Change of name by deed poll

[Cymro]

My sister has just reverted to her maiden name by deed poll, following a divorce. She is required to apply for a new passport in her new legal name but has four return flights booked for the next couple of months, with four different airlines - Lufthansa, Air Baltic, British Airways and Easyjet - in her previous, married name.

I have discovered online that Easyjet will change the name on a ticket if you fax the deed poll document to them at least a month before travel, but I can't find definitive statements of policy for the other three airlines. Are there any airline employees here who can tell me with certainty what the policies of the other airlines are? Will any of them require the purchase of a new ticket?

[Chuchinchow]

Hello, Cymro, and welcome to PPRuNe!

If your sister (or anyone else in a similar situation, come to that) wants a definitive answer to the problem you have described I would suggest that they contact Lufthansa, Air Baltic, British Airways etc directly.

Then your sister will be in no doubt whatsoever as to what she may or may not have to do.

Good luck!

[PAXboy]

Good advice, CCC. My guess is that she needs to keep all documents and take them all with her on each trip. Someone at some stage of the journey will not know the policy that has been stated by the carrier! If she gets emails - print them out!

[BAAlltheway]

Airlines used to allow you to travel with passport in one name, and tickets in another provided you carried with you your marriage cert/deed poll cert.

These days it is VERY rare for an airline to allow this, and if she tries, she may find herself stuck at the airport unable to travel.

I understand she probably wants to make a clean break as soon as possible, but the easiest and cheapest way to make sure she can still use her tickets, is to keep her old passport until she has used the the pre-booked tickets.

Just as i have continued to use my maiden name passport for a year, until i have used my maiden name tickets.

She will be very lucky to get her tickets changed without a fee, or if at all on some depending on the change fees associated with her ticket class.

[Juno78]

I agree it will be far easier to just keep the old passport until those flights are over and done with. I changed my name by deed poll when I got married and didn't change my passport for about nine months afterwards because I had flights already booked.

I notice, however, that the OP says "She is required to apply for a new passport in her new legal name". Is there some obligation here that hasn't been made clear or is she just mistakenly thinking that because she's changed her name she must change her passport immediately?

[Cymro]

Thanks for all the replies.

If your sister (or anyone else in a similar situation, come to that) wants a definitive answer to the problem you have described I would suggest that they contact Lufthansa, Air Baltic, British Airways etc directly.Absolutely correct, of course, but at the time I posted last night BA customer services was closed and I didn't think I'd have a chance to call during their opening hours for a few days.

As it turned out, I was able to call BA this evening: if we fax a copy of the deed poll to them they'll re-issue the ticket for a fee of £30.

I don't know how much (if anything) EasyJet will charge as I was kept on hold on a premium-rate line until I gave up (so if there are any EasyJet staff here who know the answer I'd still be grateful for a reply). Haven't had a chance to phone Lufthansa yet, and Air Baltic weren't really much help: the person I spoke to just kept repeating that we'd need to buy another ticket and I got the impression that she didn't understand that this was a change of name for a passenger, not a change of passenger. Or maybe that's the policy?

I notice, however, that the OP says "She is required to apply for a new passport in her new legal name". Is there some obligation here that hasn't been made clear or is she just mistakenly thinking that because she's changed her name she must change her passport immediately? As I read it, there is an obligation to apply for a new passport when your name changes. The website of the UK Deed Poll Service says:The name on your passport should always match your legal name. So if your name changes you need to get your passport reissued in your new name.The Immigration and Passport Service website is a little less definite, saying:You should get your passport amended if you have changed your name - whether by deed poll or through marriage or civil partnership.I'd suggest to my sister that she keep her existing passport and travel under her married name for a while, but the risks involved in completing an ESTA and attempting to enter the US under what is effectively a false name are probably not insignificant.

[WHBM]

A comparable challenge is those with two names.

Mrs WHBM :) is from Russia, married to Mr WHBM :E who is a Brit. Now she has two passports, British and Russian. Russian one has original name, British one has British married name.

So when we buy a round trip ticket between UK and Russia, what do you think the procedure is ?

Book ticket in UK name. In that case need to show UK passport on leaving UK and they will want to see entry visa for Russia. Russian consulate will not give a visa to someone who is already one of their citizens. No visa in a UK passport, no departure. Show Russian passport, but this of course has different name.

Book ticket in Russian name. OK on the outward trip. But coming home the reverse now applies. No UK visa in Russian passport. Show UK passport, rejected as has different name.

Immigration officers are fine at both ends with showing the "home" passport, it is just airlines that cause the issue.

The whole thing would be readily solved by airline reservations having an extra field for "also known as", to handle people with two names, as here. It is a common issue that carriers have completely ignored - and the whole palaver has NOTHING to do with security.

Anyone from airline procedures care to comment ?

[Peter47]

I had a colleague at work who said that she was not going to change her name until after her honeymoon becuase of the issues listed above.

BUT

I was passing through immigration in Heathrow T3 last year and the immigration officer challenged a woman because her toddler had a different surname. I know several women who have kept their maiden names but whose kids have their husband's surname. What was she meant to do, ask for a DNA test?

As an aside (sorry not really relevant) I acted as an escort for my two nieces last year and wondered if I would have that sort of problem but then I read the rules and found that a child under 12 had to be escorted by one over 12 which my older niece was, so I would have told the older one to escort the yonger one through immigration. However , it was not a problem as I was flying to Geneva and the Swiss seem to have plenty of common sense.

[Shack37]

I was passing through immigration in Heathrow T3 last year and the immigration officer challenged a woman because her toddler had a different surname. I know several women who have kept their maiden names but whose kids have their husband's surname. What was she meant to do, ask for a DNA test?


This could have been ignorance on the part of the immigration officer. There are countries, Spain eg, where women do not take their husband's surname. Multiple surnames are the norm, children's surnames are in the order, father's 1st, mother's 1st and so on. The child's passport would therefore show the father's surname followed by the mother's.

[tomothy]

This could have been ignorance on the part of the immigration officer

More than likely it was the Immigration Officer just carrying out child protection checks, hardly ignorant to ask a few questions is it?

[Shack37]

More than likely it was the Immigration Officer just carrying out child protection checks, hardly ignorant to ask a few questions is it?



Quite right, asking questions is the best way to cure ignorance:O

[Saimurai]

I have just gotten off the phone with UK Deed Poll Service (0800 4488484) and they said do not worry, you have six months to change it, fly on your existing passport and tickets with your previous name and change it when you get back from any holidays or trips. They don't pass on the information to anyone so no-one else knows your name has been changed until you notify anyone like the passport office or the DVLA etc. So you won't be passing through customs, have your passport scanned and asked why you don't exist!
:ok: