Sorry to bother you guys again, but I have a follow-up query.
(The following names have been changed slightly, for reasons of discretion): We want our baby to be called Anna (first name) Nguyen (middle name) Smith (surname). Importantly, we want her name to be exactly this on her UK passport.
Initially, we thought that the VN Justice Department were prepared to have her name as Smith Nguyen Anna on the VN birth certificate, in accordance with VN convention (family name first, 'main/given' name last). This would be no problem.
However, they are now saying that they will only register the following name on the VN birth certificate: Smith Anna Nguyen. In other words, her first name on the VN birth certificate would be Nguyen, and not Anna.
My understanding is that my baby is legally required to have at least one VN name. To my knowledge, there is no requirement that the first/given name must be Vietnamese; a VN middle name would suffice. Choosing my words carefully, it doesn't sit right with me that our choice of our baby's first name on the VN birth certificate appears to be being taken out of our hands.
I would welcome any feedback on the following:
- am I legally entitled to ask for Smith Nguyen Anna on the VN birth certificate?
- If I follow their requirements, then her VN certificate name will be Smith Anna Nguyen. Will this present a problem if I then try to apply for her British passport name to be Anna Nguyen Smith? (I am separately contacting the British Embassy)
- The Govt. office in question is based in a province in the middle of Vietnam (my wife's hometown). The stance they are taking appears contrary to what I believe the equivalent office(s) in HCM City do (not sure about Hanoi). In other words, my feeling is that trying to register Smith Nguyen Anna in HCM would not be a problem. So, there appears to be a consistency problem here. $64,000 question - what can I do about this? Take things higher? Legal advice? Give up!?!
Many thanks again for your help and time.