Question:
I'm looking for some advice, due to heavey domestic violence this lady left
the area, and took the child along with her. He was born under a different
name to the one by which he is now known, but does not know whether his
mother had it changed legally or not, she is now deceased. He is now 30yrs
of age and as far as he is aware has no known living relatives. He needs to
apply for a Passport due to work commitments, but under what name should he
apply? He is in danger of losing his job if he cannot get a passport soon
(has to travel in 2 weeks, Europe). Should he apply under his given name or
the name on his birth certificate... ie. apply under name at birth which as
far as he is aware is his legal name and then sort out the problems when he
returns?
Answer:
Why not just phone the passport office and ask their advice?
They are probably in a better position than anyone to answer your query, it
would also get the ball rolling so far as the application is concerned.
I've managed to find a lawyer that will
do a 'Change of name deed' within a day it seems, all he needs is a copy of
his 'Birth Certificate'....Wrt your suggestion
he'd thought of this.... but what if they had told him to sort his name out
legally and then apply...he only has 2 weeks. Being realistic, I doubt this
would have been enough time to obtain a copy of his Birth Certificate,
start a search to
find if this is his name under Law or whether his mother had it changed,
obtain a passport under whatever name he actually has and hold his job at
the same time. Given these circumstances, I think he would hardly be held
responsable if he discovers at a later date that his passport is under the
wrong name and when time permits (ie. upon his return) sort it out, but we
wanted to make sure it would be legal for him to do this. As it turn out it
won't be necessary.....
