It is pretty frequent as of late for an American to additionally maintain citizenship with one other nation — and the second nation’s passport, too.
I used to be born within the U.S. and am an American citizen. Nonetheless, as a result of my mother and father have been twin residents on the time of my beginning, additionally they handed Italian citizenship on to me.
It is a privilege to have rights in two international locations, nevertheless it was a bit complicated once I began touring internationally with each passports.
Which passport to make use of when is a query with a nuanced reply.
This is the way it breaks down.
Leaving the US for an additional nation
Whenever you depart the U.S., you may present your U.S. passport and doubtlessly your second passport, however — and that is extremely essential — by no means on the identical time or on the identical level in journey. By no means hand each passports to safety or customs/immigration and anticipate them to let you know what to do. That is asking for an issue. You could perceive the method, which is able to make sense after you have gone by way of it a number of occasions.
Tip: If the journey processes are unclear to you, seek the advice of the U.S. State Division and the regional consulate of the opposite nation of which you maintain citizenship earlier than you depart in your subsequent journey.
When leaving the U.S., present your U.S. passport (or Actual ID) within the Transportation Safety Administration screening line.
You may subsequent have to indicate a passport when boarding your flight from the U.S. to your vacation spot nation. This passport have to be both:
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- One that you’re legally required to make use of to enter stated nation. (For instance, as a citizen of the European Union, I have to enter any EU nation and the Schengen Space utilizing my Italian passport.)
- The one that’s most useful to you. In different phrases, when you aren’t legally obligated to make use of one passport over the opposite, you may determine which to make use of based mostly on the privileges it offers. For instance, if I’m departing Los Angeles for Bangkok, I might look to see if there’s a profit to utilizing my U.S. or Italian passport. That may imply no (or a decrease) visa charge or an extended authorized keep.
As a twin U.S. and Italian passport holder, I present my Italian passport to the airline’s gate agent when boarding my flight to Italy or any EU or Schengen Space nation.
You need to be sure that the airline’s manifest lists the identical passport data you propose to indicate customs/immigration once you land.
As an Italian with EU citizenship, I’ll keep away from the European Journey Data and Authorization System charge as soon as it goes into impact in Europe. It will not apply to me so long as I enter the EU with my Italian passport. ETIAS, nonetheless, will apply to my husband touring on his U.S. passport.
Associated: The whole lot you could know concerning the EU’s ETIAS ‘visa’ necessities
Tip: Some airways do not can help you save two passports in your on-line profile. (I am taking a look at you, American Airways.) I typically have to attach from my house gateway within the U.S. to a different U.S. gateway earlier than boarding my worldwide flight. In these cases, I load my U.S. passport within the airline app for the primary U.S.-based leg, after which I’m going to the Admirals Membership or to American’s customer support heart on the subsequent airport and have them replace the passport data related to my ticket to my Italian passport. Any gate agent also can replace your ticket’s passport data.
Arriving within the EU (or any nation)
Whenever you land within the EU, present your EU passport to frame patrol and the identical when arriving on the airport to your departure from that nation. In the event you’re touring alone, you need to use the e-gates. In any other case, you may have to go to an agent together with your journey companions utilizing U.S. passports.
(In the event you’re not touring to the EU, simply bear in mind to indicate the passport you used to board the outbound plane when you arrive in your vacation spot nation.)
Exiting the international nation
As soon as your international keep ends, return to the airport and undergo customs and immigration with the identical passport you used to enter. In the event you entered in your EU passport, undergo any exit customs course of utilizing your EU passport. In the event you entered in your U.S. passport, present your U.S. passport at exit immigration.
This subsequent step is essential. At all times present your U.S. passport when boarding the aircraft again house, and present your U.S. passport to frame patrol (or on the International Entry kiosk) upon arrival to the U.S.
Must you all the time journey with each passports?
Sure. You all the time have to reenter the U.S. together with your U.S. passport, so that you want it when touring abroad. Additionally, when you ever want help whereas in a unique nation, you need each passports to entry the embassies of each international locations. When issues go fallacious 1000’s of miles from house, you need all the assistance you may get.
Can you continue to use TSA PreCheck as a twin citizen?
Sure. I’ve loaded my Recognized Traveler Quantity in my airline accounts so my boarding passes all the time embrace the TSA PreCheck brand.
Backside line
When touring with twin citizenship, exhibiting which passport comes all the way down to the place you might be within the journey course of. Present the passport that proves you may have the fitting to be the place you’re going.
The TSA within the U.S. would not care what passport you employ for the flight. That is not the company’s concern. It solely cares about which one you employ once you present it to TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Safety officers. And, by legislation, when you’re a U.S. citizen, it’s essential to use your U.S. passport to go away (through TSA screening) and reenter this nation (through the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety or International Entry).
It may be complicated, however that is methods to use passports from two completely different international locations when touring.
