The most popular post on this site is How to Travel with Two Passports. In fact, it’s so popular it led me to write Step by Step Guide to Entering & Exiting a Country with Two Different Passports. If you haven’t read these posts, they are a great starting point to understanding your rights, benefits and limitations as a dual-citizen. We also have created an eBook that consolidates all of our knowledge on the topic and comes with a free consultation on your specific question!
Despite trying my best to spell out as much information as possible in these posts, we still are getting people asking questions in the comments every single day. Don’t get me wrong, I love receiving comments! But there are so many reoccurring questions that I felt a FAQ was in order. So if you still have questions about traveling with two passports, this post is for you!
This is not the same thing as having a second passport. Don’t lie to immigration authorities!
Question #1: “Can I enter a country I am a citizen of without using its passport?”
No, this is basically illegal and should not be done. Even if one of your passports is expired, that doesn’t mean you can just use the other one. That’s misrepresenting yourself to your country’s authorities.
Question #2: “I accidentally entered a country I am a citizen of using the incorrect passport, should I just pretend it never happened?”
No, go to the immigration authorities and fix it. If you entered using the wrong passport it means it’s possible for you to overstay the legal amount of time allowed for citizen’s of your other nationality. Don’t cause problems, fix it.
Question #3: “I’ve reached the maximum amount of time I can stay in a country using one of my passports, can I leave and come back using the other and stay longer?”
No, this is definitely illegal and a great way to not be allowed into the country again on either passport. Two passports does not make you two people. The rules apply to you as a person, not as a passport.
It’s a good idea to know what you’re doing before you get here
Question #4: “I’ve been in a country I hold citizenship for a very long time, am I allowed to leave? Can I visit a country I hold citizenship for with no plan to ever leave?”
If you hold a passport from a country that means you have citizenship there and right of abode. You never need to leave or worry about staying too long. It’s your right to be there and come and go as you please. This is still the case even if you were not born there or even if you’ve never been there – as long as you have a passport and are a citizen.
You should take these guys pretty seriously, but don’t worry you aren’t doing anything wrong
Question #5: “How do I book a round-trip flight and use different passports on each leg?”
Exactly this is covered in my Step by Step Guide to Entering & Exiting a Country with Two Different Passports. Just follow the directions there exactly.
Question #6: “How do I take one trip using two different passports when my name is different in each of them?”
Call the airline before your trip and explain you have two passports with slightly different names. They should be able to add a second name to your reservation to solve this problem.
When you follow the rules you can get along with anyone
Question #7: I’m flying to a country I hold a passport of with a one-way ticket. Will they give me a hard time?”
No, see question four. You can come and go as you please – that country is your home, even if you haven’t spent any time there.
Question #8: “I’m going to enter a country I have a passport of for the first time, or with a passport with no stamps in it. Will I have a problem? Will I be allowed in?”
There are many ways to procure a passport outside of the country that issues it. If it’s a valid passport, you are doing nothing wrong and won’t have any problems. If questioned, just answer honestly.
This is not an immigration checkpoint
Question #9: “Won’t showing a different passport to the airline personnel and the immigration authorities cause a problem?”
No, they are each asking for different things. The airline is checking that you have permission to be where you are going and immigration is checking you have permission to be where you are.
Question #10: “I did something wrong in a particular country. Next time I visit can I use my other passport to avoid problems?”
Nope, this will probably just cause you more problems. See question three.
This girl knows how to use her two passports
Still got questions? We’ve answered them all in our eBook and if we haven’t, it includes a free personal consultation!
Hi Dave,
I have a question. I’ve just applied for a German passport but it may not arrive in time for my travels. I live in Australia and also hold an Australian passport. Can I still fly with my Australian passport only and get the German one mailed to me at some stage? I am flying to Malaysia first and then was planning to fly to Germany from Bangkok. I know I cannot enter Germany on the Australian one but maybe if I get the German one mailed to a friend in Thailand? Or could I enter a different European country first on my Australian passport and get it mailed there and then enter Germany on my German passport? Or would I need to enter any European country on the German passport? Hope that makes sense.
Thank you,
Sandra
This is totally fine. If you are okay with taking the risk of someone mailing it to you once you’ve begun your travels, you shouldn’t have any troubles. You don’t technically need to enter the EU as a whole as a German either so it would be okay to enter non-German EU as an Aussie.
Hi Dave, firstly a great site with a wealth of information!! Thank you. My question is we live in Germany and I am an Australian who also holds a British passport. My 5yo son’s UK passport has just expired and with all the home office delays I haven’t yet renewed it but i have had a chance to renew his Australian passport. So my question is we are planning to leave Germany end of September with a one way ticket back to Australia, can my son leave Germany on his Australian passport even though the last time he entered Germany was on a UK one? I know if he had entered on his oz passport he would get a stamp in the passport. He won’t have this. Do we need to get an UK emergency passport just for us to leave Germany? Or can be just leave on his Oz one and we show them the expired UK passport?
Here’s a question for you… I have been living in the States for the last six/seven years with my wife – also British – and we are finally returning home to the UK. However, we are returning with our newborn son. With his new shiny US passport in hand, he will be officially entering the UK as a US citizen. However, once we are there, we intend to get him his UK passport too (which he is entitled to as both of his parents are British citizens). Now… do we have to leave the country and re-enter it, with him on his UK passport, or can we just somehow inform the authorities that he is now on UK soil as a British citizen?
Hi Steve – is there a reason you won’t get your son his UK passport in the US at the British Consulate? That’s what you should do. Or at very least register his birth abroad with the Consulate responsible for the area in which he was born. You could have a problem otherwise if you intend to just stay in the UK indefinitely as he may overstay as an American. Of course, since the UK isn’t in the Shengen zone this could be fixed by simply going across to France, exiting the UK as an American, then coming back on the UK passport. There may be a way to do this without the exit/entry but immigration may tell you you are supposed to get the passport at the Consulate overseas.
We didn’t realize we had to. We just made sure we had his US passport so he could travel, and now we only have a couple of weeks before we had back to the UK. Always just planned to sort his UK passport out there. Didn’t realize there would be a problem until I read this site. Was going to register his birth as soon as I got back to the UK. But do you think I should try to do that before I leave the US? Or as soon as possible?
You probably will be okay doing it in the UK. But make sure you have a certificated copy of his birth certificate with Apostille. The Apostille is very important as they can’t accept a foreign document without one.
I have not come across that before. You think that the UK authorities will not accept his Californian birth certificate if not certified by the Apostille?
I would not expect them to accept the birth certificate without Apostille. The purpose of an Apostille is to authenticate a document for use by an international government. The idea being that the UK government would have no way of authenticating a California birth certificate. You can read up on it more here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille_Convention
In order to obtain Apostille, you’ll need to bring the long form, certified birth certificate to the California State Department for application of apostille. I know in NY this service costs $10 and they do it while you wait.
Hi all,
I just want to add a note about entering your country of citizenship with its passport.
I am a dual citizen ( US/Morocco). I have always use my American passport to enter Morocco without a problem, the only thing that the Moroccan immigration officer asks for is to show my moroccan national ID with the American passport, then I am in like a Moroccan even with the US passport.
