Making changes to a UK passport
Dear SC,
Persons are able to change their name or personal details on their passport. Persons will need to get a new passport if they change any of the following: their name; their gender; their appearance, if they cannot be recognised from their passport photo any more, for example, if they have had plastic surgery. It should be noted that persons will not be allowed to travel if the reservation made to travel is booked under a different name from what is in their passport.
There are certain changes that persons do not have to report. Persons do not have to tell HM Passport Office or get a new passport if they:
Change their address or contact details.
I Get a new job.
I Change their appearance slightly – for example, dye their hair or grow a beard.
Change their marital status, i.e., divorce, marry or form a civil partnership, but keep their name.
Change their title, for example, doctor or professor.
Become a national of another country as well as the United Kingdom. Emigrate.
Persons can make their applications by either applying online or obtaining a paper form from a United Kingdom Post
IIIIIOffice that offers the Check and Send service. If using a paper form, persons should fill in and sign the passport application using the name that they want to see printed on their passport. If sending documents with the application, these will need to be originals, not copies.
Persons must get a countersignature if their appearance has changed and they cannot be recognised from the existing passport. However, they will not need a countersignature if they are changing their name or adding a title.
The costs to make changes are £75.50 if the application is made online or £85 if the application is made with a paper form that is obtained from the post office. If successful, the applicant will be sent a new 10-year passport and any time left on your old passport will not be added to the new one.
With respect to unexpired visas in the old passport, these may become invalid if there is a name change. Persons should check with the embassy or consulate of the country that issued the visa concerning the validity of the visa in such circumstances.
If persons have dual citizenship, that is ‘dual nationality’, and have a nonBritish passport, the name on the nonBritish passport must match the name and gender that is applied for on the British passport. If it is different, it is a requirement that the details on the nonBritish passport should be made before applying for a new British passport.
I hope this helps.