Hi guys. I'm looking around for information on a little predicament I have and what I've been pulling up has so far proven to be unsatisfactory, so I figured that I'll go back to relying on the collective wisdom of FlyerTalk. :)
I'm beginning to wrap up my student exchange year in Poland, and since apparently I have the entire month of June free, I'm beginning to plan a whole-month trip around Southern Europe. So far, my planned itinerary hopes to take me from Poland to Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey, and hopefully Croatia, Slovenia and/or Montenegro if I have the time. (The order hasn't been decided yet, although Romania has to go first because I'm going to Oradea first.)
I'm mixing flying and ground travel, so while I'm fine with flying, I'm worried about the land travel part. I hold two passports, and within the Schengen Area I'm legally a Filipino citizen. However, because I need visas to enter all the above countries, I intend to go around that by entering on my U.S. passport, which is where I got into this predicament. So I'd like to ask three questions:
1. How does crossing the border work with rail travel in Europe: do I have to exit and do immigration procedures at the station, or is it done on the train?
2. Is there a rule that I must enter a country using the passport I used to exit the country bordering it? (Basically, if I exit Hungary on my Philippine passport, do I have to use that passport to enter Romania, and vice-versa from whatever country I exit back to the Schengen Area? If I'm not mistaken this is rule for the border between Malaysia and Singapore.)
3. Will I have problems holding two passports: one of which contains my type-D Schengen visa, while the other allows me visa-free access into the country I intend to enter?
Thanks and I hope to get some good answers! I really hope to make this trip definitely worthwhile. :D
choijw
May 14, 12, 2:04 pm
Hi guys. I'm looking around for information on a little predicament I have and what I've been pulling up has so far proven to be unsatisfactory, so I figured that I'll go back to relying on the collective wisdom of FlyerTalk. :)
I'm beginning to wrap up my student exchange year in Poland, and since apparently I have the entire month of June free, I'm beginning to plan a whole-month trip around Southern Europe. So far, my planned itinerary hopes to take me from Poland to Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey, and hopefully Croatia, Slovenia and/or Montenegro if I have the time. (The order hasn't been decided yet, although Romania has to go first because I'm going to Oradea first.)
I'm mixing flying and ground travel, so while I'm fine with flying, I'm worried about the land travel part. I hold two passports, and within the Schengen Area I'm legally a Filipino citizen. However, because I need visas to enter all the above countries, I intend to go around that by entering on my U.S. passport, which is where I got into this predicament. So I'd like to ask three questions:
1. How does crossing the border work with rail travel in Europe: do I have to exit and do immigration procedures at the station, or is it done on the train?
2. Is there a rule that I must enter a country using the passport I used to exit the country bordering it? (Basically, if I exit Hungary on my Philippine passport, do I have to use that passport to enter Romania, and vice-versa from whatever country I exit back to the Schengen Area? If I'm not mistaken this is rule for the border between Malaysia and Singapore.)
3. Will I have problems holding two passports: one of which contains my type-D Schengen visa, while the other allows me visa-free access into the country I intend to enter?
Thanks and I hope to get some good answers! I really hope to make this trip definitely worthwhile. :D
1 For rail travel, I've usually either been checked on the train (if at all). Usually, customs has a dog come around and check for drugs, etc. Customs also sometimes checks at the border.
2 No.
3 No.
Christopher
May 14, 12, 2:50 pm
... I hold two passports, and within the Schengen Area I'm legally a Filipino citizen. However, because I need visas to enter all the above countries, I intend to go around that by entering on my U.S. passport ...
What do you mean, within the Schengen area you're legally a Filipino citizen? Do you mean that you are currently in Poland on your Philippines passport? If so, as long as you leave the Schengen area on your first exit using your Philippines passport, you can then do the rest of the travel on your US passport (including back into the Schengen area, assuming that you have no further work/study to do in Poland). As you have a type D Schengen visa, you will be able to travel around in the Schengen area using your Philippines passport within the validity of the visa.
1. How does crossing the border work with rail travel in Europe: do I have to exit and do immigration procedures at the station, or is it done on the train?
Traditionally, passport and customs procedures in Europe have been done on the train.
One exception to this practice is the crossing into Turkey from Bulgaria, where everyone has to get out (generally in the middle of the night!) and you'll have to purchase a visa for Turkey at the border – this assuming that you're using your US passport. You would be best to have $20 in US currency, although they might take euros as well (but they can be a bit funny about expecting US citizens to pay in US dollars, British citizen to pay in pounds, and so on, even if the person doesn't live in the country of citizenship).
