- Thread starter misticoz
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Marriage and Last names
To change names you can do it also being Dominican, its the same process and its long. Its not the same situation of using the husband lastname, in USa the wife can change it and take it as her first last name, here in Dominican Republic is added with "de" and for signing and in the oficial documents she will have 3 last names because she keeps their first 2 last names.
since my wife never took my last name in either country she never had to use "de". Yes the process for changing your name here in DR is a long process. You will spend lots of time going to different offices. My wife is fortunate that her brother is a lawyer and did much of the paperwork for her. As I said before the process has taken 2 years. Anyone that wants to change their name must really want to do it.
I know some foreign women married to Dominicans who have taken their husband's surnames, but none of the Dominicans I know, from all social backgrounds, do this any more. You might see it among the older generation, especially the upper classes.
I took my husband's surname, and it's all I use. *The only place my maiden name appears is on my passport, followed by his, long boring story why. *Bank in DR will not let me use my married name, try remembering to sign a name you haven't used in 40 years.
*Best fix is to have him do all banking. *My wife's passport and cedula both only have her first last name followed by "de" and my last name. That is the name on her bank account and how she has signed all documents - never with 3 last names(?).
My wife's cedula has <her maidden name > de <my last name >
Her swiss passport only has my last name. When she changed her documents she said the swiss asked her if she wanted it the dr style, her maidden name or my name. *( i let her do that, serves her bloody right for being swiss ).
So basically her docs from the dr and from switzerland do not have the same name.
Her swiss passport only has my last name. When she changed her documents she said the swiss asked her if she wanted it the dr style, her maidden name or my name. *( i let her do that, serves her bloody right for being swiss
).So basically her docs from the dr and from switzerland do not have the same name.
My wife's cedula has <her maidden name > de <my last name >
Her swiss passport only has my last name. When she changed her documents she said the swiss asked her if she wanted it the dr style, her maidden name or my name. *( i let her do that, serves her bloody right for being swiss
So basically her docs from the dr and from switzerland do not have the same name.
Oh, what i wanted to point out, was that in the dr, when we got married there was no choice. It was <maidden name> de <my name > and thats that, whereas she would have preferred just my name.
Can't say about a Dominican changing her last name in the DR, but my wife was in Miami when she renewed her DR passport. It was easy and was done in the week it took to get her new passport. All she did was produce her green card with both last names on it. On her next trip to POP, she renewed her ferula using her new passport, and there was no problems there either.. She did keep her maiden last name with "de" in front of her new one. The big problem was US Social Security where she had to get her new name on it. Of course it was done in St. Thomas and nothing is ever easy there. *
Legally, Dominican women keep their name after marriage; there is no obligation for them to add de.
It is just a custom that they can adopt if they wish.
Dominicans have usually two given names and two last names; for example, I'm Fabio Jos? Guzm?n Ariza. Guzm?n was my father's first last name; Ariza, my mother's.
I consider this an advantage in an insecure world: I've never had a problem at immigration anywhere; however, my eldest brother, a retired neurologist who has lived in Canada since 1949, dropped the Ariza from his last name and spent years being hassled at immigration because of some notorious Guzm?ns (obviosly not related!) from Colombia and Mexico.
It is just a custom that they can adopt if they wish.
Dominicans have usually two given names and two last names; for example, I'm Fabio Jos? Guzm?n Ariza. Guzm?n was my father's first last name; Ariza, my mother's.
I consider this an advantage in an insecure world: I've never had a problem at immigration anywhere; however, my eldest brother, a retired neurologist who has lived in Canada since 1949, dropped the Ariza from his last name and spent years being hassled at immigration because of some notorious Guzm?ns (obviosly not related!) from Colombia and Mexico.
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