Jalal – it’s great Morocco allows for such a thing. But many countries do not. If you’re going to do that just make sure you know what you’re getting into.
Hi here’s my question: If I’ve already booked a round trip ticket out of Mexico to another country on one passport (British) how do I go about leaving the country of destination to go back to Mexico before returning home to the states on my other American passport? Doesn’t my passport need to match my booked ticket?
Whatever passport you show when you check in for the flight will be the one that matters. Don’t worry about what you put in when you booked.
My wife and I hold dual Italian/American citizenship and live in Portland, OR. We’re going to Switzerland for five months. My wife’s Italian passport bears her maiden name. Her US passport bears her married name. We bought our tickets using US passports. Our plan: Exit Portland using US passports. Arrive Malpensa and go thru customs with US passports. (Switzerland is our final destination country, not Italy.) Travel by car to Swiss/Italy border. Use Italian passports to exit Italy, enter Switzerland. (This allows us to stay five months in Switzerland without a visa.) Use Italian passports for EU country visits during our stay. Return trip: Exit Switzerland using Italian passports. Exit via Malpensa using US passports. Enter USA on US passports. Please tell me if this is the right way to handle the passport situation. Many thanks for your very helpful site.
James – you are a bit off on parts of this. Since you are going to Europe you should be using your Italian passports the entire time. The only time on the whole trip you should be showing anyone your US passport is when you check into your flight bound back to the US at the end and when you arrive back in the US and go to US immigration. Otherwise, it’s EU passports all the way. If this causes a problem for your wife due to her mismatched name, call the airline and have them add both names to her record.
Dave—Thank you. Following your advice, we’ll check in with the airlines using our Italian passports. My wife’s Italian passport, in her maiden name, includes on page 2 a note by the Italian consulate stating her married name, which is the name on her airline ticket. Perhaps this is enough for the airline without needing to add a second name to her record? Secondly, my impression was that we’re required to leave and enter the US as US citizens. Does leaving Portland using our Italian passports contradict that?—Jim
The second page in the passport is probably fine but it couldn’t hurt to add the name to the reservation. As for leaving and entering the US, you are correct. However, the US has no exit immigration therefore there is no “leaving” so to speak. On your way back you must both check into the flight and clear US immigration and customs as an American.
Hi I have a question. I am a US citizen and was told I could get Spanish Citizenship by birth right because my Mother is a Spanish Citizenship with a Spanish Passport and she has permanent residence here in the US. Is this true?
That is probably true, but you would have to look at the exact requirements for Spanish citizenship. Check with your local Spanish Consulate to be sure.
Thanks again for the help. Since we booked our flight through Expedia, Condor, the carrier, will only work through them, not me. Expedia says they cannot add my wife’s married name to her name record, it’s up to Condor. When they talk to Condor, Condor acts like it’s never heard of such a two-name procedure. Is there a technical term for putting two names on one personal name record, and is it common practice with airlines? If Condor refuses to add the name, I expect we must rebook the ticket using my wife’s maiden name. Then the question is, what ID does she use to get through US airport security? If it’s her Italian passport, does she have to get that stamped by US customs when we leave the country—which brings up the question of leaving the US as a US citizen. Sorry if I’m making this more complicated than it is.
Since her married name is in the Italian passport just travel on that name and you should be ok. They should be able to change your booking without problem since you aren’t changing the ticket to someone else’s name. When going through airport security you can show the Italian passport, the only time you can’t show that is to the immigration and customs officials. Since the USA does not require passengers to go through immigration upon exiting the US, you’ll be all good.
I have a question. I am a dual citizen of the us and Canadian. Have lived half my life out so far in each place. Bout three years ago I moved back to canada from the us with my daughter ( who was born in us and has dual) and when in candian had my son and my husband (American citizen) got permanent residence in canada. Long story short we want to move back to
The states. We are in the process of getting my sons American passport and will have it before the move. We are making a trip for a
Month to situate things in the states and coming back for a month to tie up loose ends in canada. My question is what do we say and show at the border. I want a smooth crossing and want to make sure we have everything we need. We will be traveling in two
Trucks and just bringing personal items across. I’m unsure of the rules and wanna make sure we do everything the right way. Any info would be appreciated, thanks!!
To simplify things you always show Canadian passports to Canadian authorities and US passports to American authorities. I believe for most land-crossings from Canada into the US there are no Canadian authorities you go through, just US. So you would only show your US passports. Whatever questions they ask you, just answer honestly and make sure you don’t have over the limit of any restricted goods like alcohol or tobacco.
hi…i have a 2 passport 1 is a taiwan passport and the other is philippine passport i am now a ctizen of taiwan and my philippine passport is expired ..my question is can i get a new passport in the philippines ?
Do you still hold Philippine citizenship? If yes, you can just apply for a passport renewal.
Hi – I have US and Aussie citizenship. Entered and exited Chile on my US passport then went to enter Bolivia. They happened to see my US passport before I could switch to my Aussie one (which has no visa fees) and forced me to enter Bolivia as an American to make me pay the $135 fee. They said they would only let me enter Bolivia on the passport with the Chilean exit stamp. This doesn’t seem legit to me and I think I should let my consulate know…but am not sure if I was somehow in the wrong? What do you think?
Yeah I think they were hustling you to get the $135. For what it’s worth, Chile has now removed the reciprocity fee for American citizens. Not that that probably makes you feel any better.
Impressed with all your advice, maybe you could help me as well? I am a dual national of Canada and the UK. My UK passport expired last summer, Canadian passport still valid. Flew into Geneva (Switzerland, Schengen) in December, planning to renew my UK passport while working in the French Alps for the winter. But need to go home to UK unexpectedly early. If I present my Canadian passport it will be evident have been in Schengen more than three months and hence strictly overstayed. Yet as a UK/EU citizen, I have a right to live and work here even without a passport. I am wondering if I go to the airport with my valid Canadian and expired British passports whether they will allow me to leave without a fine, and whether this is more or less likely to be OK depending on the country I fly out of (or even if I go overland and eg catch a ferry). Back up plan is to go to the British Embassy and pay for an Emergency Travel Document – a good idea?. Even then though, should I be showing my Canadian passport on exit to clear up any future difficulties? Thanks for all your help! I need to get home very quickly, so any advice you can provide asap would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
Are you in the EU as a UK citizen? Or Canadian? If you are there as UK citizen and your passport expired, that’s fine and you did not overstay. If you entered as a Canadian, you have overstayed and you have a problem. I would suggest getting the emergency travel document from the UK Embassy. That will mean the least headaches for you assuming you didn’t enter the Shengen zone as a Canadian.
What is your experience with traveling to asian counties? I flew in to Taiwan using my US PP. Upon checking in for my flight to the Philippines, I showed my Phils PP but the agent also asked for my US PP. I was told I should show both at immigration (not just the US PP I entered with) to fly out of Taipei. Luckily, this was not really an issue in Taiwan. Do you think this will be a problem where dual nationality is not recognized (eg, Singapore, Indonesia, & India?) The last thing I want is to be held back in a country. I understand your steps and did just that but was still asked for my US PP at checking in when I was not expecting them to. Thanks.
