Declaring a passport is one of the best modes of identification here in our country. Why? Because a passport goes through the process of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); it’s a long process and it would include relevant details such as: your name, citizenship, date of birth, etc. In addition, it also serves a purpose and this is of course for you to travel to different countries. Without it, you won’t be eligible for traveling. Having a passport is not that difficult. Although it’s tedious, we still need to go through the process if we plan on leaving the country.
But there are instances when we need to change information in our documents. An example would be if a woman marries. Yes, we can easily change the printed records on our name but in passports? It’s kind of complex. Despite this scenario, we will be giving you the requirements and the procedure on how you can change your name in your passport.
Before anything else, we need to know why we need to change our name in our passports. As a matter of fact, the Philippine law has some guidelines on when you are approved in changing your name in your passport.
Legal names in Philippine passports are susceptible to change if:
A person’s name changes due to marriage;
The surname of a legitimated child changed of a subsequent marriage of parents;
Change of name due to adoption;
The name changed due to death of spouse; or;
Annulment of marriage;
Change of name due to divorce (valid only for those Filipinos who did not act as Plaintiff in the divorce proceedings. For example, the Filipino spouse did not initiate the divorce proceedings; not valid for couples who were both Filipinos at the time of the marriage);
Lastly, change of name as duly ordered by Philippine courts or the Civil Registrar General
Above are the sole reasons on why a person is legally accepted to have their name changed in their passports.
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