Another exception is the Eurostar trains between London and Paris/Brussels, where both the departing and arriving passport checks are done at the departure station before boarding the train. (I don't, however, think that you're contemplating taking this train.)
But, as a rule, they're done on the train.
2. Is there a rule that I must enter a country using the passport I used to exit the country bordering it? (Basically, if I exit Hungary on my Philippine passport, do I have to use that passport to enter Romania, and vice-versa from whatever country I exit back to the Schengen Area? If I'm not mistaken this is rule for the border between Malaysia and Singapore.)
No. However, it is possible that the passport officer at the country you are entering will notice the lack of an exit stamp from the country you are leaving. If this happens, just tell the truth, and produce the other passport only if specifically asked to do so. (People talk a lot about passport officers looking for other countries' stamps, but I think it actually happens very rarely.)
3. Will I have problems holding two passports: one of which contains my type-D Schengen visa, while the other allows me visa-free access into the country I intend to enter?
I can't see that this will be a problem (see question 2). If you have no more work/study to do in Poland, there is no reason why you can't re-enter the Schengen area on your US passport, without a visa, as a visitor. And the passport that you use in countries outside the Schengen area is no business of the Schengen people anyway.
Akiestar
May 15, 12, 5:12 am
What do you mean, within the Schengen area you're legally a Filipino citizen? Do you mean that you are currently in Poland on your Philippines passport? If so, as long as you leave the Schengen area on your first exit using your Philippines passport, you can then do the rest of the travel on your US passport (including back into the Schengen area, assuming that you have no further work/study to do in Poland). As you have a type D Schengen visa, you will be able to travel around in the Schengen area using your Philippines passport within the validity of the visa.
Meaning, yes, my visa is in my Philippine passport, therefore technically in the Schengen Information System I am registered as a Filipino, not an American (the last time I entered the Schengen Area as an American was two years ago). I will have 2-3 days to get my affairs in Poland in order before I return to the Philippines sometime in the first week of July, which I must settle with my university, so technically I'm still studying despite the fact that Poland will be starting summer vacation at around that time.
Now unless I magically have plans to extend my stay beyond July 10 (which is when my visa expires), I do not intend to re-enter the Schengen Area on my U.S. passport.
No. However, it is possible that the passport officer at the country you are entering will notice the lack of an exit stamp from the country you are leaving. If this happens, just tell the truth, and produce the other passport only if specifically asked to do so. (People talk a lot about passport officers looking for other countries' stamps, but I think it actually happens very rarely.)
This happens quite often in Asia (immigration officers looking for exit stamps), so I do expect it, although experience in the Philippines shows that people are less likely to care if coming from air. Since the only land border I have crossed is the Malaysia-Singapore border, my experiences come from those times that I have crossed the border. (Basically, if the immigration card says that the passport that you used to exit Singapore should be the passport used to enter Malaysia and vice-versa, I'd presume that it would be the rule everywhere else unless proven otherwise.)
Christopher
May 15, 12, 5:36 am
Meaning, yes, my visa is in my Philippine passport, therefore technically in the Schengen Information System I am registered as a Filipino, not an American (the last time I entered the Schengen Area as an American was two years ago). I will have 2-3 days to get my affairs in Poland in order before I return to the Philippines sometime in the first week of July, which I must settle with my university, so technically I'm still studying despite the fact that Poland will be starting summer vacation at around that time.
Now unless I magically have plans to extend my stay beyond July 10 (which is when my visa expires), I do not intend to re-enter the Schengen Area on my U.S. passport.
This happens quite often in Asia (immigration officers looking for exit stamps), so I do expect it, although experience in the Philippines shows that people are less likely to care if coming from air. Since the only land border I have crossed is the Malaysia-Singapore border, my experiences come from those times that I have crossed the border. (Basically, if the immigration card says that the passport that you used to exit Singapore should be the passport used to enter Malaysia and vice-versa, I'd presume that it would be the rule everywhere else unless proven otherwise.)
In that case, there's no reason why you shouldn't leave Poland (and I presume the Schengen area) using your Philippines passport and enter the next country using your US passport, and carry on using your US passport from then on. I don't think there'll be an issue about "changing passports". Note that if you're going to Belarus (which I don't imagine you are), US citizens (and most others) require a visa in advance.