Citizenship application - names on birth certificate VS passport , any recent application status?

[farfaraway]

Hi all,

Posting here as I couldn't find a relevant post.

The name on the birth certificate does not exactly match with the passport.

Name on Birth cert:
The given name = John Doe
Family name = Smith

Name of Passport:
The given name = John
Family name = Doe

Can I submit the birth cert with along with application including a covering letter explaining that only "Smith" was removed from the whole name?
Is this technically considered as two different names?

The original birth cert at the time of birth is no longer available and a new one was obtained from a foreign embassy while workin in that foreign country.

Would DIA accept any other docs instead of birth cert? could you cite any example docs? Is NZ driver license a valid doc?

( if this was answered in other threads kindly share me the links)

Has anyone applied recently in the last month and got any status update?

Thanks so much for your valuable time.

[JandM]

What form of your name do you use day to day?

[farfaraway]

Thanks JandM!

I use the following on a day today basis:

The given name = John
Family name = Doe

The old family name "Smith" is no longer present in any of the current certificates or identity documents.
It is "John Doe" on every document that are after 2011.

[JandM]

I don't know of an official answer to this. It sounds like one of those odd things that sometimes happens with documents (I had one myself years ago), and you will need to do as you suggest - write to explain what happened - and then react to whatever the authorities come back with. It would probably be a good idea to be prepared to show all the official situations in which you are known and accepted as John Doe, as this will show that you are and have been functioning in NZ with that name. This is just guesswork, as I haven't seen anyone tell about exactly this problem.

[farfaraway]

Thanks JandM for the reply, it is very clear!

[JandM]

Clear as mud - ! (My case was that I had a third given name added at baptism, aged six months. So my birth certificate has 1 2 surname, then everything after six months old - school records, tax records, driving licence, banking, passport, marriage certificate - has 1 2 3 surname. Then I took out an insurance policy, and the company wanted proof that this is the same person. Go figure... Luckily, my father was then still alive, and went to a commissioner for oaths to swear, "My child, 1 2 surname, is also known as 1 2 3 surname.")

[farfaraway]

Oh this is very interesting to hear, I hear this for the first time such an instance. I can imagine how it was for you.
I think I might be able to do the same, i.e approach a "commissioner for oaths" in NZ to swear. I will check if it can be done. I guess it is the "signing the statutory declaration" infront of a "justice of peace" (JP) in NZ.
If I remember correctly, I did mention about name change in the original residence visa, it was many years ago. But I have to search and find out.
Thanks JandM for the input!

[JandM]

It seems to me that if you can show that INZ knew about and accepted your name-change when granting you residence (and your 'new' name must be on your visa, from what you say, isn't it?), that ought to carry a lot of weight when it comes to citizenship. (Again - my personal thought, not anything official.)

In your place, I would apply with the explanatory letter first, before you go to a lot of other effort - what you already have may turn out to be enough.

Good luck!

[farfaraway]

Thanks JandM!

Yeah the new name has been in the resident and PR visas too and in the new and previous passports too.
I will include a letter explaining the change, hopefully the letter will be sufficient.