The Right to Have Your Own Name
Naturalization in Costa Rica and the Role of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones
Currently, the Board of Elections (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones or TSE) may change your name when you obtain citizenship in Costa Rica. The TSE is the agency responsible for processing applications for naturalization. This process is different from obtaining residency, which is processed by the Immigration Department (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería).
The current regulations allow the TSE to change your name to your birth name when the application for naturalization is approved.
Costa Rican Naming Rules and Cultural Context
Costa Rican regulations require children to bear the last names of both parents in their birth certificates and subsequently in all legal documents such as passports, IDs, property titles, and so on.
To give you an example, if the father’s last name is Clemens and the mother’s last name is Lampton, then the child’s last name in Costa Rica would be Clemens Lampton. This differs from most countries where people usually have only one last name, which may be either the father’s or the mother’s, depending on local custom.
Legal Name Changes Abroad and Conflicts Upon Naturalization
Furthermore, it is possible for people to change their names in some countries. For example, if the name of the child at birth was Samuel Clemens, some countries will allow that person to change it. Let us say Samuel Clemens legally changes his name to Mark Twain.
While Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens’ pen name, imagine for a moment that it was the legal name he chose and therefore appeared on his passport. If he then decided to marry a Tica (Carmen Lyra) and obtain Costa Rican citizenship, the TSE could approve his application and change his name from Mark Twain to his birth name including his mother’s maiden name. In that case, his name would become Samuel Clemens Lampton.
Identity, Personal History, and the Decision Not to Naturalize
We have had several cases in which prospective clients decide not to proceed with naturalization because they do not wish to bear their birth name. In some situations, they do not want to be linked to a past they have deliberately left behind. In other cases, it is a matter of cultural identity and the preference not to adopt the two–last-name structure, which they believe should also be respected.
The core issue is that the TSE should respect the name that people legally have. Individuals may have deeply personal, cultural, or identity-based reasons for changing their legal names.
Constitutional Challenge and the Right to Identity
In one of our recent cases, we decided to file a complaint before the Supreme Court of Costa Rica to protect the right to one’s own identity. Recently, the TSE has allowed people to change their names for reasons related to gender identity. Our position is that the same respect should be extended to individuals who wish to keep the identity they have chosen and legally adopted.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court accepted our complaint and granted a hearing to the TSE. The hope is to persuade the Court to protect a person’s right to their chosen legal identity. The outcome remains to be seen. Documents related to this constitutional complaint are available for review.
Feel free to reach us with your questions or comments.
I am one of those who would apply for naturalization were it not for the renaming. I have a seventy + year history using this name. My financial, educational and employment records for all that time and in several countries, will be impossible to change. As a male, the change is much less dramatic than for a married female. So much that my wife refuses to even consider it.
Very interesting topic. Enjoyed how it was written, and the references to US and CR literature. I think that although the Costa Rican civil codes establishes the use of both parents’ names, a broader HHRR interpretation should be used to grant such individuals who apply for citizenship the right to use their name with one surname. Although Costa Rica will continue using the 2 surname rule by default, it should be perhaps more open-minded in cases like the one described in the article.