Canada Allows Sikhs to Keep Last Names

TORONTO, Canada (AP) — The Canadian government has reversed a decade-old policy that forced Indian Sikhs with the common last names Singh or Kaur to change their surname before they could immigrate.

The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi had told Indians wishing to immigrate that the religious Sikh surnames were too common to process quickly and thus a name change would be required.

Sikhs, an Indian religious minority, commonly name males Singh and females Kaur.

After the World Sikh Organization raised the issue Tuesday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced it was canceling the policy Wednesday. CCI said the “policy” was a misunderstanding based on a “poorly worded” letter.

The policy drew scrutiny when Tarvinder Kaur, a Calgary woman waiting for her husband, Jaspal Singh, to arrive in Canada, told the media that his permanent residency application had been delayed for more than a month because of his last name.

A national Canadian news organization posted the letter to Kaur from the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi on its Web site. The letter, dated May 17 and addressed to Jaspal Singh, states: “Please note that your surname must be endorsed on your passport. The names Kaur and Singh do not qualify for the purpose of immigration to Canada.”

Canada’s immigration department then issued a statement Wednesday that said “Permanent resident applicants with the surnames Singh or Kaur are not required to change their names in order to apply.”

A Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman said that while Sikhs commonly assume the surnames Singh and Kaur, most also have a traditional family surname that they normally use for the immigration application.

Canadian 2001 census figures state that 278,410 Sikhs live in Canada.

Read Another Article

Judge to mediate $45m sex-abuse suit against LDS Church
Wicca is stepping out of the shadows

Related News Articles Topic(s): Sikhism Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Sikhism Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog