403. How to correct your

name on documents

Questions: Dear Sir, 1)I'm residing in United Arab Emirates since 1988 with my wife a son & a daughter. I have used my short name from the beginning. The name given to me at my birth is LEONARD but everywhere it is used as LEO.( Ration card / School Certificate / Bank accounts / Passport / Pan card / Property registration etc.) except my birth certificate at Municipality Register & Church Baptism Certificate. Will it make me or my wife/children any problem in future. 2) Initially when i applied for passport somewhere 1980.82, we had to submit ration card as a proof & name in the ration card is LEO hence my name was registered as LEO in the passport While filling the form for passport initially the format was surname - given name - fathers name hence it is PEREIRA LEO REGINALD. Over the years format of the passport has been changed and my surname is become my first name. Kindly guide & advise me what i can do to get my name as LEONARD everywhere. Thanks in advance LP Answer: As for your question on whether you may have problems in future due to confusion over your name, it’s difficult to say. Problems at some point can arise. As for what you can do to correct the situation, I can only think of getting your name change done in a legal manner. You can get the name change done in India, I assume thats where you are from, or you can get it done even from the UAE. I do have an article on how to get a name change done on this website. To find out how you can get the name change done, use the navigation links on the top of this page under the HOW TO GUIDE tab, you will find a link to a page ‘How to change your name legally’ click this link and see the article. Make sure you read the last paragraph on the page that is titled, ‘Information for Non- Residents’. Once you have your name changed legally, you can use the documentation to apply for and get a new passport with your correct name.