Getting Married, Passport and ESTA

eslick

dont you need a marriage licence to change the name on your passport

alanrowell

Vikki_74 wrote: »

I wonder if this is something which has been tightened up on recently with all the ESTA stuff?

Been in place over a year, I suspect the problem is too many honeymoon couples turning up with different names on tickets / ESTA / passport

eslick wrote:

dont you need a marriage licence to change the name on your passport

You can call yourself anything - you don't need a licence or any form of legal permission. However the evidence you submit to get a passport must be in your new name

Diamond_Olly

Mr Squishy - the travel agent did give you the right information - as long as all documents match, you will be ok. The ESTA has to be completed before travel and if her new passport is only back with you a couple of days before the wedding, then best to register as soon as the passport returns. The return of the passport should remind you to do this anyway. Can you not get the passport back any earlier? Although its romantic to have all your travel docs in married names, its not essential.

ferf1223

Diamond_Olly wrote: »

Mr Squishy - the travel agent did give you the right information - as long as all documents match, you will be ok. The ESTA has to be completed before travel and if her new passport is only back with you a couple of days before the wedding, then best to register as soon as the passport returns. The return of the passport should remind you to do this anyway. Can you not get the passport back any earlier? Although its romantic to have all your travel docs in married names, its not essential.

They can get the passport back a million years before the wedding but it won't impact when they can register for ESTA...the passport will be postdated to coincide with the wedding (i.e. will not be valid until the wedding day), and she cannot apply for an ESTA on a postdated passport (only on a passport valid at the time of making the ESTA application)...she can apply for an ESTA once the passport becomes valid. In this case, 48 hours before they are due to go away which is techically later than you are supposed to register for ESTA.

lfc321

So it sounds like your flights etc are booked in her married name (and would presumbaly incur a charge if you tried to change it) and the passport application is in hand. In that situation I would just be applying for the ESTA as soon as the passport becomes valid. As long as she can answer no to all of the questions and has no convictions etc etc she should get an instant approval.

I know that they tell you 72 hours in advance but in practice she should get an instant approval. You know what they do if you try to check in for your flight having not done ESTA? They send you to the internet cafe to do it (i.e. maybe only 7 or 8 hours before you arrive).

alanrowell

And what happens if the ESTA is refused?

Or there's a mistake in the passport and it doesn't match the plane tickets?

lfc321

alanrowell wrote: »

And what happens if the ESTA is refused?

Or there's a mistake in the passport and it doesn't match the plane tickets?

That is true - it's a bit of a risk.

But even if you did the ESTA application 72 hours in advance (as recommended by the US govt) what would you do if it was refused? You'd be very lucky to get an appointment at the US Embassy in that time. This is a problem with the ESTA system - if they really expect you to go to the Embassy upon refusal then they need to recommend something more realistic, like 30 days in advance. As it happens I have never heard of anyone who has a valid passport and answers the questions correctly being refused (although I'm not saying it never happens - presumably it does if you're on a terrorist no-fly list or something). The ESTA only gives you permission to turn up at US immigration - it doesn't give you permission to enter the US. It's at that stage that people occasionally get turned back in my experience.

The passport not matching the plane tickets is a different issue entirely - they're getting a post-dated passport in advance, hopefully long enough before the wedding to sort out any such problems.

I wasn't saying it was an ideal solution: in their position at the time of booking I would have booked the holiday in the maiden name and sorted the ESTA out in advance. But if I were in the position they are today, I would be doing the ESTA the moment that the passport became valid. And I would be fairly confident that I'd be OK, although I realise people have different attitudes to such risks.

ferf1223

I didn't read it as the new passport application has gone out yet...if that's the case, and the fee to change the name is minimal, that's a far less stressful alternative than waiting until the wedding day to apply for an ESTA...and get the new passport when they are back.

I've always read the 72 hours as the minimum amount of time before travelling - it makes sense to do it as soon as possible - before booking if there's any chance of an issue coming up.

Mr_squishy

We have been and seen the travel agent to change the tickets, and they appologised to us for not making it clear.

We had not yet applied for a new passport but we were planning on doing so in the next few days hence the research into the ESTA.

We had to pay £ 35 to change the ticket, and luckly we got the agent this week, as we were told that the tickets were going to print in the next, week, and then any change would be up to the price of a new ticket. :eek:

All is sorted now so that is one less worry off our minds, thanks to all for your thoughts / advice.

ferf1223

Mr_squishy wrote: »

We have been and seen the travel agent to change the tickets, and they appologised to us for not making it clear.

And still made you pay for the name change...good of them.