To be honest I haven’t tried to use both passports at many Asian countries. But if you enter and exit a country using the same passport, I’m not sure what reason anyone would have to ask for the second passport – or how they would know it exists. It’s one thing to simplify the process by showing one passport, but if asked you should always be honest. Countries that don’t allow dual citizenship aren’t allowing it for their own citizens. They can’t enforce not allowing it for citizens of other countries.
OK, what about having two US passports, and doing a multi-leg trip that involves enemy countries? You only address dual citizenship. I have Morocco in my passport, so on a trip where I go from US to Israel to Spain to Morocco to Spain to US…I know I use the new clean second passport entering and exiting Israel, but when can I switch to my old passport? I wouldn’t want to use the new passport with the Israel stamp when I enter Morocco. Or is this trip not possible? Is it illegal to travel with two US passports? Would I just need to leave the US and go straight to Israel and back, on the clean passport? Thanks for any help you can give!
The idea is the same. In your case you are just looking to isolate Israel in it’s own passport so you should just show your second US passport when entering and exiting Israel and the other one everywhere else. No, it is not illegal to have a second US passport. The State Department issues a second two year provisional passport for exactly this reason. That said, I have been to Morocco and Israel and have never had a problem so you really shouldn’t even worry about it. The only countries you need to be concerned with the Israel stamp would be Lebanon, Syria, maybe a few more. Also, Israel will often not stamp on request just for this reason. But like I said, you should be fine with Morocco. If you want, call the Moroccan Consulate here in the US to check before you leave.
Ya, well, I’ve got Bahrain, UAE and Oman in my passport too. The Israeli Consulate said I wouldn’t be allowed in with any of them. Anyhow, so it’s not a problem to show my old passport when I arrive in Spain, even though I exited Israel with my new passport, and the airline recorded that passport departing Israel en route to Spain…there won’t be a discrepancy when I land and show a different passport? I think you mentioned somewhere that the airline records and sends ahead passport numbers, so they need to match? (the Spain entry stamp would need to be in the old passport so that I can exit with the old one when I enter Morocco)…or, would I need to just cross into Morocco on foot/boat so there’s no airline recording pp#s and I can enter and exit Spain with new passport used in Israel, and then switch in the middle as I’m crossing over and hand the the old passport to the passport controller in Morocco? Does that make any sense? Maybe I’m not understanding something.
Israel doesn’t have any passport stamp restrictions to enter. I have definitely entered Israel with both UAE and Oman stamps in my passports. They may ask you lots of questions, but you should not be denied entry. I haven’t been to Bahrain, but I expect it to be the same situation. As for when you switch, show the passport you plan to enter Spain with to the airline in Israel upon check in, but then exit Israel immigration using the other passport – the one you entered with. You’ll be all good.
I am a dual national of the US & Ireland, and I currently hold both passports. I will be traveling to Brazil soon. US travel law states that “…it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport.” I know that the language stating that you must “bear a valid United States passport” sounds a bit fuzzy, but it seems that the US State Dept. interprets this to mean that if a person is a US citizen, they must both exit and enter the US on their US passport. I was hoping that the airline that I will be traveling on would let me show them my US passport (to exit the US) and my Irish passport to prove my ability to enter Brazil. However, in phoning the airline, I was told that if I show my US passport to airline personnel when I am checking in for my flight, then without a visa in my US passport, I will be denied boarding whether I also possess an Irish passport or not. So, I guess I am asking, when some of you have flown out of the US and shown your non-US passport to the airline personnel when checking in for that flight, and when you then returned to the US and showed your US passport to US customs officials, have you ever been asked why they have no record of you having left the US?
You wont’ have a problem. Check into your flight to Brazil using your Irish passport, enter and exit Brazil as an Irish citizen, check into your flight back to the US with your US passport and at immigration in the US show your US passport to re-enter. This is the only way this works but showing your Irish passport to the airline staff when checking in to your outbound flight is not unlawful. They are asking to see your documentation to arrive in Brazil, not leave the USA. As long as you always show your US passport to US immigration and customs officials you’re fine. I have done this dozens of times and never had a problem reentering the USA. Should a US CBP officer ever ask, you should absolutely just be honest because you aren’t doing anything wrong.
Thank you very much!
hi there—trying to figure out more specifics, although your articles are incredibly helpful. so….have US and Italian passports….live in US; will be going to university in the UK. will it be possible to buy round trip airfare or will it have to be two separate one way fares? for example….leave the US, enter EU but plan to stay several months( so need to enter with EU passport); then fly home for xmas break, but need to enter US with US passport…..will that be possible on a round trip ticket? not?
thanks! carla
You can absolutely book a round trip ticket this is question #5 above. Just follow the steps that we outline here – http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/
It doesn’t matter which passport you use to “book” the flight. All that matters is what you show on check in to each segment.
Hi David,
I am an Australian/US citizen living in Australia. I am planning a 5 month trip around Europe which involves 1 month in Northern Europe, 1 month in the UK and Ireland and 3 months back on the continent again before flying home from London. I’m worried about staying in the schengen area for too long – would it be possible for me to enter Northern Europe (Sweden) on my AUS pp, travel in Northern Europe and the UK/Ireland on my American passport then travel through the rest of the schengen zone on my Australian passport? Or maybe some variation of this?
I know I can apply for a residence permit for just one country and then travel freely from there (let’s say Sweden) but it is really involved, I need to be invited and I have to apply in person and the application could take 6 weeks to be processed (I’m leaving at the beginning of July).
Thanks for your advice, these forums have been really helpful.
Hi Soph! The stay-maximums for a country do not change if you use a different passport. They apply to a person, not to a passport. That said, you may be able to get away with what you are trying to do but it would be prudent not to overstay.
Hi I also have a question. I am a dual citizen of Portugal and Australia. I came to Kenya with my Australia passport. I am currently living in Kenya and got a residency visa of 2 years stamped on my Australian passport. I will soon go on holidays to Turkey. I am assuming that I have to leave Kenya with my Australian passport and therefore that I need to give my Australian passport details to the airline? If that’s so, can I then enter and leave Turkey with my portuguese passport? I appreciate your help, thanks Ana
Yup! You are totally correct here and you can enter/leave Turkey on your Portuguese passport. The details that you give the airline when booking aren’t too important – it’s more important when you check into the flight. So check-in to the airline using your Portuguese passport in Kenya, depart immigration with your Australian, arrive to Turkey on your Portuguese. For the way back, just do everything in reverse (airline sees Australian, immigration sees Portuguese).
That’s cool! Visas are so much cheaper for a European passport. But still feel strange to use 2 different passports in the same airport. Didn’t think I could do that. Thanks very much for the info and the infos on the site.
My name is Luke.
I flew in to Sweden with my Canadian Passport, but I have almost been here 3 months and I plan to stay a little longer (more than 3 months).
I also have a Polish (European Union) Passport, which allows me to stay in Europe without any limitations.
So, my question is, would I be able to stay here, even though I came through with my Canadian Passport, even if I have a Polish Passport?
Or would I have to go back to Canada and leave again with my Polish passport?
Thank you,
Hi Luke – I answered your other post on the main article. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I have a tricky situation:
I am a dual citizern of china PRC and italian, of course china does not allow dual nationality so i am currently in china as a PRC.
