Name Change for Non-Citizens

Am I eligible to change my name in Australia?

Certificates of Name Change are issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in your home state. There are separate fees payable directly to BDM.  Whilst the law changes from state to state, generally speaking you are eligible to change your name if you fit into one of the following circumstances:

• You were born in Australia
• You were born overseas and have resided in your home state for one to three consecutive years immediately before your application (varies between states)
• You have Australian Citizenship or permanent residency
• Your birth is not registered in Australia and you have a protective order to protect you and/or your children from domestic violence

The law for most states requires you to provide one of the following documents:

• Australian Citizenship certificate
• Proof of permanent residency from Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• New Zealand citizenship certificate together with passport (read our special information for New Zealanders)
• New Zealand birth certificate

If you do not have one of the above documents you may not be eligible to change your name in Australia. To find out more, including if you are eligible to change your name in Australia, you should contact BDM for your home state.

I am eligible.  What do I do next?

You need to determine that you will not have any problems with Australian immigration or your country of citizenship as a result of changing your name. Easy Name Change cannot make this assessment for you, nor do we provide any information on dealing with the immigration department in our name change kits.  We recommend you contact Australian Immigration and your embassy if you are not sure or have further questions.  You may also want to speak with an immigration consultant.

Once you have made your assessment and have decided to change your name you will need to complete a legal name change application form from BDM in your home state. It usually takes a few weeks to complete the form and gather all the supporting documents you need. There is also a fee to change names which is payable directly to BDM, this varies from state to state, which ranges from $130 to over $240. This fee is separate to the cost of purchasing an Easy Name Change kit. BDM Name Change forms are available in any of our name change kits, or can be obtained directly from BDM.  The form has clear instructions on how to be completed.

How come Easy Name Change does not provide name change advice for immigration?

Immigration is a complex area of the law and Easy Name Change are not specialists in immigration. As each situation is unique and some are quite complex we do not provide any further information beyond what appears on this page. 

If you have any further questions regarding your situation we recommend you speak to immigration professional, the Australian Immigration Department or your embassy. Contact details are provided at the end of this page.

Can I use an Easy Name Change kit if I am a non-citizen?

Once you have determined that you will not have any repercussions with Australian immigration or your country of citizenship, an Easy Name Change kit will be helpful. Once you have understood the requirements from Australian immigration and your own embassy, the process of changing your name with all the Australian organisations where you have an account or membership is exactly the same regardless if you are a citizen or non-citizen.

Our kits provide the forms you need to change names, instructions on how to complete forms and help you through the name change process. Personalised kits also provide name change requests created in your name and addressed to each of your nominated companies. If those companies have a special name change form we provide it for you. All you need to do is print, sign, add supporting documents where indicated and post. If you don’t have access to a printer you should purchase our Premium hard copy kit.

What about my name in my home country?

With passports issued by over 150 countries, we are not able to even provide general information on what implications may arise as a result of your passport being under a different name from your name in Australia.  You should speak with your embassy to understand more. There may be a situation where you need to change names in 2 countries. If you are unsure of which country to lodge your name change in, read our advice here.

Booking international flights under a new name

A strong warning: be careful when booking international travel! You should only book flights under the name that currently appears in your passport. If you are planning on changing your passport before you fly we still recommend you book the flights under your current name as there may be a time delay or complication in processing your application. You can have airline tickets reissued in your new name if you provide a statutory declaration and evidence of your prior name and current name (your old and new passport). However, airlines will not let you change the name on your ticket to any name that has not appeared on a previous or current passport.

Contact Details and links

• Department of Immigration and Citizenship:    131 881
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
• Name Change advice for New Zealanders
• Which country should I lodge my name change application in?