After a nerve-jangling week of waiting - with no update from HMPO! - my Wife's British passport arrived today... in her Married name! Phew... Proves it can be done, even if HMPO try to overcomplicate things going from Maiden name to married name without changing the name in the foreign passport first! Whether we were just lucky, as we applied BEFORE the update mentioned by @Mattecube above, we will never know? Just waiting for the return of her original documents now, which are sent separately for security reasons.
Im so glad we took the opportunity whilst on a trip to London to go to the embassy and change my wife’s passport to her married name and then her BRP, so everything is now in her married name. The only issue I see with loosing her Philippine nationality on becoming BC is the fact that she can no longer buy a property in the Philippines without dual nationality. We are looking at buying a condo in Manila before she reaches her BC stage !
We did consider that, but after reading others' experiences on here we decided against it as it may have complicated the various stages of Visa applications etc especially regarding providing evidence. One other thing I forgot to mention in my last Post - despite being warned of the possibility, my wife was not required to attend an interview before receiving the passport - so it looks like that might be a(n) (un)lucky-dip situation, or maybe just out-of-date information...
Page 5 of this link covers the "invite to interview" rational https://assets.publishing.service.g...ew+process+_v17.0+for+GOV.UK+publication_.pdf
Thats good info, we intend to get BC for my wife. I know there is no point in complaining but my God if there is a hard way to do something then the Visa authorities will find it. If I've got this right the lady will lose her Philippine Nationality then have to go to the Philippine Embassy in London to get it back again. This is all fine if you live in London but for many people travelling to London means having to take time off work, staying in a hotel overnight due to the distance involved and paying for travel costs. When you add it all up it becomes a very expensive business. Surely in 2024 this could be done online. Oh well as they say 'It is what it is'.
It's the oath taking at the Philippines embassy that cannot be done online,. Your right it is a costly experience.
If by visa authorities you mean the UK government then worth noting that for once it isn't their fault. Loss of citizenship and reacquisition is a Philippines Government issue. Still a pain to do for anyone outside the South East of England. Also have to apply for new passport as old one is canceled.
As it is, my Wife's not bothering to reacquire her Philippines Nationality - at least, not now. If she changes her mind in future we'll tackle it then...