Can I use a UK deed poll for a passport from another country?

Will my own country accept a UK deed poll?#

That is for your country to decide. A UK deed poll is evidence of a change of name in the UK, but a passport can be changed only by the country that issued it, under its own rules. HM Passport Office's guidance says that in most cases people can change the name on a foreign document by contacting that country's embassy, high commission or consulate in the UK, and that some countries limit or refuse a change, or make you travel there to do it. The rules differ widely, as the three examples below show: one country asks for newspaper notices or a gazette notification, one refuses deed polls outright, and one starts with its identity card system. Ask before you change your name, because the answer may decide how you do it.

Our guarantee covers acceptance by UK organisations; what another country accepts is for it to decide.

What order should I do things in?#

The Home Office's guidance on names says the names in your passport and national identity card take precedence over those in a deed poll or marriage certificate, and that holders of non-British passports must show they have changed them before it changes its own documents, unless there are exceptional circumstances. So the order is:

1. Make the change with a deed poll, or use your marriage certificate, as the document that links your old and new names.
2. Change your own country's passport or identity card, under its rules (below).
3. Update your UKVI account so your eVisa shows the new name. GOV.UK says you need an identity document that proves the change, and that you cannot change your name while a visa application is waiting for a decision (your eVisa).
4. Tell everyone else in the UK. Some banks, such as Lloyds, Halifax, Santander and TSB, accept an unenrolled deed poll only with a passport or driving licence in the new name (banks compared).

If you are British as well, GOV.UK says the name on your other passport must match the name you want on your British passport, so the other passport comes first there too (two nationalities).

India#

India's passport services in the UK run through its High Commission in London and its consulates. The High Commission's own website could not be read when we checked it on 1 October 2026, so this section relies on the Consulate General in Birmingham and the Government of India's passport instructions, both read that day.

• How to apply. A change of name is a re-issue of your passport. The Birmingham consulate says you fill in the application online, on the Government of India's portal for its missions abroad, and hand it in, in person, with supporting documents for any change in your personal particulars.
• A major change of name. The Government of India's instruction booklet (version 3.0) asks for your old passport, "clippings of two local newspapers or the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government", and at least two public or school documents issued in the new name. It does not mention a deed poll.
• A minor change. For a spelling difference that does not change how the name sounds, the booklet lists only your old passport.
• Marriage and divorce. A woman taking her husband's surname gives the marriage certificate or a joint photo declaration (Annexure J), and after a divorce, the divorce decree. The consulate adds that a full change of name after marriage follows the standard name change procedure.
• Becoming British. The consulate says Indian law does not provide for dual citizenship, so an Indian national who takes another citizenship must renounce Indian citizenship and surrender the Indian passport.

Nigeria#

The Nigeria High Commission in London's passport requirements, read on 1 October 2026, are plain. A change of name "can only be done by virtue of Marriage or Divorce", and "Change of name by deed poll is not acceptable", a line it repeats for replacement passports.

• After marriage it asks for the marriage certificate, a consent letter signed by your husband, the data page of his passport and your valid passport.
• After a divorce it asks for the divorce certificate, proof of your maiden name, such as a passport from before the marriage, and another valid ID card in that name.
• Your NIN. It also asks for your National Identification Number, which must match the details on your passport, in the correct order.

So a UK deed poll will not change a Nigerian passport at the London mission. If you live here on an eVisa, that matters: the Home Office expects your passport to show the new name before it changes its own records, except in exceptional circumstances (if you are not a British citizen).

Pakistan#

The High Commission for Pakistan in London says a Pakistani passport takes its details from NADRA, which issues Pakistani identity cards. To change the name on your machine readable passport you first update your NICOP, the identity card for overseas Pakistanis, or your CNIC; its passport guidance says "MRP uses the data from NADRA's system", and that a change is possible only once your details there are updated. You then book an appointment and apply at its passport section with the revised card.

Its NADRA page lists a Nikkah Nama or marriage certificate for a change of marital status, a divorce or death certificate for divorce or widowhood, and an order from a Pakistani court to change a parent's name. Its pages do not say whether NADRA accepts a UK deed poll for a change of your own name, so ask before you rely on one.

Any other country#

GOV.UK publishes the London Diplomatic List, with contact details for every embassy and high commission in London and the consular offices elsewhere in the UK. Before you change your name, ask your country's mission:

• whether it accepts a UK deed poll, and whether it wants the original or a certified copy;
• whether the deed must be notarised or apostilled first (using a deed poll abroad);
• whether it needs newspaper notices, forms or a court order of its own;
• whether the change can be made from the UK, or only in person in that country.

Keep any answer you are given in writing. HM Passport Office's guidance accepts official evidence, such as a letter from an embassy or an official government website, that a country will not allow a change.

If your country will not make the change#

• If you are not British, the Home Office changes the name on an eVisa only when you can show a passport or national identity card in the new name, apart from the exceptions it lists, such as refugees and stateless people who cannot approach their national authorities (if you are not a British citizen).
• If you are also British, HM Passport Office can issue your British passport in the new name with an observation recording the other passport, where the other country's law does not allow the change, it does not allow dual nationality, or you could only make the change by travelling there (two nationalities).