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In my Indonesian passport, my last name is missing a letter so I sent it back to the consulate to be corrected. The consulate made the correction on the next page but they didn't make a new passport and just wrote my full name with the correct last name in ink, stamped and signed it. Before I go ahead and explain my whole situation, I will be traveling to the UK and several countries (16 to be exact) in the Schengen area soon.

I just received my UK visa last month with the correct last name. When I filled out my application, I put in the correct last name according to the correction that was made on the other page in my passport (not the original page). So when I arrived at my biometrics appointment, the USCIS officer looked at my passport and asked why my last name is different than the one in the application, so I told her to go to the next page and said I was good to go.

And this morning I received my Schengen visa with the 'wrong' last name (they basically just followed the same exact name as the one that is stated in the passport instead of the other page) but when I filled out my Schengen application, I put in the correct last name.

When I got to my VFS appointment for the Schengen visa, the agent told me they have been trained to follow the passport page because it is the page that will be scanned -- not the other page. I showed her my UK visa with the corrected last name so she and a couple other agents made me take two biometrics (one with the correct last name and one with the incorrect last name) and then told me the French embassy in DC would decide which last name they would use for the visa. I was honestly surprised when I got my visa today because I thought the visa officer would choose the corrected last name just because that's what I put in my application as well as all of my reservations and other documents.

Immediately after receiving my Schengen visa, I called the French Visa Application Center about it. They suggested that when I travel to and within the Schengen area, I should book my flights and other transportations with the name that is indicated in the Schengen visa but when I travel to/in the UK, I should use the exact same name that is in the UK visa. To make sure, I called the Indonesian consulate and spoke to a consultant about it. He also said the same thing and he added that I shouldn't worry because both my correct and incorrect last name are indicated in the passport officially.

I will be traveling to the UK first and I have booked my flight to London (a short layover in Reykjavik) with the correct last name because that is what it says in my UK visa. All of my other reservations to/in the Schengen area are in the last name that is indicated in the Schengen visa. To add to that, the consultant from the Indonesian consulate says when I return back to the United States, I have to use the correct last name because it has to be the same as my green card.

What do you think about my situation? Will I get in trouble?

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  • Nothing to worry about. I have had worse name misspellings for twenty years and omissions than yours and never had a problem except being scolded once by a consular officer at the French embassy in Washington.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 10:28
  • Passport should have the correct name (and correct information): it helps in the future. About visa: I would not care too much. The visa is linked to the passport. They may uses an other spelling because of technical limitation or preferences (e.g. transliteration) or just errors. Because they got your passport, they know who you are, so nothing to worry. But try to get the correct data in the passport, else you can have troubles (delays) on future visa (especially if you will get a new passport with different data [e.g. after 10 years)
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 14:32

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You for sure will not get into trouble. But this all depends on the immigrations officers you run into. You might get pulled aside and looked at harder but it is hard to believe you will be denied entry. If I were you i would use my correct last name for everything. The last thing you want is some airline not letting you fly because your name is not correct.

When flying to the US, always use the name that is on your green card. The US is the strictest about everything and cause the most problems.

I wouldn't worry, your not going to jail over a misspelled name as long as all your other documents are in order.

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  • Thank you for the helpful info; I really appreciate it. Do you think it's better if I use the exact name that they put in my Schengen visa for booking flights within or to the Schengen area? I put my correct last name in the application and other documents when I applied for a Schengen visa and like I said above, I even took two different biometrics (one with the correct last name and another with the incorrect one); but the French embassy still chose the incorrect last name because it is the one that matches the passport even though my last name was already corrected on the next page.
    – food089
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 7:00
  • Within the Schengen area they will not look at your visa very closely. Use your name that you use on your passport. If not, you risk being denied boarding and will not even have a chance to fly. In most countries in the EU you will not even past immigration if it is a flight within the Schengen area. Airport security might stop you if your ticket does not not match your passport too.
    – Brént Russęll
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 17:01
  • Okay. That means I'll have to use the exact name in my passport (with the incorrect last name).
    – food089
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 19:32

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