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Help! I'm moving!
I'm getting married next month, will be changing my name, and moving abroad (to Stockholm).
I want to make sure I change my name on all the forms I need to, and get everything ordered in time. I have no idea if there are things I need to change that I don't even know exist (help me out, Swedes). Also, I'm wondering about my name on my passport since I will be using it on the honeymoon and will need it for my residency application immediately upon my arrival to Scandinavia after the honeymoon.
Does anyone have any lists of things I need to do? I'm absolutely clueless beyond needing to get residency in my fiance's native country (Finland) in order to be able to live in Sweden. I mean, clueless. I don't speak Swedish, will be looking for a job, etc etc.
Any suggestions?
Re: Help! I'm moving!
I don't know anything about moving to Sweden, but I can tell you a bit about all the name change stuff with the passport as I was in the same boat before we moved.
First off, if you really don't have at least 2-4 weeks to wait between the wedding and the move overseas don't try to change your passport until you get to Sweden.(2-4 weeks is best case scenario) TSA and airlines won't let you on any planes if the name on the ticket does not match the name in the passport/photo id. You can order new passports from the American Citizen Services people at the Embassy in Stockholm once you get there and get settled if you have certified, notarized copies of your marriage certificate on hand. The flip side of that is that then your visa/permit will be in another name, etc, etc. Either way you are looking at a bit on annoying paperwork, you just have to decide if you want to do it right after you are married, or hold off until you are settled in.
Anyway, here is what I did:
I got a few extra copies of my marriage license because the most ridiculous people need copies of it to verify a name change.
(With your passport, you won't be able to change your name on it until after you have your marriage license.) I got my passport expedited because otherwise you might wait as many as 6 weeks for a new one. Expediting mine took 5 days (sent it in on Mon, got it back on Fri) and they charge you an extra fee on top of the one you would already be paying. Not sure what the visa situation is for Sweden, and it might be different since your fiancee is from Finland but we could not come here (Bangladesh) until we had our visas in our passports back in the states, and that took about 2 weeks.
If your move is not permanent I would also recommend changing your name on your drivers license, SS, register to vote absentee, bank, and other loans you might have before you go because doing all of that over the phone or via fax from a foreign country can be a bit annoying as most of those things can only be done during US business hours, require a notary, or in person anyway.
Can't be of much help for a permanent move, but allot of people on this board have been in their various places for years so just wait around and someone is sure to chime in.
Hi! I live in Stockholm :-) My DH is Swedish. So exciting to have another IN in stockholm!
So, your FI is finnish but you're going to live in sweden? does he live in sweden now? I don't really know how the logistics of that will work, the only thing I can tell you was that when I got my first visa, I had to do a phone interview at the consulate.
In terms of your passport, I'm pretty sure that you don't need to change your name on your passport before the honeymoon, as long as you book your airline tickets in your maiden name. We got married in Sweden, and went to Greece for our honeymoon. I just waited to change my name until after the honeymoon, and everything was booked in my maiden name. When I did change my name, and got a new passport, I had to get a new visa sticker, which was kind of a PITA. What's the timeline in terms of getting married (and where are you getting married?), and moving?
When I moved here, I didn't know swedish, but I learned pretty fast. Let me know if you'd like help in terms of finding good swedish classes, or if you'd like help with anything else!