I think questions regarding dual-citizen travel are going to explode when ETIAS goes live; since there's a good amount of dual EU-US citizens that are exempt from both ESTA and ETIAS. I really hope there's a system to allow such dual citizens to still check in online, if they have to manually check all the dual citizens, it's going to be a great headache.

I don't think it will be a problem. You just have to do OLCI with the passport for your destination. We have this today. If you fly from Europe to the US with your Euro passport you need ESTA. If you use your US passport, you don't.

How about a US citizen traveling to Schengen with a residence permit? That person is ETIAS exempt. Will that person be able to utilize OLCI?

What does OLCI stand for?

I think the issue is that you buy a ticket with a given passport. So a ticket is tied to a particular passport. Then you do online check-in. Since a ticket can't be tied to more than 1 passport, I'm not sure how it works. Can you check in for a flight with a different passport than the one used to buy it? I feel like that will create an issue with the system. A flight agent needs to then manually waive the ESTA or ETIAS requirement depending on which passport you used initially. Unless, they have changed the system lately.

I don't know. This is the dual citizen thread. Maybe once they ETIAS rules are in place we can have a thread on residence permits.

On Line Check In.

Different airlines use different OLCI programs. We may be having airline specific threads once ETIAS begins. But this hasn't been an issue with ESTA. The only issue with ESTA as I recall is that the Euro airlines had all sorts of big warning messages about getting your ESTA that they sent even to people who had US passports attached to their reservations. But that never stopped OLCI.

Ah interesting, I never dealt with ESTA, but I do recall such warning messages. I would assume for either ESTA or ETIAS it doesn't give you your boarding pass unless you verify some sort of confirmation number. My case is a bit more complex since my EU and US passport first/middle names are flipped (but all same spelling). I really don't want to do manual check in for all my flights going forward, so am thinking what the most practical thing to do will be. If I buy a ticket with EU or US passport and then use the other passport for check in (to avoid ESTA or ETIAS) I hope it recognizes everything and let's me do OLCI. Or else I will have to get a manual waiver from ticket agent for either ETIAS or ESTA each time to get my boarding pass, which won't be ideal.

No, that is not the case. For a flight to the US, it is possible to get your BP without an ESTA. But when you arrive at the gate you may be refused boarding if you do not have an ESTA or proof of US citizenship.

Ah interesting, I did not know that. In that case, may just book / check in the flight with EU passport and just flash US passport at gate so they allow me to board.

But it is analogous to the situation I raised earlier for dual citizens - a dual US/EU citizen, travelling with a US passport and a national ID. Currently, that passenger can board in the US with their US passport and use their ID (without passport) to enter Schengen. Once ETIAS is in place, that person presumably would not be allowed to board with only the US passport because there would be no ETIAS associated with that passport.

That is similar to the current situation of a US citizen with Schengen residency - that person would be travelling on a US passport plus another document that gives that person the right to remain more than 90 days.

The airlines might handle both situations the same way, they are both passport + a governmental non-passport document.

There are a lot of hypotheticals and speculation here. If you want a clear answer right now, you're probably not going to get it. If that's concerning, it may be best to just get a passport issued from your other country of citizenship and just use the passport relevant to the destination to check in.

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?

If the EU citizen has an EU ID card, that can be used to enter and exit Schengen - card is easier to carry than second passport.

Check-in with the passport that does not require visa. Show all to airline (if desired). Can’t get more simpler than that.

I find myself deeply concerned about the intricate web of travel protocols now in place for dual citizens of the EU and USA, especially considering the current ESTA, incoming ETIAS, and soon-to-be-required UK ETA.

A simple journey from the EU to the USA via London could become a juggling act of regulations. How can we navigate these requirements without tripping over bureaucratic red tape? On the way to USA you need to fly as a US citizen. On the way from USA you need to fly using US passport as well because thats the law. From what I understand it may possible to disregard this law and fly back using EU passport to satisfy the ETIAS condition. But now, we've got a wrench in the works with the British ETA, which has to be linked to the passport you're flying with. Does that mean I will need to apply for British ETA twice, once using US passport and second using EU passport?

This British system shall be mandatory for everyone who is not UK citizen. And it will be mandatory even for transit passengers it looks like, will it not be?

To all the fellow (US&EU duals) travelers on this thread, how do you foresee this system working? What's everyone else's take on this?

It's like we're handing over our life every time we cross a border. I am sick and tired of this personally. The world was turning without ESTA, and all ETAs. Is it just me, or does it feel like they're asking a lot? And are you as bugged by the privacy thing as I am?