Change of name if born outside Australia
If you were born outside of Australia, then you will have an Australian citizenship certificate. The starting point of your name change is the name listed on your citizenship certificate.
The following situations must have occurred after you became a citizen:
You were married in Australia or changed your name with a state Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages whilst in Australia:
- You will need to present your original certificate issued by Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM). We cannot accept a ceremonial certificate issued by a marriage celebrant.
- You can only update your surname using a marriage certificate. Any changes to your first/middle names as well as your surname must be registered with a name change document via one of the methods below.
If you were married outside of Australia or are changing your name for any other reason:
You can update your name using one of the options below:
- A non-Australian marriage certificate that has been legalised with a paper-based apostille (or authentication where an apostille is not possible) by the issuing government.
- If you were married in the UK, you will need to send it to the UK authorities here: Get your document legalised: Overview - GOV.UK. For all other countries, contact their embassy or high commission for further information.
You can only update your surname using a marriage certificate. Any changes to your first/middle names as well as your surname must be registered with a name change document via one of the methods below.
OR
- A non-Australian name change document (for example, a UK deed poll) that has been legalised with a paper-based apostille (or authentication where an apostille is not possible) by the issuing government.
For a UK document, you will need to send it to the UK Home Office here: Get your document legalised: Overview - GOV.UK. A UK deed poll does not need to be enrolled with the UK courts, but it must be signed by a solicitor or Notary Public so the UK authorities can legalise it.
OR
- An updated Australian citizenship certificate issued by The Australian Department of Home Affairs.
If you have been divorced or are changing your name by choice and your citizenship certificate was issued in the name you want to revert back to:
- You can revert back to the name listed on your Australian citizenship certificate, provided you have never had that document re-issued in a new name, or received an RBDM name change certificate.
If you have been divorced or are changing your name by choice and your citizenship certificate was issued in your married name:
- You cannot revert back to a name you were known by before your Australian citizenship certificate was issued. You will need to treat the name change like it is a brand new name and follow the directions in point 2 above.
Please note that if you have had more than one name change since being issued your Australian citizenship certificate, please bring all the original certificates/documents to link between your previous names.