Change of surname upon marriage between a citizen of Ukraine and a citizen of Greece
A citizen of Ukraine left for permanent residence in Greece, where she met a citizen of this country. The couple decided to officially register their marriage. A legal situation arose regarding the bride’s surname change in the context of the difference in the legislation of the two states.
Legal analysis (Difference in the legislation of Ukraine and Greece)
Legislation of Ukraine:
According to Article 35 of the Family Code of Ukraine, during state registration of marriage, the bride and groom have the right:
Leave your surnames unchanged.
Adopt the common surname of one of the spouses.
Add the surname of the other to your own, forming a double surname.
Greek legislation:
In Greece, according to local law (e.g. the Greek Civil Code), changing a surname upon marriage is not mandatory. Greek law adheres to the principle of preserving an individual surname, so Greek citizens do not change their surname after marriage.
Conflict of norms:
The bride wants to change her surname (for example, to take her husband’s surname or to create a double surname). However, this is not possible in Greece according to local marriage registration rules.
In accordance with Art. 60 of the Law of Ukraine “On Private International Law”, the personal rights and obligations of spouses are regulated by the law of the state of which each of the parties is a citizen. The bride, as a citizen of Ukraine, may apply to the Ukrainian Civil Registry Office to change her surname after registering the marriage in Greece (based on the marriage certificate).
Changing a surname in Ukraine after registering a marriage in Greece
According to the legislation of Ukraine, a citizen has the right to apply to the Ukrainian Civil Registry Office to change her surname even after registering a marriage abroad. To do this, she must:
Provide a Greek marriage certificate (translated and legalized).
Submit an application for changing her surname to the Civil Registry Office at the place of registration in Ukraine.
Legal actions of our company
Preparation of documents: our company’s lawyer carefully studied the client’s situation and compiled a list of necessary documents. The following were prepared:
Application for change of surname.
A duly legalized and translated Greek marriage certificate.
A copy of the client’s passport and identification number.
Other necessary documents for submission to the Civil Registry Office.
Legal support: the lawyer provided the client with full support:
Submitted documents to the Civil Registry Office.
Supervised the application review process.
Obtained approval from the National Police of Ukraine, which is necessary for changing the surname (this process took two weeks).
Receiving a decision: after receiving approval from the National Police of Ukraine, the client received a positive decision from the Civil Registry Office regarding the change of surname.
Result for the client
The client received the desired result – she officially changed her last name based on Ukrainian legislation.
Thanks to our legal support, the procedure was completed in the shortest possible time, and the client’s involvement in the process was minimized.
Our company helped a client effectively resolve an issue that required knowledge of both Ukrainian and international law. This case demonstrates our ability to take a comprehensive approach to resolving legal issues and provide clients with fast and comfortable service.
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