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My husband and I were married last month in the United States. We reside in the United States. We changed our last names in the US to a hyphenated double name using both of our birth last names, ie. "Mine-His". My husband has German citizenship and we want to declare our new name to the German government.

Myself

  • Born in and am a US Citizen only (have a US Passport)

My husband

  • Born in the US (has a US Passport)
  • Has German citizenship by blood (has a German passport)
  • Has Mexican citizenship by blood (has a Mexican passport)

It's my understanding we are able to fill out the name declaration form ("Erklärung über die nachträgliche Rechtswahl und Bestimmung der Namensführung in der Ehe") and elect to use US law to determine the last names, which should allow both of us to take on the hyphenated name. After this, my husband can then get an updated German passport with the new hyphenated name.

One of the documents we must show is the marriage certificate, however our certificate only lists our names at the time of marriage, not our new names. Additionally, while we've updated our name with US Social Security, and our state's motor vehicle departments, we have not yet updated our US passports with the new last names due to pending travel.

Does this sound possible? Should we update our US Passports first?

Thanks!

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  • What state did you get married in? Marriage and name change are controlled by state law in the US, and I only have personal experience with New York, where, if I recall correctly, the marriage certificate has a space to register name change explicitly. I assume that you were married in a different state that handles the administrative details in some other way. This presumably has a bearing on how you would deal with the German process. Alternatively: what document does show the name change? You must have shown something to the SSA and the DMV.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 8 at 7:03

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One of the documents we must show is the marriage certificate, however our certificate only lists our names at the time of marriage, not our new names. Additionally, while we've updated our name with US Social Security, and our state's motor vehicle departments, we have not yet updated our US passports with the new last names due to pending travel.

Nowhere is it stated that the marriage certificate or passport must show the new chosen name.

The Declaration form contains a field where the new chosen name is entered. Having a drivers lincense or US Social Security card may be useful to check that the spelling is correct, but doesn't seem to be mandatory.

Does this sound possible? Should we update our US Passports first?

Yes it does, so updating the your US Passports beforehand is probably not required.

What documents do we need?
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If you would like to submit your application through the German consular mission, please present one completed application form as well as the documents mentioned below in the original. Copies are made at the German mission and then notarized for a fee.

  • marriage certificate of the spouses (issued by the“ Registrar/Clerk of the Court”)
  • passports of both spouses; for non-U.S. citizens residence permit (visa or Green Card)
  • birth certificates of both spouses

...

Sources:

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