailand to get Married in March.

We will be operating in a small time window due to work issues i have at home and the inability to get more than 3 weeks off.

Initially will be getting married as soon as possible after i land in Bangkok. A simple Amphur legal marriage and a small buddhist ceremony roughly 6 months later in her home village.

She will be hyphenating her name as wants to keep both her family name and take mine as well.

Immediately after getting married, the idea is to put her settlement Visa application in. This is in the probably silly hope she will be able to travel back the UK with me a mere 16 days later. To this end i am preparing a visa application using Robs excellent stickied post as a basic template and gathering every bit of evidence i can.

Now i realise there is a good chance things could go wrong and an equally good chance that even if things go well with the application, it could take more than the 2 and a half weeks i will have remaining in Thailand but we are still hoping it will manage to go through quickly. Simple fact is that i am sick of the long distance calls and the lonely nights without her.

My question is this

If we should put the visa application in with her new name Hyphenated or not.

Her passport will eventually be changed over to the new double barrelled name but currently her passport only has her surname on it and obviously not mine.

If the Visa has only her name on the front cover, will this effect in any way her entry to the UK, her ability to travel back and forth to Thailand from the UK for holidays to see her father etc?

Will she be able to change the name showing in her passport, in a Thai embassy or consul in the UK or does she have to do the documentation in Thailand itself. If she does change the name on her passport and the Visa is without my half of the surname, can this effect her ability to travel?

None of this would be a problem as such were it not for the time constraints and the need to enter the application at the earliest possible opportunity.

I hope someone can advise and would be grateful for any input.

'Her visa application must have the same name as her passport'. To change her name in her passport she will have to go to the passport office with her ID card in her married name and her marriage certificate, then they will issue her with a new passport but that takes 3-4 days. Changing her name on her ID card can be done in one day but again she'll need her marriage certificate so both would have to be done after you get married but before you submit her visa application, so taking 4-5 days out of your 2 1/2 weeks is probably too long to get her visa and organise a flight before you leave.

So if you're planning to try and complete everything in such a short timespan then you will probably be better to apply for her visa in her maiden name and leave her passport as it is. Having her passport and visa in her maiden name will not have any effect on her traveling to and entering the UK. Once she is in the UK she can use either her maiden name, the double barrelled name or just your surname, whichever she chooses.

My (now ex) wife had her visa issued in her maiden name and always had her Thai passport in her maiden name but everything in the UK (N.I. number, tax code, bank account, medical card, doctors etc, etc) was in her married name. All we ever had to show was the marriage certificate. We never had a problem entering or leaving the UK either, it's the visa that gave her permission to live in the UK, not the name she chose to use.

But if her passport 's in her maiden name don't forget you'll have to buy her plane ticket in that name as well, a friend of mine didn't and it meant his wife couldn't travel with him.

Like ubonjoe says I don't think Thai's can hyphenate there name but if she wants to keep her maiden name maybe she could add it as a middle name and have your surname.

Good Luck.

  • Author
She will be hyphenating her name as wants to keep both her family name and take mine as well.

I am not sure Thailand does that. I think it's either/or here.

Why dosn't she want to take your name. If she is thinking that it will reduce her rights as a Thai she is wrong.

Many people are under the false impression that they cannot buy land if they are married to a foreinger. That law went away several years ago.

I think that you will find that her not having your name is going to complicate a lot of things for years to come.

She can choose not to have Mrs. put on her ID card if she wants and just take your family name.

My wife has never had any problem having my name.

Thanks for the reply mate.

It is not that she does not want to take my name. She does. Point is that she wants BOTH names if possible. She also is insisting on having it say Mrs rather than Ms.

She want's to keep her family name to some extent simply because she likes it. ( in Thai it means something like fair skinned one :o )

As far as land rights etc i do not think it has ever come up in our conversations it is simply her wish to keep that name she is proud of.

If required she will drop her name in the UK and go with my surname but ideally would want both.

I have done a search in here but i could not find an answer to this one so hoping someone here can help.

I am traveling to Thailand to get Married in March.

We will be operating in a small time window due to work issues i have at home and the inability to get more than 3 weeks off.

Initially will be getting married as soon as possible after i land in Bangkok. A simple Amphur legal marriage and a small buddhist ceremony roughly 6 months later in her home village.

She will be hyphenating her name as wants to keep both her family name and take mine as well.

Immediately after getting married, the idea is to put her settlement Visa application in. This is in the probably silly hope she will be able to travel back the UK with me a mere 16 days later. To this end i am preparing a visa application using Robs excellent stickied post as a basic template and gathering every bit of evidence i can.

Now i realise there is a good chance things could go wrong and an equally good chance that even if things go well with the application, it could take more than the 2 and a half weeks i will have remaining in Thailand but we are still hoping it will manage to go through quickly. Simple fact is that i am sick of the long distance calls and the lonely nights without her.

My question is this

If we should put the visa application in with her new name Hyphenated or not.

Her passport will eventually be changed over to the new double barrelled name but currently her passport only has her surname on it and obviously not mine.

If the Visa has only her name on the front cover, will this effect in any way her entry to the UK, her ability to travel back and forth to Thailand from the UK for holidays to see her father etc?

Will she be able to change the name showing in her passport, in a Thai embassy or consul in the UK or does she have to do the documentation in Thailand itself. If she does change the name on her passport and the Visa is without my half of the surname, can this effect her ability to travel?

None of this would be a problem as such were it not for the time constraints and the need to enter the application at the earliest possible opportunity.

I hope someone can advise and would be grateful for any input.

'Her visa application must have the same name as her passport'. To change her name in her passport she will have to go to the passport office with her ID card in her married name and her marriage certificate, then they will issue her with a new passport but that takes 3-4 days. Changing her name on her ID card can be done in one day but again she'll need her marriage certificate so both would have to be done after you get married but before you submit her visa application, so taking 4-5 days out of your 2 1/2 weeks is probably too long to get her visa and organise a flight before you leave.

So if you're planning to try and complete everything in such a short timespan then you will probably be better to apply for her visa in her maiden name and leave her passport as it is. Having her passport and visa in her maiden name will not have any effect on her traveling to and entering the UK. Once she is in the UK she can use either her maiden name, the double barrelled name or just your surname, whichever she chooses.

My (now ex) wife had her visa issued in her maiden name and always had her Thai passport in her maiden name but everything in the UK (N.I. number, tax code, bank account, medical card, doctors etc, etc) was in her married name. All we ever had to show was the marriage certificate. We never had a problem entering or leaving the UK either, it's the visa that gave her permission to live in the UK, not the name she chose to use.

But if her passport 's in her maiden name don't forget you'll have to buy her plane ticket in that name as well, a friend of mine didn't and it meant his wife couldn't travel with him.

Like ubonjoe says I don't think Thai's can hyphenate there name but if she wants to keep her maiden name maybe she could add it as a middle name and have your surname.

Good Luck.

Ok so it is possible to leave her passport in her old name and travel with that on her passport but have everything in the UK with my name?

Is it not possible to change her name on her passport in the UK through the Thai embassy. Or would this then clash with the name written on her Visa?

Thanks for the answers guys. I have written to the embassy as well to see what their response to this would be so am hoping to get a reply fairly soon from someone in the business so to speak. .

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