stifle

US citizens are legally required to enter (and leave) the US on their US passports so you can't do this "the other way around".

I do however agree with your wider approach of having the passport of your destination as the passport on-file with your airline, as this will mean your check-in is less likely to be obstructed by the lack of an ESTA/ETIAS.

GUWonder

My plan with dual US-EU citizen travel party members with different name arrangements in their EU passports than in their US passports is to stick to booking in the way that makes it easier to check-in to fly to the US and to get PreCheck while using a flash of the EU passports as proof of exemption from ETIAS to fly to the EU/Schengen area — in other words, default to using the US passport names structure for EU/Schengen-related ticketed bookings to/from the US.

I do expect that this will require in-person check-in more often on the EU/Schengen-bound journeys, and that’s one of the downsides of this — more so perhaps for US-EU dual-citizens and some other travelers not required to file with ETIAS for such journeys than for other categories of travelers.

simpleSnow

Well the airline is not the US Government and the passport info is provided to the airline. The actual law is really to identify yourself as a US citizen if asked by the US Government upon exiting. Since US doesn't have exit control, this usually doesn't happen, but it can happen from time to time for CBP to check passports when boarding an international flight and it's in such a scenario you are required to identify yourself as US citizen.

Yeah the reason I'm leaning towards using EU passport is simply, I've had some pretty bad experiences with airline agents US side not understanding the subtleties of a different name order or knowing the visa policy for where I'm going. On the way back since I came from the US and am clearly living in the US, I believe there would be less problems with the agent. Maybe the same, I don't know.

lastcallfordeparture

I'm Canadian but this doesn't apply to me. It's case by case. When I travel with Delta Airlines, I can't do the online check-in because its system ask for ESTA Visa to Canadians.

stifle

The reason ETIAS does not apply to you is not because it's "case by case", it's because the EU hasn't launched the system yet.

lastcallfordeparture

You're wrong. Even when ETIAS will be in effect, it won't apply to me. That's why it,s case by case, every person has a particular situation.

stifle

If you want to give partial information and then play "gotcha", that's on you, not me.

Xyzzy

Indeed. ETIAS will apply to Canadians. But if there is also another undisclosed citizenship involved it may n🙃t.

GUWonder

Most Canadian passport users won’t be exempted from ETIAS once it’s fully live. Nor will such persons be generally exempted from EES either.

Exemptions to ETIAS and EES will be in place for some sub-categories of compatriots, but the exemptions are more akin to being case by case than generally applicable to compatriots.

I already anticipate more headaches checking in at US, Canadian and various other airports even while I will likely be exempted from ETIAS and EES if they stick to the current plans. Already this month, I got yet another peek into what will happen with ETIAS to some who even have EU/EEA-country issued residency cards: airline reps trying to load in the residency card info into the record despite it not being required.

simpleSnow

They can solve the headache if they finally change airline check in systems to support flyer putting multiple passports during check-in. Or else a lot of dual citizens going to need manual checks going one way or the other. Going to be a headache!

TomMM

I am a US citizen and see that I am exempt for ETIAS due to having a resident permit for France. Although from what I read I shouldn't use the automated gates:

GUWonder

Unfortunately, being exempted from upcoming ETIAS (and EES) implementation ≠ upcoming allowance to enter and exit the Schengen areas using those ABC/e-gates for which (most) EU/EEA/CH-passport holders are eligible.

Being exempted from upcoming ETIAS filing requirement to travel to the Schengen area will lead to some problems with check-in for travel to the Schengen area; ETIAS (and EES) implementation also will mean more risk of a problem while entering and/or exiting the Schengen area as an ETIAS-exempted traveler than it may mean for compatriots not exempted from ETIAS (and EES).

The authorities for passport control in some of the major Schengen airports of entry for Americans are already aware of how messy this will become for third country nationals with residence permits in the EU/Schengen area. The French authorities are among the more active and considerate in thinking about how to improve things for at least French residence permit users when it comes to what ETIAS (and EES) will mean on arrival to France from beyond the Schengen area.

In some Schengen airports, using the ABC/e-gates for entry into the Schengen area will be allowed for US citizens on short duration stays while the ABC/e-gates use will be denied or be otherwise somewhat problem-inducing to US citizens with EU/EEA/CH residence cards/permits. The “All Passports” (non-ABC/non-egate) lines at Schengen ports of entry/exit are going to remain part of the future for a bunch of Americans; and in some parts it will be a bigger and messier part of the future for US passport users with EU/Schengen residence card/permit users than it will be for US passport users without an ETIAS/EES exemption.

simpleSnow

When the EU ETIAS is live, how will airlines know that all passengers have ETIAS authorization (or are exempt). Is there a some ETIAS code non-EU passengers will put during check-in or will airlines have access to ETIAS database?

miamiflyer8

I would assume this. Similar to how ESTA for the US is cross checked by carriers.

GUWonder

Color me shocked - not!

Last week’s product from a meeting in Estonia is that ETIAS should remain scheduled for November (2023) but EES be delayed from May and pushed for the end of the year instead and the message about this can officially go out on that.

The involved EUrocrats want to pin the delays on government contractors, but these deliverables for the EC and Frontex have been a mess from the start, and I’m expecting it to come with messes for me even after they get this stuff going at Schengen airports of entry/exit and France’s northern ports for Schengen entry/exit.

It is supposed to be sort of done like it goes with airlines checking for an Australian ETA for those travelers needing an ETA to travel to Australia.

There are apparently some businesses already in line to get in the game of putting in for ETIAS applications — and it’s not even live yet. Example of commercial ETIAS application site to avoid using: etiasofficial.org. AFAIK, that company has 0 official relationship with the ETIAS project. I just hope we don’t see too many people hoodwinked by such money-grabbers preying on the ignorance and laziness of travelers headed to the Schengen area.