wife wants to change first name

[finners]

Good Morning

My wife and I are going back to Thailand for a holiday in July , and she has decided she wants to change her first name . My qusetion is what sort of problems will this cause when arriving back in the UK because her biometric visa will state her original name . She will also be re-newing her passport when we are in Thailand .

I would also like to know if anyone knows how resolve any problems that this is bound to create .

Thanks in advance

[cnx355]

Try to convince her to keep her name as your love it ! But possibly a monk or relative told her otherwise.....

[finners]

Convince her , you don't know my wife . She's decided her name is unlucky and that's it so she's hell bent on changing it and nothing i say will make any difference .

So i'm stuck with this problem till i figure a way round it .

I did phone GOV.UK

[finners]

Sorry i did phone GOV.UK but they were'nt exactly very helpful , just said she need to fill out a form .

That does'nt really help me as she won't be in the country when she changes her name and how does she get back in the country to fill out the form if she's got a different name .

[KhunBENQ]

Carrying old passport, new passport, old ID card, new ID card, a record about her name change (translated) should be enough.

What biometrics is in this visa? A chip with fingerprint?

Changing names is quite popular in this country (even family names).

Unbelievable but true.

Good thing: the ID cards and passports all show the 13 digit citizen ID which is unique and does not change.

GOV.UK?

Better try to contact the UK embassy in Bangkok.

For them this should not be a first timer.

Edited May 15, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[finners]

Yes the biometric visa has a chip with fingerprints .

I did'nt know that about the 13 digit citizen id .

Thanks i feel better about things now

[Torrens54]

I know what you are having to deal with.

My wife, shortly after we returned from living abroad was told by a Monk, she should change her First Name to bring Good Fortune!

Nothing could be done to stop her. New Passport issued, new MDL, the whole package. Our friends overseas were polite enough not to ask too many awkward questions. Family and friends here were of course okay with it.

As for Good Fortune... well this was a few years ago and we haven't had any real BAD Luck...but then again, no Lottery Windfalls either.

Funniest thing is, about 99% of her Thai Family and Friends still use her Thai Nickname, instead of the new one as "ordained" by the no doubt, well intentioned Monk.

Think you're stuck with going along with the idea mate, no point fighting it. Chances are no harm will come of it and in time she'll get sick of it and go back to her original name....New Passport etc will again be required but ah well....you have to love these girls!

[IMA_FARANG]

Convince her , you don't know my wife . She's decided her name is unlucky and that's it so she's hell bent on changing it and nothing i say will make any difference .

So i'm stuck with this problem till i figure a way round it .

I did phone GOV.UK

--------------------------

I had an English friend whose last name was HOY (pronounced HO EE)

His Thai wife's given name was OY.

Therefore when she was married her name was Oy Hoy.

Obviously she wanted to have her name changed.

But I don't know if she ever managed it or not.

Edited May 15, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[prakhonchai nick]

Try to convince her to keep her name as your love it ! But possibly a monk or relative told her otherwise.....

If a monk told her to change her name you haven't got a bloody leg to stand on.

Monks are gods here in Thailand and there are millions of them!

[Paul888]

It is really just one extra piece of paperwork that needs to be translated and certified and added to the bundle every time you try to do something but if you have children or will in the future it will affect them and their paperwork also.

Plus, what happens when after 2 months this new name has not improved her fortune? My ex twice changed her name (second time without me knowing until she died) so now I need 2 additional pieces of paper and explanations required every time I need to link her name on my daughter's birth certificate to the death certificate which is in a different name.

[prakhonchai nick]

Changing names can and does bring all sorts of problems later on.

So far as Thai wives married to British expats, when claims are put in for pensions, bereavement benefits etc, it is necessary to submit all legal papers regarding names (birth cert, name change form a to b, b to c etc), original docs with certified translations of everything.

If they are not submitted initially - due to nobody realising, or having forgotten there were name changes - the whole process is delayed.

One widow I recently assisted, changed her name twice, and the whole process of obtaining bereavement benefits, took over 8 months.

[Just1Voice]

Shortly after meeting my wife, her and her sister, along with sister's 10 yr old daughter, all changed their last name, on the advice of a monk.

Just before we got married, same monk told her she should change her first name as well.

Did all that, with all the resulting paperwork, etc.

But only uses the names on official documents, and still goes by the same "nick name" she's had all her life.

[ronthai]

Yeh, she met you and married you, so that is why your wife thinks her name is unlucky ...?

Guess she didn't win the lotto as expected.

I think you should take a lesson from this.

We all need money in this world, unfortunately, but when we find LOVE than we are really lucky.

