my wife has a job lined up for when she arrives in the UK and its at contract stage - however, we're a bit confused about names. we got married in PH, and the name used on the visa submission was her maiden name (we applied right after marriage and didn't want to wait an age for passport updating etc). Her passport is still in her maiden name. her upcoming ID card will have that too. 1) what name would her employment contract be in - the maiden name on the ID / passport, or my own surname? 2) legally, what IS her surname in the UK? is it whatever is on her PH passport / biometric ID, or is it my surname, or both? 3) is it a gigantic hassle / problem causer to get her passport and ID changed (and is it even possible to change the ID once issued? I'm thinking it might not be). 4) As an employee who has come from overseas, does she get caught by any weird working rules / regulations for migrants (such as the "migrant fee" a UK employer has to pay when hiring an overseas worker), or does none of that apply when here on a UK spouse visa? As always, thanks in advance
When your wife enters the UK she will have to apply for a BRP within 10 days of arrival, they always take the passport name for the BRP so she will have to stick with her maiden for the BRP and anything work related, in addition she will have to stick to her passport name for banking too. She can have her passport replaced when in the UK to reflect her married name but bear in mind it can take up to three months. Might be worth considering getting her passport replaced in the Philippines before she comes to the UK. We found that its a bit of hassle using two names, I know @Howerd got his missus to change her passport before arriving in the UK, a wise move in my opinion.
thanks for the info! she arrives on sunday, so it's definitely a case of "do whatever needs doing here" and there's no odd "things" we have to look out for, employment wise like employers being charged to hire her or anything like that?
No there are no odd things related to her starting work, she just needs to get the BRP, NI number and she is ready to go. I read in the news about the possibility of employers having to pay for migrant workers but that should not apply for settlement visas, I think its more related to the "Skilled Workers" program.
that's the one! didn't think it would apply but there's so many things to keep track of its easy to...er...lose track
Everything will be fine, we found this two name thing a bit of a pain in the backside, others here say it has caused them little problems, you will have to suck it and see so to speak
We still have the maiden name on the passport and BRP, but had no problem using the married name for banking. We've never had any problems sticking with the maiden name on the passport. We just got the second flr, still using the maiden name but with all other documents in the married name. Still no problems.
Personally I would just have her use her maiden name, the one that's on the passport and BRP, for everything. There's no pressing need for her to change her surname. It makes absolutely zero material difference for her to continue to use her maiden name for as long as she wishes and its easier on the documentation since, as you know, it's not a legal requirement that she changes her surname when she marries. Once you've got your feet under the table she can choose to change her surname whenever she chooses at a convenient point. In the UK, your surname is legally whatever you choose to be known by. A deed poll document is merely a signed statement that you have chosen to be known by another name. A marriage certificate is just a shortcut to informing people that you have chosen to use another name following a societal norm. I recall an amusing case where Marketing consultant Michael Howerd of Leeds changed his name to "Yorkshire bank are fascist b*stards" after they charged him a £20 fee for being £10 overdrawn. I believe the bank responded by asking him to close his account and Mr B*stards required the funds in his account to be returned to him by a cheque issued in his new name. And finally. On the subject of banks. This is a funny letter written to a bank. I realize this is totally not related to your question. But it made me smile. http://www.3dperformance.co.uk/2013/04/never-annoy-a-customer-with-a-great-sense-of-humour/