I have two trips planned for business, one to thailand and one directly after to india.
My current plan is as follow:
-obtain tourist visa on chinese passport so i can leave china to thailand (faster to get than biz visa)
– obtain business to india visa on chinese passport
– enter thailand as italian national (30 days stay)
-depart thailand by showing india visa on chinese passport to check in, show italian passport at emigration
– enter india as chinese with india biz passport
exit india as chinese and back to china.
I am partiicularly concerned about leaving thailand step (showing chinese at check in and italian ad departure)
You guys think it is doable? i am choosing not to enter thailand as chinese because of the current political unrest, and since i need to work there it might complicate things if i get caught with a tourist visa and not a biz one
It sounds like you are being a bit shady with all this. Why apply for any visa you don’t plan to use? I would suggest using as few passports as possible. The political unrest in Thailand wont’ impact you any more or less if you are Chinese or Italian.
I am a US citizen and an Irish citizen, I will be traveling to Italy for five days, however my Irish passport is expired. Can I travel on my US passport and carry my expired Irish passport/birth cert with me as confirmation of my right of entry when I come back to Ireland? My US passport also states my place of birth and date of birth which is proof in itself of our own Irish Law (see The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004) which basically states anyone born on the island before January 1st 2005 is a citizen by right. Any help here? Can’t afford an emergency passport and it’s a business trip.
An expired passport is useless. You cannot travel on it or plan to return to Ireland with it. The airline won’t let you board the plane. It makes no difference that it says you were born in Ireland on your US passport or if you can prove your right to Irish nationality. You need a valid passport to travel and to come and go from Ireland, it needs to be a valid Irish passport.
Oh and also when I’m stating my nationality to the airline which do I use? my passports nationality of my country of residencies nationality, which is Irish?
Follow these steps exactly – http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/
It doesn’t matter what you “book” with, only what you show at the airport.
Hi David… I have a question for you. In the next couple of weeks I’m gonna be flying to the USA from Mexico (where I’ve lived almost all my life) (I have dual and I have my two passports) So since Mexico is one of those countries that need VISA in order to enter the US and as I got it, when I’m leaving Mexico I need to show my Mexican passport, wouldn’t that be a problem? I mean, am not I gonna be asked to show a VISA?
And the other part of the question is about how many times I’m asked to show a passport?
I understand that 4 times, am I correct?
1. Leaving Mexico (Using my Mexican Passport)
2. Entering the US (Using my american passport)
3. Leaving the US (Using my american passport)
4. Entering back to Mexico (Using my Mexican Passport)
Hope you can understand my questions. Thank you :)!
Hi David… I have a question for you. In the next couple of weeks I’m gonna be flying to the USA from Mexico (where I’ve lived almost all my life) (I have dual and I have my two passports) So since Mexico is one of those countries that need VISA to enter the US and as I understand it, if when I’m leaving Mexico I need to show my Mexican passport, wouldn’t that be a problem? I mean, am not I gonna be asked to show a VISA?
And the other part of the question is about how many times I’m asked to show a passport?
I understand that 4 times, am I correct?
1. Leaving Mexico (Using my Mexican Passport)
2. Entering the US (Using my american passport)
3. Leaving the US (Using my american passport)
4. Entering back to Mexico (Using my Mexican Passport)
Hope you can understand my questions. Thank you :)!
You won’t have any problems. Follow these exact steps and you’ll be fine – http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/
Hi, first of all I wanted to say thank you for all the great information on your site. I hope you can help me! I have dual citizenship (Spanish-Canadian) and I live in Mexico. Im planning on going to Canada in August but my Spanish passport expires in July. I entered Mexico with my Spanish passport and have a work permit that is valid until November. I just found out I might not be able to renew my Spanish passport in time to travel in August (long story, complicated burocracy) so I am trying to think of alternatives…would it be possible for me to leave Mexico on my Spanish passport (before it expires) and then enter with my Canadian passport so that I can use this passport to travel to Canada? the only issue that I can think of is for Mexican authorities it would show that I (as the person with a work permit) left the county and didnt come back, or would they match the information and find the coincidence in name, etc? Im sooooo frustrated at this point any advice would be very welcome…;-)
By law you have to enter Canada as a Canadian anyway so you really don’t have much choice in the matter. The question will be coming back into Mexico. Are you asking if you can reenter Mexico as a Canadian and continue to work on the work permit in your expired Spanish passport? I would guess you won’t be able to.
Does Mexico check passports when you leave? Or are they like US and Canada, where you only go through one immigration? If leaving Mexico you do not have to go through immigration this is what you do: You send your Spanish passport for renewal and make sure you get it back for the visa, and you deal with those visa renewal or whatever separately (you do not have to wait for it to be done, go to Canada in the meantime). You go to Canada with your Canadian passport and you enter Mexico again with your Canadian. if they do not have exit checks it would not matter….if you want you can just drive to the US and return into mexico with your new spanish and make sure you have your old one for the visa if it is still valid and you do not yet have a new visa …
First of all, great post! A quick question that bugs me. I am about to use my 2nd passport for the first time after years of being issued. If I show Passport A that allows me to be in the US to the Migration Officer, and then I show Passport B to the Airline when boarding a plane from US to Thailand, won’t the Thai Migration Officer be surprised when receiving a Passport B completely clean and free of stamps?
I need a little more context here. You are flying from Thailand to the USA – what are your two passports? It doesn’t matter if a passport is blank if it permits you to be where you are using it for. Just make sure you enter and exit countries on the same passport.
Great post thanks! I am travelling to UK with my husband from Australia we both have Bristish and Australian passports, with our two children (age 1 and 3) who only have Australian passports, are they allowed to fly to UK on a one way ticket with us, we don’t know how long we will be there for so don’t want to buy a return, thanks
They will be allowed to fly on a one way ticket, but they can’t stay indefinitely. Are you going to get UK passports for them?
Thanks Dave, yes will get them UK passports but due to current backlog won’t have time before we leave unless we get the emergency one. Will apply as soon as we get to UK.
Hi. I’m a dual citizen and am travelling to the USA. I have two passports and have taken in all the information on this site. One question – On leaving the UK, Will immigration control in the UK not check your boarding pass, and see that although you are presenting them with a UK passport, the US passport number on your boarding pass is different to this, and will this cause problems?
If you follow the steps you will not have an issue. I am confused what you are asking and which passports you have. Also, have not seen a passport number ever printed on a boarding pass.
Thanks for the reply. I realise what I said isn’t very clear – allow me to explain in a bit more detail. I am going to the USA on honeymoon from the UK. I am booked in on the flight out to the states on my USA passport, and have given the airline my advanced passenger information as per my US passport. Once I have checked in etc, do I need to swap over to my UK passport as I go through airport security? Is the airport security the same as immigration control, because I have been told that I should switch to my UK passport for this bit so that They know I am allowed to be in the UK, and so that I am checked out of the UK correctly. From what I can see, the UK does not even have exit immigration control, in the same way as the USA doesn’t (as you have stated), so can I just go through airport security on my US passport, or should I switch to my UK passport? Many thanks, Joseph
Airport security and immigration are not the same thing, so using your US passport the whole way through shouldn’t be a problem (in the US, this is the difference between TSA and Customs & Boarder Patrol). Security is just checking that the name on an official ID matches your boarding pass. If asked for a passport to exit UK by any immigration/passport control official, this is when you use your UK passport.
