Removing Accents & Diacritics for International Travel: The Rules

If your name is Chloë, Siobhán, or Zoë, you likely face a recurring nightmare when booking flights. Airline websites often reject special characters, or worse, they print your boarding pass with a garbled string of code (like Siobh%C3%A1n) that confuses security staff.

Many clients come to us asking if they need a Deed Poll to officially "remove" the accent from their name to make travel easier. The answer is usually no—you just need to understand how passports actually work.

At UK Name Change, we believe travel should be stress-free. Here is the definitive guide to handling accents, umlauts, and fadas for international travel.

1. The Two Zones of Your Passport

Open your passport to the photo page. You will see two distinct areas:

1. The Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ): This is the top half with your photo and personal details. In many foreign passports (like French or Irish), accents are printed here (e.g., Hélène). Note: UK Passports generally do not print accents even in this zone.
2. The Machine Readable Zone (MRZ): These are the two lines of code at the very bottom (starting with P<GBR...).

The Golden Rule: The MRZ is the only thing that matters to a computer.

The global standard for passports (ICAO 9303) dictates that the MRZ can only contain the letters A-Z, numbers 0-9, and the filler character <. It cannot handle accents. Therefore, every country must "transliterate" special characters into plain text.

• ü becomes UE (or sometimes U)
• ñ becomes N
• é becomes E
• ß becomes SS

2. How to Book Flights Correctly

The number one cause of airport stress for people with accents is booking their ticket using the "Visual" spelling (e.g., Zoë) when the airline system expects the "Machine" spelling (e.g., Zoe).

The Fix: Always book your flight using the exact spelling found in the Machine Readable Zone (bottom lines) of your passport. If your German passport says Müller in the visual zone but MUELLER in the bottom code, book your ticket as MUELLER. This ensures that when you scan your passport at the e-gate or check-in desk, the computer sees a 100% match.

3. Do I Need a Deed Poll?

You usually do not need a Deed Poll just to fix travel issues.

Scenario A: You just want to travel easily

Verdict: No Deed Poll needed. simply adopt the "strip spelling" (removing the accent) for all airline bookings and visas. This is perfectly legal and standard practice.

Scenario B: You dislike the "Transliteration"

Sometimes, the automatic translation is ugly. Example: You are Müller. The passport office automatically writes MUELLER in the machine code. You hate this; you want to be MULLER.

Verdict: Deed Poll required. Because you are changing the spelling from the standard transliteration (UE) to a specific variation (U), you need to legally change your name. You would execute a Deed Poll changing your surname from Müller to Muller. You would then need to renew your passport to update the machine code to match your preference.

4. UK Passport Office Policy

If you are applying for your first British Passport, be aware that HM Passport Office has a strict policy on "uncommon characters."

They do not print accents, diacritics, or special characters in the British passport at all—not even in the visual zone. If your name is Renée, your British passport will simply say RENEE. This effectively solves the problem for you by forcing a simplified spelling.

5. Visa Applications (ESTA / ETA)

When applying for an American ESTA or other electronic visas, the guidance is strict: Look at the Machine Readable Zone.

If you type "Renée" into a US visa form, it may be rejected or cause a mismatch at the border. Always type the name exactly as it appears in the code at the bottom of your passport.

Summary

You do not need to change your name to travel the world. You just need to know which version of your name the computer is reading.

Want to permanently simplify your spelling? Start your Deed Poll today.