After the intervention of the Office of the Ombudsman, a solution was found for verifying the applicant's identity
The complainant, an 87-year-old woman suffering from a terminal illness and confined to her bed, decided to change her surname and revert to her maiden name.
She called the Population and Immigration Authority’s service center, who advised her to have her daughter submit the name change request at one of the authority’s service bureaus, in which case the mother would not need to appear in person, on condition that the daughter present medical certificates, a power of attorney, and other required documents.
However, when the daughter arrived at the service bureau to submit the request on her mother’s behalf, she was told that the application could not be submitted without the mother appearing in person, as bureau staff are required to first verify the applicant’s identity.
Due to the Ombudsman’s intervention, in light of the unique circumstances of the case, the Population Authority quickly found a solution: a relative of the complainant transported a representative from the relevant bureau to the complainant’s home and back. This allowed the representative to verify the complainant’s identity and confirm that the name change was being made willingly and with full mental clarity.
The Ombudsman asked the Population Authority to clarify the instructions given to its service center staff, and thus prevent the dissemination of inaccurate information to the public regarding the requirement for in-person appearance.
