Adding your spouse's surname on a Taiwan passport: you don't have to change your Chinese surname in the household register first, and your old English name is listed as an alias
After marrying in the US, you can add your spouse's surname to the foreign-language (English) name on your Taiwan passport, or take your spouse's surname instead. The rule from the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that this is done based on your household registration records or your marriage documents; even if your household registration doesn't add your spouse's surname to your Chinese name, you can still add your spouse's surname to your English name when you apply for the passport. Your old English name is listed as an alias.
Whether to change it is your choice. If you do, below are the formats, the length limit, and what to watch for when lining it up with your US documents.
Which documents it's based on
According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs (page updated 2025-09-02, checked 2026-10-22): whether a married person's English name adds or takes the spouse's surname is handled based on household registration records or marriage documents.
- If you've already gone back to Taiwan and registered the marriage, your household registration records show it. For the steps to register in Taiwan, see registering a US marriage in Taiwan in five steps.
- If you apply with a US marriage document, rules require documents made abroad to be authenticated by a Taiwan overseas mission. Before you apply, check with the TECO office handling your application about which documents to include.
- You don't have to change your Chinese name first: even if your household registration doesn't add your spouse's surname to your Chinese name, you can still add your spouse's surname to your English name when you apply for the passport.
The page doesn't separately address cases where the spouse is a foreign national and you want to add their foreign surname, so check with the TECO office before you apply.
Three ways to write it
Between your spouse's surname and your own, you can use a space, a hyphen, or join them with nothing in between. The examples the Bureau of Consular Affairs uses:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| A space | CHANG CHEN, LI-LING |
| A hyphen | CHANG-CHEN, LI-LING |
| Joined together | CHANGCHEN, LI-LING |
The English name (including the spaces between words) can't be longer than 39 letters in total.
To choose, first look at how your US documents write it. If your US Social Security card, driver's license and US passport (if you're a dual citizen) use the format CHANG-CHEN, write CHANG-CHEN on the Taiwan passport too; that causes the least trouble when the two are matched up.
Your old English name is listed as an alias
If you change your English name because you added or took your spouse's surname, your original English name should be listed as an English alias; the next time you renew or replace your passport, you can ask for it to no longer be listed (Bureau of Consular Affairs, checked 2026-10-22).
The alias acts as a bridge: your Taiwanese bank accounts, school records and old flight bookings are still under your old name, and having the alias on the passport gives you something to match them against.
Lining it up with your US documents
Changing your name in the US is a separate process, done in this order: the Social Security Administration (SSA) first, then the DMV, then the US passport. See the full process for changing your name after marriage.
- For which form and fee to choose for a US passport name change, see both / either for passport name changes.
- When your two passports show different names, you may be sent to secondary inspection at the border; see the name-change gap.
- For whether to change your Taiwan passport as well, and preparing the documents together with registering in Taiwan, see changing your Taiwan passport name together with the household registration.
To renew your Taiwan passport in the US, contact a TECO office; for how to submit, fees and processing time, go by what the office handling your application posts.
Four things to decide before you apply
- Add or take: adding means "spouse's surname + your surname" (for example, CHANG CHEN); taking means using only your spouse's surname. First look at how your US documents already write it, and choose the same on both sides.
- Space, hyphen or joined: all three are allowed, but once you choose, your flight tickets, visas and US Social Security card should all use the same spelling; a single space of difference can be enough for systems not to match.
- Total length: after adding the surname, the whole name, including given names and the spaces in between, can't exceed 39 letters. If your name is long, count it first.
- Accounts under your old name: your Taiwanese bank, brokerage and insurance accounts and your diplomas are still under your old name. The alias on the passport bridges the gap, but if you ask for the alias to be dropped at your next renewal, you lose that reference for matching old documents.
Same-sex spouses follow the same rules, based likewise on household registration records or marriage documents.
You can also leave it as is
If you take your spouse's surname in the US and keep your original name on your Taiwan passport, the two belong to different document systems. The cost is that your two passports show different names, so booking flights, crossing borders and matching accounts across countries take an extra explanation. If you do change it, settle on a format once, and use the same spelling in both the US and Taiwan from then on.
Common questions
Can I add my spouse's surname to the English name on my Taiwan passport?
Yes. According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, a married person can apply to add or take the spouse's surname based on household registration records or marriage documents; even if the household registration doesn't add the spouse's surname to your Chinese name, you can still add it to your English name.
Once I add the surname, does my old English name disappear?
Not right away. Your original English name is listed as an English alias, and the next time you renew or replace your passport, you can ask for it to no longer be listed.
Is there a length limit on the English name?
Yes. Including the spaces between words, it can't exceed 39 letters in total.
On the My Wedding Plan checklist, the name change after marriage is split into a US track and a Taiwan track: SSA is item 11, DMV item 12, the US passport item 13, and the Taiwan passport item 14. The checklist has a free version, and you can start without giving an email address.
Sources (checked 2026-10-22)
- Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: English name on passports (married persons adding or taking a spouse's surname) (checked 2026-10-22, page updated 2025-09-02)
- Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior: Marriage registration guide (documents made abroad must be authenticated by an overseas mission) (checked 2026-10-22)