To clarify further, when you say “check out of the country”, that implies immigration, not just airport security. So make sure you understand the officials that you engage with on your trip.
OK, so I need to understand the difference between airport security and immigration control. Would you recommend that I go through the airport security on my UK passport then just to be on the safe side, as you said I should present my UK passport to the authorities of the UK. This is why I was concerned about the passport number then not matching my boarding card! Also do you know if the UK is operating exit immigration control?
I am not aware of UK practices, only US. I would ask your airline at checkin and also google around.
To answer your question, it is safe to use your UK passport if you are just going through security.
To give an example, I can use my Italian passport on a domestic US flight when going through airport security. There is no question of “how are you in the US if you are Italian with no visa in your passport?” They are just checking your ID to verify that you are you.
OK thanks. That’s helpful
Hello there,
I am a Canadian-Australian citizen headed to NZ to study (which is fine for Aussies) and travelling from Canada to NZ via the US. Great article on when to show each passport but which passport do I show to the US people? My Canadian one which is fairly hassle free in the US or my Aussie one (which will be the one the airline will have for going to NZ) for which I think I need ETSA? Do Americans care if you have two passports from other countries?
Cheers
It is your choice so you will have to research the benefits for each. Sounds like the Canadian is easier from your description. It is no problem to switch passports from NZ. If there is any question, you can say you were in NZ on an Aussie passport.
So just to be clear, the US does not check immigration on departure? Thus I should not need to show a US passport upon departure?
I am a dual citizen (US/Germany) living in the US. I am going to Brazil, on my German passport. My US passport expired and the new one likely won’t arrive before I leave. However, my brother will be joining me in Brazil half way through my trip, and the plan is for him to bring me the new US passport to re-enter the US. Should this work?
Yes, this should work. There is no exit immigration, only airport security (TSA).
Hello Dave, i have a complicated question. Is it possible to enter a country you are a citizen of with a new passport and this passport has no visa or stamps in it. The country where i currently live allows dual citizenship so I don’t really need to get a residence permit as my father is a citizen of the country I live. The new passport was carried out of the country of issue by a close relative. Do you think it will be a problem? I want to visit my country but worried that I might have issues with immigration as they might want to know how I left that country. Note that this country I want to visit does not allow dual citizenship. I left that country with another country’s passport as I could not wait for the receive the new passport of my home country. I hope you will understand, its quite complicated.
It won’t be a problem to enter a country of your citizenship with a blank passport as long as it’s valid. There are plenty of ways to get a passport while outside that country and entering is your right.
Okay, many thanks for the reply. Really appreciate it!!!
Hello David,
I am Canadian now living in Cyprus and have my Cypriot citizenship through my parents (naturalization is what they call it I think.) Upon entering Cyprus back in April 2013 I accidentally showed my Canadian Passport and had it stamped. I will be going back to visit my family in Toronto in July I was wondering if this will pose a problem and if so the best way to rectify this prior to departure.
Thank you!
It’s possible you overstayed in Cyprus using your Canadian passport. You should try to speak to someone in immigration and have it fixed before you leave.
I plan on speaking with someone next week to have this rectified. Thank you for the quick reply.
Can you simply enter both passport number with the airline, or do you have to reenter the personal information before returning home.
I live in US and was born in UK, so have both passports. I read your post so plan to use UK to enter UK and US to enter US, but the airline only has a spot for one.
Really appreciate your help – this is new to me 🙂
Booking flights doesn’t matter much – they will just enter the info from the passport that you present to them at the airport.
I am traveling from New York to Italy in a week. Do I leave New York (to enter Italy) using my Italian or US passport?
Got your other comment too – the answer is yes.
Good to know the Irish are so easy going about it!
Hi, first of all, I am loving this site, thanks for the info! Here is my situation and question. I am a New Zealand citizen and I am attending my oath ceremony in a couple of weeks to become a dual NZ/US citizen. My question is, if I apply for a US passport the day after my oath ceremony, can I leave to go to NZ for a vacation right away? I understand I will not have my US passport, but I can get my family members here to post it to NZ for me so that I can enter the US again on my brand new US passport. So what I’m asking is, is it fine for me to leave the US and enter NZ on my NZ passport without any trouble, and will it be fine getting back into the US on my US passport? Sorry, I hope this is not too confusing! Thanks.
Hi, thanks for all the info here! Can you help with the following scenario? I’m a US citizen living in the EU. My kids have EU/US nationality and passports, except one of the passports has expired. It’s unbelievably complicated to get a renewal US passport for a minor here (both parents and the child need to be present, it’s a six hour drive, you need an appointment, there are no emergency passports for minors, you need to provide family photos to show the child each year since the old passport photo, etc.) and we’re going to the US in 3 weeks.
I was just planning on having them fly on their EU passports and me on my US one (and filling out ESTA for them). But it looks like the rule is I can’t. Other than canceling the trip, what do you think would happen if I just don’t mention that they’re also US citizens? Is that the worst idea ever? I can take the expired passport along just in case. Help!
It is probably ok but it not what you’re supposed to do at all. Get the passport renewed. Also, your kid will be here on a tourist visa and be subsequently required to follow all rules associated with that.
thanks, that’s what I was afraid of! I found out yesterday that they will do emergency passports for kids, so it’s a pain but possible. I’ll definitely be more careful about expiration dates in the future.
Simply Travelling
Thanks, this place is terrific!!!!!
Hello, I am bound for Argentina very very soon from the US.
Argentina requires a US passport holder to have a Visa and pay money, but not for EU citizens.
I have both a US and Italian passport (similar to the case in your story for Brazil). I was asked by my airline to fill in my passport info online and I finally entered my US passport info bc it would ask me for a US citizenship card (which I don’t have) info — if I entered the Italian passport online.
Should I go online and erase my US passport info online? My understanding is that on exit from the US, I should show the airline my Italian passport and the immigration authorities my US passport, and enter Argentina with Italian pport. In Argentina, returning to the US, give the airline my US passport info and on exiting Argentina, show my Italian passport info to immigration.
Upon entering the US, I will show immigration my US passport, BUT I will have no stamp!!!!! (on my brand new recently re-isssued passport)
So 1) Do I erase my US passport info online for the airline? and
2) What do I say to the US immigration officer upon my return from Argentina to the US who sees no stamp in my super newly renewed US passport?
Thanks for your advice on these two issues!!!
1) Don’t worry about it – you can overwrite it with your EU passport details when you check in at the counter in the US
2) Answer honestly. This is not an unusual situation at all.
Having no stamp is never an issue. They see where you are coming from by your flight # and your customs form. Relying on the stamp alone isn’t really a valid way to record anyways.
Thank you!!!!
so for 2) if questioned more by immigration officer, should I say I travel with two passports?
Oh!!! And one more thing! I believe my Italian passport has no stamp either so how do I enter Argentina with an Italian passport and no stamp from the US?
