Saudi woman can change name without consent of guardian

Saudi Gazette | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Agency for Civil Status at the Ministry of Interior has confirmed that a Saudi woman’s name can be changed without referring to her guardian.

“This requires taking an online appointment and personally contacting the Civil Status office to complete the procedures in accordance with the nature of the submitted request.”

The Civil Status Agency also announced that a citizen can change his/her ID data such as family name, name of children and marital status by visiting one of the branches or departments of the Civil Status.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Interior has made amendments recently in the executive regulations of the Civil Status Law.

Under the amendments, the age of a citizen by which he/she is entitled to change his/her first name has been raised to 18 years instead of 15 years.

It was stipulated in the amendments that the applicant must change the name for the first time, or he/she can apply to restore a previous name.

The applicant must contact the General Department of the region for any other procedures other than this, the agency stated.

It was also clarified in the amendments that the first name of a person, who was less than 18 years of age, can be changed with the approval of his parents or authorization from them through the online platform designated for this.

The authorization can also be done through a private agency or through his legal guardian, provided that the name to which the change is requested shall be compatible with provisions of articles 15 and 115 of the executive regulation of the Civil Status Law.