Edited May 16, 2015 by ronthai

[BarnicaleBob]

We went through the same thing with our Thai daughter, she was living in the U.S, and came back to Thailand to visit us. While here she changed her first name because she was told it would bring her good luck. So the name change was done at the amphur, then new drivers license, new Thai passport, translation of name change notarized at the U.S, Consulate and she took all of that to show U.S. immigration upon her arrival in the States. No problems getting back in once she showed them all the paperwork.

PS, she is not a U.S. citizen but has a green card.

Edited May 16, 2015 by BarnicaleBob

[SOTIRIOS]

...it could be 'spiritual'....

...but if things are not going well between the two of you......

...prepare yourself fo what will follow......

...assets....etc....

[nithisa78]

Wow my brother. Let her call herself anything she cares to. Explain to her the potential of the problem with the dcouments. All this while your telling her how much you love her and love her name any name she wants. Theerak works very well in our world. I was off the Theerak list once for about 24 hours. I never want to go through that again. Felt like a thousand years. Sabai

Chok di

[Farang99]

Carrying old passport, new passport, old ID card, new ID card, a record about her name change (translated) should be enough.

What biometrics is in this visa? A chip with fingerprint?

Changing names is quite popular in this country (even family names).

Unbelievable but true.

Good thing: the ID cards and passports all show the 13 digit citizen ID which is unique and does not change.

GOV.UK?

Better try to contact the UK embassy in Bangkok.

For them this should not be a first timer.

My stepson did not want to be stuck with his birth father's surname, so as soon as he was 18 he went off to the ampur and changed it. He thought better not to have a farang surname as he wanted to stay and work here, so he picked a completely new one, which was approved by the ampur. Completely painless.

[prakhonchai nick]

The only winners in all this mullarkey are the monks themselves. The girls bung them money for this stupid "advice"

Time the PM clamped down on this form of corruption if the big monks won't sort it themselves.

[prakhonchai nick]

My daughter, who had a western first and surname wanted something Thai. She added a middle name -a Thai name -which she uses for emails, facebook etc, but keeps her original name for passports and other legal documents.

That should satisfy most people.

[dotpoom]

If she doesn't get back in under her new name you can tell her she must have picked a wrong one if it's luck she's after....seems this one is the unlucky one.

Edited May 16, 2015 by dotpoom

[Fullstop]

What's wrong with just changing her nickname? All Thais have one. Or are the Numpty Numerology powers that be only satisfied with official on paper changes?

Were these magical influences around hundreds of years ago when Thais didn't even have a surname, much less having their first name recorded anywhere? Or did they suddenly come into existence along with bureaucracy and paperwork?

Thank God I'm a non believer. Life is so much easier. Err... not "God". I mean....err, never mind.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Fullstop

[kinmaew]

The TGF at the time had 4 different names during the time I knew her mostly due to a "Monk" telling her it would bring "Good luck" - Hey and guess what? she never had 2 cents to rub together in the 10 years I knew her.

[hawksway]

In Thailand it's normal to go for a name change upon bankruptcy to brush away yesterday's failures and keep creditors off your trail.

[Pdavies99]

I could write what I am thinking!!! Why are you being so stupid! Wasting money on a silly indulgence!

Just tell her no, and if you are weak say she cannot do for UK.

Why does she not just say she has another name to friends, end of discussion.

Talk about pandering to her whims!

Sorry to be so hard, but come on!

[quandow]

This was a HUGE problem every time we came of to report card season. Thai's will change their child's name to try improve their luck, and GOD FORBID we put the wrong name in the official report card in our written paragraph. We even had the Vice Director change her name because she was having SO much trouble at the school.. She honestly couldn't face the truth that she was just an idiot.

Is there ANY WAY you could get your lady to change it in every place BUT her passport?

[elgenon]

Doesn't she think she is lucky because she has you?

[Junkyarddog]

Years ago, I had a employee tell me he was changing his name. Our payroll was done in the USA and the checks were Fed Ex'ed to us in Bangkok. I told him we did not do things like this in America and the payroll department would not change his name on our company records. So his check would come in with his real name on it, not any new name he chose, and if he could get his paycheck cashed, fine, if not it would be his problem, not the company's.

He decided not to change his name.

[thejcb]

Convince her , you don't know my wife . She's decided her name is unlucky and that's it so she's hell bent on changing it and nothing i say will make any difference .

So i'm stuck with this problem till i figure a way round it .

I did phone GOV.UK

No you're not. Tell her she has to pay all the fees and she won't want to do it anymore.

[up-country_sinclair]

My wife did this a few years ago and it's still occasionally a headache for us when we apply for travel visas or complete some financial forms. If there is any way you can convince her not to do it, you'll be better off.

Edited May 16, 2015 by up-country_sinclair

[Tony125]

My wife has changed her first name once before we met and 2 times after so a total of 3 different first names and ID's to match. Had a Thai G/F who changed both her first and last name both on ID's and passports----happens all the time over here.