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is not an issue. I have done this exact thing. I have no US stamps because I am American.
Thank you!!!!
Dave, or anyone on this post…
Does the US allow one to hold three passports?
Any link on the web re: this info?
Thank you, thank you!!!!
The US will always consider you to be American but you can have as many other passports as you like.
Hi, my in-laws have dual citizenship which includes Canadian as well as Trinidadian (in the Caribbean) and will be flying from the USA where they reside (they have green cards) on a 3 segment journey as follows below:
1.New York to Dubai (for a 2 week stay)
2. Dubai to India ( for another 2 weeks)
3. India back to New York in transit in Dubai ( remember they reside in the USA)
These are all being booked on one ticket. Is it okay to use their Canadian passport to check in from New York to Dubai on segment 1 (as Canadian citizens are allowed to visit Dubai for 30 days maximum), then use their Trinidadian passports from Dubai to India on segment 2 ( as their Trinidadian passports carry their Indian visas). Lastly use their Trinidadian passports once again on segment 3 as their green cards for the USA are attached to their Trinidadian passports? Is this all okay bearing in mind that they are booked all on one ticket? Your advice will be greatly appreciated as I believe it is okay but they are not sure.
Thanks in advance!
How things are booked doesn’t mean anything. What matters is what passport they show when they check in for each segment. Should be fine.
Thanks! That’s what I thought!
I am a dual citizen of Hong Kong and Canada. My first name and middle name are reversed on my two passports, e.g., 1 is John Peter Smith and the other one is Peter John Smith. Would this cause any problems when I use my two passports to travel for the convenience of not requiring a visa for some countries.
Probably not, although you can add both names to your airline ticket if you call the airline.
I have a question… I have 2 passports, german & indonesian. I have lived in Indonesia my whole life and I just made a German passport (since my dad is german, I’m a legal german citizen). I will be leaving to Germany to study. So your previous post said that I should check in with a German passport but show an Indonesian passport to the immigration. Would the immigration people wonder why there aren’t any german visa on my Indonesian passport since I’m going to Germany?? Please answer my question, since the immigration people checks your airline ticket too. And the name in my german passport is Sabrina Gabriella Jöst, and my Indonesian passport is Sabrina Gabriella Joest, would that be a problem? thank you.
Immigration and airline are two different people looking for two different things. The airline is checking to make sure you are allowed to go where you are going. Immigration only cares you were allowed to be where you are. Show the airline the German passport when you check in since you are going to Germany. Show immigration your Indonesian passport since that’s what’s allowed you to be where you are. They couldn’t care less about if you are allowed into Germany, that’s not their job. Names look close enough to not be a problem but you can call the airline beforehand and have them add both spellings.
Could you let me know if it’s working with the said suggestion. I always choose a flight that have a layover in a visa free country first before continuing to my final destination. If it’s working, I might go with this and no need to have a headache to plan my flight.
Immigration Namibia insist on a South African departure stamp in our Namibian passports. As a (dual) SA citizen we have to enter and depart SA on our SA pp’s -SA is not going to stamp our Namibian pp’s. Due to the fact that there is no SA departure stamp in our Namibian pp’s, Namibia immigration let us in on a visitors permit (in our SA pp’s). We are born Namibians, legal Namibian citizens with Namibian Id’s and pp’s but we have to enter Namibia as visitors. Who is at fault here??? Email as received from Immigration Namibia: “A person can only enter with the passport that he/she has departed with from the country of departure. If a Namibian citizen enters with a foreign passport, he/she will be dealt with as per passport so held. While the law is ambiguous on dual citizenship, we do not allow a traveller to use multiple passports during one trip. The onus is thus on the traveller to choose the passport that is most convenient for him/her.
Regards;
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Director: Immigration & Border Control Namibia”
This is stupid but I guess if they are okay with you being in Namibia with a foreign passport than it’s no big deal – unless you wanted to stay long term. This policy doesn’t make much sense though seeing as you are coming via air. There are plenty of places that you could have connected through that would not have stamped your passport en route to Namibia.
Hi,
I have a question that hasn’t been addressed here yet. I have a dual citizenship and one of these countries are required a visa to go to a country ‘A’ while my other citizenship country doesn’t require a visa to to visit that same country ‘A’. Can I use my passport of my second citizenship avoiding the visa headache to visit that country ‘A’ ?
Or can I still use my passport for the country that requires visa and when I am in country ‘A’ I shouw them my national card of the country that requires no visa ?
Will both work ?
I think what you are describing is exactly the scenario in this post where Michael wants to go to Brazil using his Italian passport instead of US passport since it doesn’t require a visa. http://stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/
Hey
Hey Dave!
So glad I found this blog!
I have a question for you. I am a US and EU passport holder.
I have a job where I have to enter Canada soon, but I have a DUI in the US, which gives a very high possibility of denial for entry at the Canadian border.
I do not have any DUI’s in the EU.
I want to use my EU passport to fly from the US to Canada. Show the airline and Canadian immigration the EU passport to get in so my DUI doesn’t show up.
But like others are concerned I have no entry stamps to the US or a visa on my EU passport that shows I am legally living in the US or ever entered.
You are saying this would not be a concern to Canadian immigration right?
I hope you’re right, but here’s the other part…
I have to go back in about a week later to finish the second part of the job!
So even if I get through once, the second time around I will have an EU passport that shows I have been in and out of Canada once very recently, then back again without any sign of me being anywhere…
Looks kind of suspicious to anybody…
So thinking maybe I should use my EU passport to enter back into the US since I will be leaving to Canada again very soon?
I’m just trying to get in and out to do my job. This DUI makes it really difficult to do so…
What do you think Dave?
Thanks
Hey Dave!
So glad I found this blog!
I have a question for you. I am a US and EU passport holder.
I have a job where I have to enter Canada soon, but I have a DUI in the US, which gives a very high possibility of denial for entry at the Canadian border.
I do not have any DUI’s in the EU.
I want to use my EU passport to fly from the US to Canada. Show the airline and Canadian immigration the EU passport to get in so my DUI doesn’t show up.
But like others are concerned I have no entry stamps to the US or a visa on my EU passport that shows I am legally living in the US or ever entered.
You are saying this would not be a concern to Canadian immigration right?
I hope you’re right, but here’s the other part…
I have to go back in about a week later to finish the second part of the job!
So even if I get through once, the second time around I will have an EU passport that shows I have been in and out of Canada once very recently, then back again without any sign of me being anywhere…
Looks kind of suspicious to anybody…
So thinking maybe I should use my EU passport to enter back into the US since I will be leaving to Canada again very soon?
I’m just trying to get in and out to do my job. This DUI makes it really difficult to do so…
What do you think?
Thanks
Tough situation. You should be ok and I doubt they will look at your passport enough to question where you have been in the meantime. That said, you are not 2 different people. We have no way of knowing how advanced Canadian immigration is.
Hello! I have a situation I need some insight on. A few months ago I booked a trip to Australia for my wife and I. She is a dual citizen Australian/US. It’s now 30 days tell our trip and I just realized her Australian passport has her maiden name on it and her US passport has her married name and of course I booked the ticket in here married name, I didn’t think twice about it. Our concern now is that she won’t be issued a ticket to leave on our trip since the last name on her ticket doesn’t match the one on her australian passport. Coming back we from Australia to the US we are fine since the ticket and the US passport we have to use coming home to the US match.
