How to manage name changes abroad?

When foreign name changes meet Romanian bureaucracy, fireworks ensue. Here is a practical guide on how to manage name and surname changes from abroad, to make them compatible with your Romanian vital records.

Name and surname changes abroad are a tricky business.

Are you a Romanian citizen? Or do you wish to become one?

The number one reason for failure in obtaining a Romanian passport, or updating your vital records in Romania, whether for direct citizenship, or citizenship by application, are complex name and surname changes which took place abroad.

With 20 years' experience in this field, and a vast caseload of the most unusual events from abroad, I decided to put together this guide to help you manage your name changes, so that they are compatible, or become compatible, with Romanian bureaucracy.

As an expert in the field, I am always ready to help update your Romanian vital records, with the appropriate name changes from abroad. Contact me here.

Here are the top tips for managing your name and surname changes around the world, and what to remember when you wish to have them recognized in Romania.

Tip #1 - An undocumented name change is not a change

Always change your name or surname with paperwork. Undocumented name changes are those that happen directly into your passport or ID, without an underlying civil status paper.

Examples:

• dropping a middle name

• adding a middle name [including your maiden name as a middle name]

• shortening your middle name to an initial

• missing out on one of several first names [for example Alexander Andrei becomes just Alexander in his passport]

• changing the order of your first names [for example Alexander Andrei becomes Andrei Alexander]

• changing the spelling of your name [for example Iosif becomes Jozef].

All of these are name changes from the Romanian point of view. So, they require paperwork to support them. But there is none, because IDs are not vital records [see tip 2]. So they will not be recognized.

Solution: re-issue your passport or ID to match your full original name and surname.

Tip #2 - IDs are not vital records

A common misperception is that IDs and passports are vital records. They are not. Under Romanian law, a passport with a certain name is not proof of that name, unless matched by an underlining vital record.

What are vital records? The exhaustive list of vital records accepted by Romania is:

• birth records [certificates, multilingual extracts etc.]

• marriage records [certificates]

• death records [certificates, court orders for presumed deaths]

• name change decisions [court or administrative]

• enrolled [!] Deed Polls [see here about how to enroll a Deed Poll in the UK]

• divorce decisions [administrative or court-issued]

• naturalization certificates or cards.

That's it! If your name change is not supported by one of these documents, it's undocumented, and you need to change your ID to match the last documented name change.

The best name change is no name change – Romanian bureaucrat, 45

Tip #3 - Name changes on marriage abroad

A lot of clients have issues resulting from name changes that took place on marriage. These are very problematic because of different naming traditions surrounding marriages around the world.

Here is what is possible, and what is not:

• Consider keeping your surname. It's modern, and easy, and does not create problems upon divorce. I did so with my wife, and we live happily together for 20 years now. Nobody batted an eyelid, and I recommend this version to everyone.
  

• If you wish, change your surname to one of the accepted options. Consider Jane FONDA and Andrew BRUCE getting married. The accepted options under Romanian law, for either spouse, are: FONDA BRUCE FONDA-BRUCE BRUCE-FONDA The spouses do not have to have the same surname. For example, Jane could become Jane FONDA-BRUCE, while Andrew can remain Andrew BRUCE.
  

• Do not change your first name. Marriage is not an accepted occasion for changes of first name. Jane FONDA cannot become Jane Marie FONDA, just because she got married. That 'Marie' in there is undocumented and will have to be corrected later.
  

• Do not add or change middle names. Consider the example above. Jane FONDA (first name - surname) may, in some traditions, wish to become Jane Fonda BRUCE (first name - middle name - surname). This is unlawful and impossible under Romanian law! This is unlawful and impossible under Romanian law! And I will repeat it a hundred times: this is unlawful and impossible under Romanian law. Do not do it! You will then have to change your marriage certificate, your passport, and perhaps many other documents to fix it. Do NOT do it. This is one change that cannot be fixed in Romania. Never. Only abroad, with the resulting headaches and costs. What should Jane do here? The correct thing to do, if someone wishes to add their surname to their married name, is to add them in the surname field, NOT as a middle name.

  Here, Jane should become Jane FONDA-BRUCE (first name - surname). Problem? No problem!
  

Tip #4 - Divorce means your name as well

I often see divorce decisions that are over a hundred pages long, dealing with everything from children's custody to gym subscriptions. However, they're all missing one essential line: what happens to the parties' names?

In Romania, if you have no minor children and no assets to split, you can divorce on the spot at the town hall. However, even then, you must agree with your spouse on one thing: what happens to your names after divorce?

If you do not agree on names after divorce, a court must decide!

So, to a Romanian bureaucrat, divorces without decisions on names are simply impossible to understand: what were these people thinking?

What to do: luckily, these can be fixed in Romania, with a simple notarized statement. You will decide for yourself whether you keep your married surname, or revert to your birth surname. It's that easy!

Tip #5 - Naturalization certificates are gold

Out of all the vital records, Naturalization certificates are gold! That is because they are the one document where Romanian bureaucrats accept any kind of name and surname changes:

• without any particular reason

• without mention of the old name and surname

• and regardless of any other previous vital events, such as existing marriages.

If you have a naturalization certificate, you essentially skip needing to document any previous vital events, and can start with that as a baseline.

So, for example, Smil HERS emigrated to Israel, where upon landing he was registered as Shmuel HERSCH, without a specific name change document. He then marries and becomes Shmuel HERSCH-DAVIDSON. He then leaves for the US, where he naturalizes as Samuel HERSH-DAVIDSON. Romanian point of view: the name Samuel HERSH-DAVIDSON can be registered directly as a name change by naturalization in our vital records, and then, if he is a citizen, Sam gets a Romanian passport. Problem? No problem!

Always here to help

Name and surname changes are usually a lot of trouble in Romania, and in 7 out of 10 cases, are the real needle-problem standing between a client and their passport. Good management of foreign name changes, and our expertise, will solve these problems. Contact us now, and remember: never add middle names by marriage!