Changing your name in the UK as a foreign national

Your passport comes from your own country, not the UK. GOV.UK says you need an identity document proving your name has changed before you can update your name in your UKVI account. Ask your embassy or passport authority whether it will issue a passport in the new name, and what evidence it needs, before relying on a UK deed poll.

Each country decides what it accepts for its own passports and civil records. Some may ask for a legalised UK document, a translation or their own local procedure. Ask these questions before you buy or sign anything:

• Will you issue a passport or identity card in my new name?
• Do you accept a UK deed poll, and does it need an apostille, a notary’s certificate or a translation?
• Does my name need to be recorded in my country first?

GOV.UK’s deed poll guidance also says that if you are a permanent resident overseas, you cannot change your name by deed poll. This guide is for people living in the UK.

Source: GOV.UK change your name by deed poll.

Use GOV.UK’s update service once you have an identity document that proves your name has changed. You cannot change your name, or your passport or travel document, while you are waiting for a visa application decision. If you do not have an identity document showing your new name, GOV.UK links a different way to update your details.

GOV.UK says you should keep your personal details and passport or travel document information up to date so that your eVisa details are correct, you can travel with your current passport and UK Visas and Immigration can contact you. It warns that if your UKVI account is not up to date, you might experience delays when you travel or when waiting for a visa decision.

The update service only changes your UKVI account details. It cannot change immigration details, such as a visa or citizenship application. If your eVisa shows the wrong name after an update, GOV.UK has a separate route to report an error with your eVisa.

Timing matters: if you have an application waiting for a decision, get advice before changing any name on your documents.

Source: GOV.UK update your details in your UKVI account.

Employers and landlords can check your status with a share code. GOV.UK says you should update your UKVI account before you get a share code if you have changed your name. A share code lasts for 90 days, and you can get a new one whenever you need one.

GOV.UK says that if you are not a British or Irish citizen, you can prove your right to work with a share code or with your eligible immigration documents. You can choose which option you use, and your employer cannot reject your application because you gave them an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.

After your name changes, tell your employer so payroll uses the same name, and read our HMRC name-change guide for your tax record. The person who uses your share code will see some of your personal details, so check the name they see matches the documents you give them.

Source: GOV.UK view your eVisa and get a share code.

Source: GOV.UK prove your right to work.

Many UK organisations accept a deed poll as change-of-name evidence, including DVLA for driving licences. Ask each organisation what it needs before you apply. DVLA also asks deed poll applicants for one document showing the new name, and its list includes a visa or residence permit issued in the last 12 months and a non-UK passport.

DVLA says that document must still be valid and have been issued after your deed poll or statutory declaration. That can make the order of your applications matter. Read the driving licence guide for the full list.

Banks set their own evidence rules; see changing your name with your bank. The free name change organiser includes a UKVI account card you can add to your checklist.

Source: GOV.UK driving licence evidence for a name change.

The FCDO Legalisation Office can attach an apostille to documents certified by a UK public official, such as a UK notary or solicitor. A deed poll you sign before ordinary witnesses is not one of the court, registry or government documents GOV.UK lists, so it would need that certification first. FCDO charges £45 per document for a paper apostille and £35 for an e-Apostille (checked 24 September 2026).

An e-Apostille needs PDF files electronically signed by a UK notary or solicitor. Before paying, ask the person who asked for the document whether they need the original or a certified copy, whether a notary must sign it, and whether they accept an e-Apostille. The Legalisation Office checks that signatures, stamps or seals match its records; it does not decide whether a foreign authority will accept the document’s contents.

Notary or solicitor certification is a separate cost. GOV.UK links to the official lists of notaries and solicitors in each part of the UK.

Source: GOV.UK get your document legalised.

Get advice before changing your records if a visa application is waiting for a decision, if your names differ across passports, or if your country will not issue a passport in the new name. GOV.UK says to check an adviser is registered, and whether they charge a fee, before you use them.

Use GOV.UK’s find an immigration adviser page to search the Immigration Advice Authority’s adviser finder or find a solicitor through the relevant law society. Immigration advisers can help with forms and represent you at a tribunal, but they do not make immigration decisions.

InstantDeedPoll.co.uk is a document service. We cannot advise on your immigration status, update your UKVI account or contact an embassy for you.

Source: GOV.UK find an immigration adviser.