How can we fix this issue so that we don’t have a problem leaving on our trip?
You can call the airline and add a second surname to your reservation.
I have two passports. I am a citizen of country A. I’m now in country B with my 1st passport. Can I use my 2nd passport, which is and totally legal and new- even not stamped- to get a visa for country C during my stay in country B with the 1st passport?
Yes, absolutely. As long as you exit country B on your country A passport since that’s what you entered on.
Another question Dave. My home country doesn’t allow to have dual citizenship but I’ve already got the 2nd passport in a very legal way when I’m abroad. But I don’t want to renounce my 1st citizenship.
In this matter, when I travel using both passports here and there and at some points when I have to show both passports, do you think the country I’m visiting will inform my government about my dual citizenship?
I can’t say for sure because I don’t know the particulars of the situation but I would keep the second passport as discrete as possible. I do not think a third country would care.
Hi! I’m just wondering if I can re-enter a same country with two different passport? I am a dual citizen of US and an Asian country. I have entered a country using my Asian passport that requires a visa and now I’m planning to go to the same country using my US passport. Will they questioning me or anything? Thank you
These are totally separate trips? As long as the country you are entering is not one you are a citizen of, you can use whichever passport you prefer each and every time.
Hi Dave, does one always have to carry old passports along with the new one while travelling? I heard some countries usually ask for the old passports to see your travel history but I am not very sure if it is mandatory to carry it.
I have never heard of this. The only time I’ve ever heard of someone having to carry an old passport is if the old passport still has a valid visa in it that can’t be transferred to the new passport.
ok thanks!!! I heard it happens especially when you are entering the country with a passport with no stamps.
There is no legal basis for you having to carry an old passport so i wouldn’t worry about this at all.
thank you, its a very helpful post.
Hi .I have entered the UK with EU passport and then I sent it for a few weeks for having Driving license so I don’t have it with me at the moment.Now,in the mean time,I want to fly to Italy and return to the UK after a few days.Is it ok for me to do it with my Israeli passport ?
You entered the UK on an EU passport so you need to depart on the same passport. Since the UK is a non-schengan country your passport will be checked and British authorities will want it to match when you entered with.
Thanks a lot.You Really helped me.
Hi Dave,
I hold both US and Venezuelan passports. I’m in Poland on student visa with my American passport. My visa will expire soon, so I just applied for a temporary residence permit which makes my stay legal. The issue is that I bought tickets to travel around EU countries ( UK, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and France) but by the time of the trip my visa would be expired. And the temporary residence card will take around 3 months for me to have!! Too long considering my upcoming trip. Sooo , my question is can I use my Venezuelan passport to travel to those countries even though I entered Poland with my US passport? Any suggestions on what can I do to avoid loosing those tickets?
Thanks in advance!
Hi YD – So first, you’d have to leave the EU with your American passport before your visa is up (do this by going to UK). You could then enter the EU again as just an American tourist (not on your student visa), as long as you’re not overstaying your yearly maximum stay in the EU. That maximum applies to the person and not to the passport, so using your Venezuelan passport wouldn’t help you out there.
I believe the maximum is 90 days per rolling 180 day period, however I am not sure if your time there under a student visa “counts” towards that.
I am a dual citizen of Canada and Mexico. The first name on each passoport is different and my Mexican passport includes my mother’s last name, while my Canadian one doesn’t. I am working in the UK with a visa on my Mexican passport. I want to travel to Canada for a few weeks and come back to work to the UK. How do I go about doing that?
When you book your ticket see if the airline can add both of your first names or last names. As long as all the names are on there, you should be good.
Hello, I have a question about my kids entering the UK. I have dual citizenship in the UK and USA. We are currently living in the US but we are moving to the UK. MY wife hopefully will enter on the spousal visa we applied for, I will enter the UK on my British Passport, but my concern are my two kids. They are 6 and 4 and only have American passports. As I am British I know I can get them their UK passports but I don’t have time to do it before we move to the UK. Is it going to be an issue that they will enter using their American passports? I was planning on getting their British passports in the UK. We would probably stay in the UK for 2-3 years and then move back to the USA.
Thank you
Your kids can only stay in the UK for a few months on their US passports. It’s not the worst thing in the world if you can’t get them their UK passports on time, but you should get them right away once you arrive and when you do ask the officials the best way to make sure they are in the country legally as UK citizens. They may be able to just do it in the computer, or worst case you just go to France and come back.
Here’s something I haven’t see you deal with.
Can dual citizens have two different visas for a third country, one in each passport?
My Chinese friend (PRC citizenship was automatically terminated when he become Canadian) has both US and Canadian passport. He lives in the US, works for a US airline and has a crew visa which he needs for work travel, but can’t use for leisure travel.
If he applies for a leisure visa using US passport, they will only give him a 6 month max 2 entry visa. This is a problem as he has aging parents and needs to get back more often, and renewing it every 6 months is inconvenient.
If he uses his Canadian passport and applies in Canada he can get a 2 year unlimited leisure visit visa (MUCH better on every dimension).
Do you think Is there the Chinese will have any problem with him doing this?
I know the US and Canada won’t care.
I don’t see why this won’t work, but it all comes down to the Chinese. I’ve never seen a Chinese visa application that doesn’t ask if you have another passport and when the last time you applied for a visa to China was. I would not suggest lying on these forms. If they give you the visa, it would be entirely at their discretion, but I would say the chances are pretty good.
Hi there,
I am a dual citizen of Canada and Hong Kong. I currently live in Hong Kong but due to a family emergency I have to make a trip back to Canada in the next few days. The issue is that I just realized that my Canada Passport had expired earlier this year and I read it takes about 20 business days to renew abroad. I do however, have a valid Hong Kong passport that I can use. Would it present an issue if I use it to enter Canada along with my expired Canada passport? My intended stay will be about two months so I plan to renew my Canada passport there as well, Please advise! Thanks.
Your Canada passport is not valid if it’s expired. You are technically not supposed to enter Canada using your HK passport but in an emergency I’m not sure what else you could do. THere should be a procedure at the Canadian consulate in HK to get a rushed passport exactly for this purpose.
Did we not answer your question on this page? We definitely answered in our eBook! It’s the Internet’s definitive guide to traveling as a dual citizen. It also includes a personalized consultation. Check it out! http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
If I am goin to renew my passport r they still gonna give it back my old passport?
Is this a US passport? Expired US passports are returned but you get them back later on in a separate piece of mail.
If re-entering a country that you are not a citizen of, must you inform their immigration of your previous entry under your other nationality, or does it not really matter (so long at the spare passport is valid of course!)? This would specifically be for a country that allows 90-day visa stamps upon entry!
You don’t need to inform anyone of anything. But you are also responsible for not exceeding an allowed stay regardless of which passport you use. If you want more info check out our eBook which goes into great detail on exactly how to travel with two passports. It includes a personal consultation in case we can’t answer your questions and it’s guaranteed. http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
Hi
My dad is currently on holiday in the uk. He left South Africa and entered UK on his South African passport.
