andreadbc

Maybe, but there have been cases of people born in the US who have been denied boarding by airlines because they didn't present a US passport, so it's a matter of possibly never getting to the port of entry, even if the CBP would admit them anyway...

I remembered that thread because I recalled reading this article here:
That’s it, Uncle Sam

König

Thanks for the clarification. However, in light of this I have a question - if you know that an arriving passenger with a foreign passport is a Canadian citizen, what would you do? Admit him/her as a foreign visitor or a Canadian citizen? For the latter, does it require a trip to the "back room"?

Also, can you look up whether a person is a Canadian citizen just by name and DOB (maybe also gender)?

yyzvoyageur

I'd have no choice but to admit him if he's Canadian. It may require a visit to the immigration secondary examination area if his claim to citizenship is in doubt. Whether I stamp his passport or not, if he's Canadian, he has the right to enter and remain here. I'll add that pointing out the fact that one's British passport lists his place of birth as "Scarborough" or even "Canada" does not, in and of itself, prove to me that he is Canadian.

There are some helpful resources available, but they don't form a complete database of every citizen.

CX HK

Thanks for all the replies. It is still a little unclear to me whether or not there is an explicit law stating that a British citizen must enter the UK with the British passport. Since my HK passport states HK as my place of birth, I am interested to know what would happen if I were to be denied entry... would the immigration officer know I am a British citizen based on the information on his screen?

To yyzvoyageur: Have you seen a decrease in illegitimate passports since they became biometric? The designs on pages seem to have become a lot more intricate, and it would lead one to believe that copying them isn't as easy as it may have been say 10 years ago.

User Name

Clear answer - you are 100% fine. People do this all the time - it is normal. No need to worry. If you cannot find a law then this will be because there isn't one.

yyzvoyageur

Quality is definitely improving. I understand even the likes of India and Israel—both home to some of the poorest quality passports at the moment—are going to start rolling out more secure documents in the near future. Where we used to see photo substitutions, we now see more imposters on unaltered documents that have been stolen from or sold by the legitimate bearers. That's not to say we don't still see photo substitutions. We do still see them, of course, along with stolen blanks, improperly issued (but genuine) documents, altered or counterfeit laminates, altered or counterfeit biodata pages, etc.

GUWonder

Anecdotal evidence is not opinion. Sufficient volume of anecdotal evidence provides for a claim on fact and routinely prevails as factual representative of the status quo absent evidence to the contrary.

Yes.

There are also situations where the US has treated US citizens as if such persons were not US persons or to otherwise try to keep US citizens outside of the US.

Passports have been biometric for at least as long as passports have had photos of the person for whom the passport was issued.

The technology to produce higher quality fakes and/or have success in fraudulently acquiring or using real passports has improved -- and to do so has not become more costly in real terms. It's much like a game of cats and mice.

CX HK

I would hope that quality is improving, given the fact that renewal prices have been increasing exponentially. I recently got a 48 page Hong Kong passport that cost HK$460; the 48 page equivalent of the United Kingdom passprt would have cost HK$2009 - over 4 times as expensive. But really, in both passports, it seems almost impossible to do the traditionally photo substitutions, given the fact that the photo is now embedded in the information page and other pages as well. The designs are also much nicer to look at ^

König

I think I have not formulated my question properly. Let's suppose an arriving person presents you a foreign passport but you have strong suspicions that this person is a Canadian citizen. However, person does not claim to be one and wants to enter Canada on his foreign passport. What would you do?

yyzvoyageur

I suppose I'd ask him if he's a Canadian citizen, then deal with him based on his answer.

Ari

Those travelers are somewhat breaking the law if they don't say upfront that they are US Citizens.

I saw an Israeli passport recently-- all I have to say is wow. I guess they don't care about other countries as they can tell if their own passports are real since they have a database.

Like the NFL situations?

But a Canadian citizen could legally enter as a visitor?

yyzvoyageur

If he's a citizen and I end up stamping his Polish passport, that stamp really doesn't mean much. He'd still have the right to remain in Canada indefinitely.

Dubai Stu

Anyone who had stood in the non-EU citizen line at Heathrow when they could go through the EU line needs to have their head examined or has way, way, way (did I say 'way') too much time on their hands. The only possible exception I could see would be if there was a reason you would not want your destination country to see your UK passport, (e.g. the UK one has Israeli stamps in it and you are going to Saudi Arabia).

LAXJetter

Which is a moot point (at least in the US) as they will issue you a second passport simply for entering the country that would deny you entry for an Israeli stamp. Certainly standing in the non-eu citizen line

The advice I have always heard is to make sure the airline is aware of both of your passports as passenger data is subject to pre-clearance.

I have yet to use my new EU passport to enter the EU so I cant speak on personal experience as a dual citizen.

WhitePlains

I agree. Last time I flew into Toronto from Hong Kong, I got asked some dumb questions by the CBSA guy including whether my work related business visit to Hong Kong was 'fruitful'. As if the guy had a clue as to how to run any business let alone mine. And I am a dual Citizen, was presenting my Canadian Passport.