Passport question

Coupon-mad

mynameisclare wrote: »

I also have a query...

My surname contains an apostrophe and it is spelt as such in my passport but I think the machine readable bit at the bottom has a space instead.

However (as is nearly always the case) the website I bought airline tickets from didn't like the apostrophe so my surname on the ticket misses it out with NO space.

Is this going to cause any problem? All the letters are correct. It's American Airlines if that makes a difference.

My OH deals with Passports every day too, for people travelling to America, and the other day I asked him what happens if there is a misspelling between the tickets and passport (e.g. Claire/Clare).

He said if a couple of letters are different, where it's clearly the same name anyway, it is not a problem. He's at work so can't ask him again right now.

nej

Thinking about it, once I went to France on the Eurostar (there is admittedly a small chance this was Brussels actually so feel free to ignore me) there was nobody checking passports anywhere and we just all walked straight in.

Vampgirl

Nordictat2 wrote: »

When my husband and I went to the US last time when we went thru passport check there gave my husband and I a hard time asking WHY so in fact it CAN happen and if you want to risk it go ahead but I rather be safe than sorry..thank you! Since I changed it.. I've had NO problems!

Then I'd have said that you got a rather over-zealous immigration officer! Its really none of their business why you decide to change your name or not and I doubt even the USA with their strict immigration rules would be able to find a reason to refuse you entry just because you hadn't changed your passport to you married name.

If I'd had enough patience then I would have responded that particular question by explaining that in the UK a married woman has the legal right to use both her maiden and married names at the same time and that many women (particularly those who travel for business) choose to keep their passport in their maiden name.

Voyager2002

Vampgirl wrote: »

Then I'd have said that you got a rather over-zealous immigration officer! Its really none of their business why you decide to change your name or not and I doubt even the USA with their strict immigration rules would be able to find a reason to refuse you entry just because you hadn't changed your passport to you married name.

If I'd had enough patience then I would have responded that particular question by explaining that in the UK a married woman has the legal right to use both her maiden and married names at the same time and that many women (particularly those who travel for business) choose to keep their passport in their maiden name.

In fact this practice of a married woman continuing to use her maiden name for professional purposes was found frequently in the USA before it became customary here as well. So the hard time at US immigration is really surprising, and can only be explained by i. the immigration officer was determined to give them a hard time for one reason or another, and/or ii. the fact that she was an American woman married to an "alien" aroused their suspicions. I am guessing that she is also 'hot'; that the immigration officer was male and fancied her; and objected to her choosing a non-American man over all the genuine citizens such as himself.

impy78

I would actually be quite offended if an immigration officer asked me that.

Why should I take my husband's name, and what bloody business is it of yours???? Is what I would say and make a whole world of trouble for the sexist !!!!.

moonrakerz

Nordictat2 wrote: »

When my husband and I went to the US last time when we went thru passport check there gave my husband and I a hard time asking WHY so in fact it CAN happen and if you want to risk it go ahead but I rather be safe than sorry..thank you! Since I changed it.. I've had NO problems!

Running the risk of you climbing onto your high horse - I am afraid most people who have travelled to the USA have found their recently unilaterally imposed entry requirements to be completely over the top ! To quote US Immigration procedures as a yardstick for such matters is like comparing MacDonalds with a Michelin starred restaurant.

Also, having visited the USA numerous times on holiday and on business, I have long said that US Immigration officials are specially selected for their rudeness and bad manners ! Especially in Miami !
The only civilised ones I have come across are those based in the Irish Republic - perhaps they're glad to be out of the good old US of A !

emweaver

Just rang the passport advice line and its not compulsory to change your passport to your married name and he also advised just to get the tickets in my maiden name.

He said the only difficulty I might face is proving I am my daughters mother for her passport, as the passport number I gave is in maiden name and I put my married name on her application form.

emweaver

Coupon-mad wrote: »

My OH deals with Passports every day too, for people travelling to America, and the other day I asked him what happens if there is a misspelling between the tickets and passport (e.g. Claire/Clare).

He said if a couple of letters are different, where it's clearly the same name anyway, it is not a problem. He's at work so can't ask him again right now.

Hi, are you able to check with him about the maiden name issue?

If I buy ferry tickets in maiden name then does my travel insurance have to be too?

BernadetteN

emweaver wrote: »

Just rang the passport advice line and its not compulsory to change your passport to your married name and he also advised just to get the tickets in my maiden name.

He said the only difficulty I might face is proving I am my daughters mother for her passport, as the passport number I gave is in maiden name and I put my married name on her application form.

If your daughter has a different surname to the surname in your passport, it's a really really good idea to travel with a photocopy your daughter's FULL birth certificate (which I am assuming contains your maiden and married surnames on it) so that any Immigration Officer (with a brain and who is not from the school of rudeness allegedly based in Miami!) can see that you are related as mum and daughter, despite the different surnames. If you forget this and your daughter is old enough to speak, it should be no problem anyway - a 2 year old took great delight in naming for me all the occupants of the car she was in whilst travelling through Calais last week, amazing how clever some 2 year olds can be).

emweaver

lol my daughter is 2 and can speak well enough to name us and her father is with us, he has her surname so should be ok. I was a bit nervous about it all as ive never travelles abroad before!

But the passport agency says you dont have to change the name on your password if you dont want to, as long as the tickets are in your maiden name too