He would like to go to france for a few days but does not have a Schengen visa (which is required with SA passport) he does have a Seychelles passport which he does not need a visa for.
1. Which passport should he use for booking his ticket ?
2. Can he leave and enter uk on SA passport and enter and depart france on his Seychelles passport ?
Hoping you can solve this for us !
Many thanks
Your Dad should follow the steps outlined in our other post – http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/
If anything is still unclear, check out or eBook which goes into great detail on how to travel as a dual citizen and includes a free personalized consultation.
I was born in England but now live in New York City and work here – I have a green card. I am leaving NYC to go on holiday in England for a month. My current passport might not have another page for when I leave England and go back to NYC. So, I am applying for a second British passport while on holiday. Can I leave England to go back home to NYC on my new second British passport? I left NYC with my first British passport. Since it’s a British passport and i’m leaving England it’s like that i’m starting in the UK but not coming back until another date for work, right? …I can enter the United States on this new British passport?
*Since MY SECOND PASSPORT is a British passport and i’m leaving England it’s like that i’m starting in the UK but not coming back until a future date for work or holiday, right?
This shouldn’t be a problem since you have your green card. That’s what’s going to let you into the US. Just be sure to have both passports just in case.
Hi Please help.
I have two passports. One on my previous surname of 14 years ago and one on my new surname after I got married.
I accidently gave my old passport to the lady doing the bookings.
Now my ticket to Phuket via Doha and Bangkok is on my previous surname.
I am flying with Qatar airways from O. R. Tambo.
The lady said I must take both my passports and marridge certificate with.
Will they accept it.
Thank you.
You should absolutely call the airline and try to resolve. The names should match. It may be possible for them to add your second name. Only the airline can assist you here.
Hi Dave, many thanks for your well-arranged information you provided. I need more help regarding the answer you have provided for 3rd question, I went through the comments as well but I am actually not sure if I’ve got my answer. So p,ease accept my apologies if you have already answered the same question there.
I have two passports, I have entered Turkey with one of them which allows me to be here for 30 days. I just noticed that I should stay here longer and it seems that I cannot extend my 30 day free visa. With my other passport I can have a 90 day on-arrival visa. I would like to know if I can leave the country today and come back tomorrow with my 2nd passport and stay for 15 days. In this case I will be staying here totally for 45 days which is less than 90 days on-arrival visa which I could have with my 2nd passport but more than 30day visa which I currently have with my 1st passport 🙂 is that OK?
This sounds okay. If you get questioned just explain and you should be fine since you aren’t overstaying the total allowed time.
I will say that the answer to question 9 is wrong in some instances. I have US and UK passports. I was living in South Korea on my US passport. I wanted to travel with my UK passport to Dubai but the airlines said that since I was living in Korea I can only show the airline my US passport. They also told me that they have to send Dubai my arrival informatiom which will include my departure passport (US). Maybe the airline was wrong but they refused to let me use my UK passport. My question then is this: if my destination was the UK then would the airline have prevented me from going there? I cannot enter the UK with a US passport.
Most of the time they don’t know what they are talking about. It makes things easier to only show a single passport – the one you know is correct to show. Dont’ have the conversation about having two unless you have to.
I dont know if this will help but I am traveling with my son on different passport to UAE too I found the information on the Emirate Airline website “I have dual citizenship and more than one passport. How should I respond when asked for my nationality or country?
If you carry more than one valid passport, you must use the one you intend to carry on your travels to make your reservation”
Meaning you can travel to UAE with your UK pp. I hope the same for my son’s case.
Hi
I have 2 nationalities. One passport is US. The other passport is brand new, never used. Due to an unforeseen new project, I would like to overstay in Shengen region. I know that either option is risky, but which do you consider less risky?
Option A: Go to Morocco exiting with US passport. Reenter with my new B passport (it uses my 2 last names instead of one).
Option B: Overstay by 2 months and exit EU hoping for the best.
Option C: Exit to Morocco and reenter with US passport, overstay, and hope exit officials miss the initial entry stamp (or does it pop up in their computer?).
Also, is it true that some exit airports are more lenient? Which would those be in Central Europe please? Prague? Dresden? Berlin? Thanks for your advice Dave.
This is a tricky situation. I suggest you check out our ebook and then contact us for a private consultation. http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
Hi Dave, I am a NZ citizen living in Mexico and my kids were born in Mexico and have both a Mexican and NZ passport neither of which have been used before. We are planning to drive across the border into the US. I was hoping to enter the US on their NZ passports (no visa required) and return over the border to Mexico on their Mexican Passport.
(someone told me that Mexican nationals must depart on a Mexican passport and return on one too – not sure if that is true) Will this create a problem with a departure stamp in one passport and the arrival stamp in another. The main reason is avoiding getting the US entry visa all Mexican Passport holders require to enter the US as it’s a hassle driving 5 hours to the embassy and having to waste money if it is not needed Cheers
The US Mexico land border is a tricky situation as things are heavily scrutinized. You should exit Mexico with the Mexican passports, then show the NZ passports to the US authorities. You will probably have to explain quite a bit as you don’t all have NZ passports. When later departing the US you show the NZ passport to get stamped out, then re-enter Mexico on the Mexican passports. For more on how to to this check out our eBook! http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
Thank you very much for the information. I am travelling with my son who has dual nationality for the first time and your post help me a great deal to understand how the system works. I am travelling with him to UAE tomorrow and we could not get visa for him on time for some complication. Your post did help and we will fly him in with his EU passport instead of the Thai one he used to enter Bahrain.
Hello! I have a question. What if the travel agency requires a passport number to issue you a flight ticket… do you use the passport of the country you are travelling to, or the passport of the country you are currently in?
I suppose I am worried that in my current country’s immigration, they will see my current country’s passport but the other country’s passport details on the flight ticket. Will that be a problem?
Enter the one you will use where you are going. It will be changed int he computer based on what you show at the airport(s) anyway. If you have more questions on how this works check out our eBook! http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
Hi i have two passports, i understand who to show my pasaports to and when but i dont understand which passport to use for the check in when im first leaving. I leave from JFK to colombia. So what passport do i use when checking-in, in JFK, my colombian passport or american?
This is explained in the site. Columbian.
It says to put my colombian passport? But i callef and they said to put my american so…. Lol its colombian
There is no US immigration check on exiting the country. You will show your Colombian passport to the airline when you check in. For more info on this check out our eBook! http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/
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HI,
I have an interesting question. Ive been living and studying in Barcelona, Spain for almost a year with a student visa in a passport from the Dominican Republic (I live there). I also hold an American Passport because I was born in the states. My student visa and student ID card expires in February 15 and I called the spanish authorities and they said I have to leave the country on that date. I was planning on staying about 2 extra months in spain so Im thinking of leaving the country with my Dominican Passport and visa and enter the UK with my American passport and vacation for about 15 days and later return to spain with my American passport, granting me 90 days. Will I have any issues to and from spain with both my passports? Is this Legal?
This is a complicated question. I suggest you check out our eBook which includes a free personal consultation. http://www.stylehiclub.com/definitive-guide-traveling-as-a-dual-citizen/