Name Change for Non Citizens

Am I eligible to change my name in Canada?

Certificates of Name Change are issued by the Vital Statistics Agency in your home province.  Whilst the law changes between provinces, generally speaking you are eligible to change your name if you have one of the following documents:

• A Canadian birth certificate
• A Canadian Citizenship card
• Canadian Record of Immigrant Landing/Permanent resident card

There are additional conditions, and while these vary between provinces, they may include:

• Minimum age ranging from 16 to 19 years to lodge your own application
• Must have been a resident of that province, varying between 3 to12 months

If you do not have one of these documents you may not be eligible to change your name in Canada.  To find out more, including if you are eligible to change your name in Canada, you should contact your provincial Vital Statistics Office.

I am eligible.  What do I do next?

If you are already a Canadian Citizen then you will not encounter any immigration issues as a result of changing your name.  If you are a permanent resident/landed immigrant you should contact Canadian Immigration to inform them of your pending name change and request the necessary forms to notify them.  Any citizenship papers you hold may need to be updated by the immigration department.

If you hold dual citizenship or have ongoing affairs in another country you should consider what implications may arise as a result of having documents issued in a foreign country under a different 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 your embassy if you are not sure or have further questions.  You may also want to speak with a Canadian 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 the Vital Statistics office in your resident province.  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 your name which is payable directly to Vital Statistics, the fee varies between provinces and is separate to the cost of purchasing an Easy Name Change kit. Vital Statistics Name Change forms and information are available in all Easy Name Change kits, or can be obtained directly from Vital Statistics.  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 an immigration professional, the Canadian 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 Canadian immigration or your country of citizenship, an Easy Name Change kit will be helpful.  The requirements and process of changing your name with Canadian organisations where you hold an account or membership is the same regardless of your citizenship status.

Our kits provide the forms you need to change your name, instructions on how to complete the form and help you through the name change process.  Personalized kits also provide name change requests created in your name and addressed to each of your nominated companies. If any of your nominated organisations have a special name change form we also provide it.  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 the Premium hard copy kit.

What about having a different name in my birth country?

If you hold a valid passport issued by another country we are not able to provide any general information on what implications may arise as a result of your passport being under a different name from your name in Canada.  In some cases you can change your name in your birth country from abroad. You should speak with your embassy to understand more.  

Booking international flights under a new name

One bit of advice we can provide is to 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:    1-888-242 2100

Website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

Change Your Name The Easy Way™

Easy Name Change™ provides you a personalized and complete letter or fax for every company you need to notify of your new name. Our customers save around 6 hours as they don't need to do any research or letter writing. You don't even need to address an envelope!

Whether you are changing your name from marriage, divorce, separation or legally, Easy Name Change provides complete name change kits to suit any budget. Click here to start building your personalized name change kit.

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