An incomplete surname on an Indian passport can cause major inconvenience to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) in the matter of visa applications, immigration, banking, and official documents while abroad. Most Indians possess passports where only a first name is mentioned, and there is no surname. Though this is okay in India, most foreign nations need both a first name and surname for official documents.
How Do Foreign Authorities Treat a Missing Surname?
If there is no surname on an Indian passport, foreign authorities write the name in varying manners:
FNU (First Name Unknown) Format
- Where the passport indicates only "Rajesh" as the full name, the authorities may enter it as:
- First Name: FNU
- Surname: Rajesh
LN (Last Name) as Given Name Format
- A few countries move the given name to the surname field:
- First Name: (Blank or "XXX")
- Surname: Rajesh
These discrepancies can create problems in official documents, and therefore it is important to rectify the passport prior to encountering problems overseas.
