Thank you. So, it seems that when a US/Can citizen flies from US to Can, authorities in both countries are indifferent between the following:
1. Check in with the airline using the US passport, enter Canada using US passport
2. Check in with the airline using the US passport, enter Canada using CA passport
3. Check in with the airline using the CA passport, enter Canada using CA passport
Is this correct?
Still, options 2 or 3 seem to make the most sense to me, with option 2 being the best.
Originally Posted by
bocastephen
I don't use my Canadian passport to enter Canada, I use my US passport to exit the US and to enter Canada (and return) - no one ever said a word. I do this because I don't want to have a silly conversation based on what I am bringing with me as a Canadian resident (which I am not), how long I was outside Canada, etc etc. This is just an easier way to establish that I don't live there and should be treated a visitor.
Dual American-Canadian citizens are a special exception to Canada's rules. From
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/docu...al-citizenship, "
Exception: If you are an American-Canadian dual citizen with a valid U.S. passport, you don’t need a Canadian passport to fly to Canada." So what bocastephen does, and all 3 options from txp are legal. That is NOT true for most other cases (other dual nationals entering Canada are required to have a Canadian passport, and everyone entering the US, including a dual Canadian citizen, is required to use their US passport).
It seems that after ETIAS is implemented, every dual US/EU citizen who wants to avoid using ETIAS on one end and ESTA on the other end would have to use the following passport routine:
Eastbound
- Airline check-in: EU passport
- In case of random CBP control at the gate: US passport
- Entry border control in Europe: EU passport
Westbound
- Airline check-in: US Passport
- Exit border control in Europe: EU Passport
- CBP control in the US: US Passport
A similar arrangement would apply for dual Canadian/EU citizens.
Do you agree?
Yes, I think these have always been true (other than the Canada exception above). To repeat myself from before -- the airline checkin is NOT an "exit border control", and you won't get in trouble for having used your destination passport. Yes, the airline may share data with CBP, and CBP may match by name/etc it up to track, but that doesn't matter. That matchup is critical for non-US-citizens to have the proper exit record so they aren't accused of overstaying, but US citizens can't by definition overstay, so it doesn't matter if CBP misses an exit at some point.
Yes, if US CBP sets up a random or other checkpoint at the gate, you would want to show them your US passport (and only them; you still show the airline checker the destination passport). It's debatable if that sort of check is legally an exit border control or not, but since you're required to have the US passport with you anyway, best to just show that. But anywhere else in the "leaving" process you'd use the passport you're entering the destination with.