Changing your name after divorce? Not so easy to get a new passport

Pity the Canadian divorcee. Reverting back to their post-marriage name just got a little more complicated, with new rules governing how citizens change the names on their passport.

According to Passport Canada, the new criteria implements stricter guidelines on what identification can be used. And notably, those applying for a passport under a new name can expect more hassle.

Specifically, where they once may have requested a new passport using documents showing their new name, they will now be required to provide evidence of, and a reason for, the name change. These documents include a marriage certificate, a court order or a “resumption of surname certificate.”

So if there are any women out there who have changed their name after marriage, or are changing their name back after a divorce, you could have problems at the passport office.

Or heaven forbid a man change his name after marriage; the entire bureaucratic system is likely to implode completely.

The change hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed. Global News recently reported about a newly-divorced Calgarian who was caught up in the confusion.

Allan Johannson, an expert with Legal-Ease Document Service, told the network there have been others.

“It has left a lot of people in the lurch I am sure,” he said. “It’s very hard for us who do this every day so for an individual who’s on their own and really has no background in tracing documents it can be a daunting task.”

But it is unlikely the changes are about making life more complicated for those looking to move on after a divorce.

The changes, after all, came into effect at the end of Canada’s Citizenship Week, one day after Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander vowed publicly to crack down on passport fraud.

The changes have the added value of cracking down on those who may seek to file for passports under inappropriate names.

Take this incident involving Azadbir Singh Brar. The Ottawa Citizen reports that, earlier this year, Brar was banned from holding a passport for five years after he was found to have applied for a second passport.

Brar had immigrated to Canada from India in 1992, while his legal name was Parminder Singh Sidhu. He had a passport under that name. But in 2010 he applied for a new passport under the new moniker.

When questioned, Brar said an astrologer had told him to change his name. A Passport Canada investigation found it to be fraud.

Had the incident not been flagged, it would be possible that the man could have received a second passport, under a second name.

Under these new rules, which lay out clearly what documents are necessary to change your name on a passport, such confusion can be avoided.

Albeit replaced with confusion of another kind.