Returning to EU with not quite valid passport

November 25, 2023 3:54 AM

Asking for a friend who lives in the EU, has US and EU passports and an EU id card, but will leave the EU for a couple of weeks. The trouble is that because of a name change, the EU passport and id card are not officially valid. Is it still reasonable to travel?

He would need to travel to his home country (also EU) to get the passport / ID updated, but had planned to travel to the US before that -- or at least before the new documents could be issued. The reason is a name change, which changes the second of two last names. This is not an issue for the US documents, because his legal name in the US is just the first of these two last names.
The US passport is fully valid. As I understand, the potential problem is with entering the EU again as a resident, rather than a tourist. My friend lives in the EU and so will have surpassed the 90 day limit or whatever. I have faced similar issues with my child before he had an EU passport (there was a lot of paperwork involved) and the border control was very understanding. Normally one needs the EU passport, and my friend will have a passport that is not expired, but because of the name change, it will probably show up as invalid if scanned.

posted by melamakarona to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

I don’t understand. My US passport and my British passport have different names and that’s not a problem. How has your friend changed their name in the eu without changing their passport? Have they changed it in their eu country in some official way?
posted by flink at 4:33 AM on November 25, 2023

I’m a bit confused by this too. I’m an EU citizen and the name on my passport is the name I generally go by (plus my middle name, which I don’t habitually use). AFAIK it’s the same has having a bank account, etc; you can use the name you generally go by, not necessarily the ‘official’ name on your birth certificate or similar name registration document. So from my perspective, the passport should still be valid until its expiry date?
posted by macdara at 5:12 AM on November 25, 2023

Response by poster: Have they changed it in their eu country in some official way?
Yes, application filed long ago, and it finally was approved, but now he has to go back and apply for a new passport and ID card to match the new official status. Thanks for asking for clarification.
posted by melamakarona at 5:13 AM on November 25, 2023

If the passport is valid, it's valid. I can't imagine they will meet any difficulties except if they are of Middle Eastern descent or they have travelled extensively in the Middle East or in Russia.
posted by mumimor at 5:28 AM on November 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

Has he checked what the guidance in his country is regarding name change/updating passports and travel. He is not the only person with this problem and they are bound to have a policy. The EU is not a monolith and each country can do these things the way they want.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:29 AM on November 25, 2023

I would then just travel with the papers showing that they’ve started the process and a copy of the marriage certificate/translation that they used (or other document they used for the purpose to do the name change) but the passport would probably still be “valid”… that’s what I would do.
posted by flink at 5:50 AM on November 25, 2023

I think also if the passport isn’t valid they won’t be able to check in for the flight, and the flight needs to be booked in the name on the passport. So I think they’ll find out if there is a problem before they get on the plane. But in the country I live it looks like just having gotten the name change declaration is the first step, you’d have to do another step before it was changed on the border patrol computers.
posted by flink at 6:00 AM on November 25, 2023

I'd take along all the name change paperwork and approvals, and hope for the best. For example in Poland your old ID is valid for 4 months after a name change, 2 months for a passport, providing you document you have promptly filed for the updated documents. This happens on basically every other honeymoon!
posted by I claim sanctuary at 7:22 AM on November 25, 2023

I think he will be fine. I’ve often seen advice for newly married women who are changing their name and travelling for their honeymoon to make sure the name on their plane ticket matches what’s on their passport, even if that’s their old name. Just make sure he buys the ticket in the name that’s on his passport.
posted by sillysally at 8:08 AM on November 25, 2023

Match the flight booking to the passport intended for use on entry. Flight to X country, match to X passport, and enter with X passport.

It's not really a big deal*. For example, after marriage, Italian women continue to keep their maiden surname for passports and identity documents. My mother-in-law naturalised to Italian and now has a passport in the name she hasn't used for 40+ years, different to her US passport.

*Children are in a different category because of protection laws & kidnapping issues.
posted by socky_puppy at 9:54 AM on November 25, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks for all this. To clarify, there is a valid (US) passport, and that version of the name can be used for booking and (I assume?) boarding flights. The problem is that for re-entry as a resident into the EU, a US passport is not sufficient. Am I right in thinking this could only be an issue when landing in the EU?
posted by melamakarona at 12:23 AM on November 26, 2023

As an EU resident, I would be very surprised if we would block someone from returning to their own country when they do have proof of their identity. Surely they can just look him up?

Specifically, I would expect them to use the information in the expired passport to look him up, which would show the new name in their system, which he can then provide the US passport to claim.

Sadly, I was unable to find any confirmation that this would be the policy. I did notice that the scenarios listed for 'expired passport being a problem' were all about visiting other countries.

(Sorry for such a vague reply, I hope it still has some value.)
posted by demi-octopus at 12:56 AM on November 26, 2023

Is he trying to return to his native country, or to another EU country? I think he needs advice specific to the countries concerned rather than general EU advice.

His EU passport shows that he can enter each EU country. It is from what you say a legitimate and unexpired passport - that is, there's nothing in or on the passport itself to indicate an issue. Citizenship and issuing passports is a national rather than EU matter, so I'm not sure that there's a central database of all valid EU passports. He could probably just show his existing EU passport, and walk in without questions, particularly if he is white with a European name.

It's possible that if his nationality is French (or somewhere with equally centralised bureaucracy and limited name flexibility) that the passport might be flagged as needing to be updated within a French national database, and specifically cause him problems getting into France. In this example, I would approach the French embassy in the US about what he should do.
posted by plonkee at 7:38 AM on November 26, 2023

Response by poster: country of EU passport is Spain, attempting to re-enter Germany from the US.
posted by melamakarona at 8:38 AM on November 26, 2023

This page appears to indicate that both passports would need to be valid, but also mentions the possibility of emergency travel documents.

Can he contact the Spanish consulate or embassy for advice and/or an emergency passport?
posted by demi-octopus at 10:32 AM on November 26, 2023