pinniped

Well, the one other person who will judge you has the ability to deny you entry to the country, so I would probably care if this were actually a thing. That said, if you know the local laws and know what passport you should be using, I'd just do that and not worry about whether the immigration officer has a personal problem with whatever country I'm from. That's just a guessing game at that point.

I've traveled to many countries with a U.S. passport and never had any "rogue" hassle from an immigration official because of it. Some countries' U.S. consulates are known to be pickier than others about business visas, but that's a different story.

Norri

He means one passport should remain home.

dulciusexasperis

That's not a very smart answer at all. Which world are you living in? Try telling a fanatic hijacker that he shouldn't judge you based on your Israeli passport and choose you as the first to be shot, he should choose someone who is not as nice a person as you no doubt are.

There are all kinds of situations not nearly that extreme where using one passport versus another can be to someone's advantage. As someone already said on this thread, currently there are plenty of people with a hate on for Americans for example. Having an alternative passport to use could just make life simpler in some cases. Those who happen to have dual nationality have that option and should exercise it where it makes sense to do so. Typically would be using an EU country issued passport when entering an EU country simply to avoid a longer line-up at Immigration. But if I had dual US/Canadian passports and were entering the EU, I might well choose to use the Canadiann passport rather than the US passport.

As for travelling with both as an 'all the time' thing, I can't see any reason for that. It is situation dependent whether using one might be better than using the other and situation dependent where carrying both might also make sense. For example, at one time someone from the UK needed to buy a visa to enter Turkey while someone from Canada did not. I used my UK passport to enter Greece (in the EU obviously) and then my Canadian passport when my travels took me from Greece into Turkey. Both had an advantage at different points in my travels obviously and so carrying both made sense but a trip to either only Greece or only Turkey would have made only one or the other advantageous.

GUWonder

emma69

I think she does - https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...tionality.html

"U.S. nationals, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."

I don't have to enter either of my countries on mine, but like you said it does make it easier, but the US is funny like that.

Proudelitist

Exit controls are a major issue if you want to travel on multiple pasports, as are visas.

parnass1

This is an excellent answer :-) thank you!!

This might be another reason why one should not carry around his second (Israeli) passport around at all times. Even if you don't end up using it the "fanatic hijackers" might find it on you...
Anyways for those who are not dual citizens and hold only one DELICATE passport like US, Israeli, etc. Have you heard of a possibility having something so-called a camouflage passport?

parnass1

If you stick to using one passport there are no problems. The problem arises when you want to switch from one to another. I have to no idea how to do that cleanly without raising attention or causing havoc in computer systems.

GUWonder

emma69

Thanks - I made the (stupid) assumption what was said on a government site was true! My bad!! LOL

emma69

I have never had a 'major' issue, and I do this a lot. The only thing that has ever happened (and rarely at that) is to be asked why I don't have an entry stamp, at which point I simply show the second passport. Adds maybe 20 seconds if they notice / ask. Thousands of people have dual nationality and they are well used to it.

dulciusexasperis

The 'rule' to remember in that regard parnass1, is that you should always enter and exit a country on the same passport. The problem which emma69 alludes to above is that they can question why you don't have an entry or exit stamp if you switch passports. Nowadays that can be a real issue as border controls get tighter and tighter. For example, if you enter the EU on a US passport and then for some unknown reason, decide to exit on a Canadian passport, they may or may not notice it. If they do, they may make a note in the computer. If they don't, on your next attempt to enter the EU on your US passport the computer will flag it up. It will show you entered on X date and there is no record of you having left within the 90 day period allowed to a visitor. That means that by DEFAULT, you must have overstayed in their eyes and that would mean at least some hassle while you got it sorted out. If you enter on passport X, you always want there to be a record of you leaving on passport X. It's not that you CAN'T leave on passport Y, it's to avoid any possibility of a problem next time you arrive somewhere.

So again, if using more than one passport, always remember to enter and exit any given country on the same passport. You can enter on X or Y passport as you wish perhaps but don't mix them IN a country.

The USA does require all US citizens to enter and exit the USA on their US passport. That it is possible to ignore that is also not in doubt. The reason to always enter and exit the US on your US passport is again a 'what if' scenario similar to the above. It MAY cause you a problem which while not unsolvable and without fear of their gonna 'lock you up' etc. CAN mean some hassle.

I'm reminded of people who are denied boarding on a flight and then come on here and write, 'I was fully within my rights under the law and should have been boarded.' They may be right about that but the fact is the plane left the ground without them. It is not always about the law and what is legal or illegal for someone to do, it is often about what makes SENSE to do if you can do so and avoid any POSSIBILITY of hassle, lost time, etc. Spending an hour explaining to a US Border Agent how you are legally allowed to enter or exit on your other passport will COST you an hour to do so. If there is no GOOD reason for having done so, why would anyone choose to risk that happening?

dulciusexasperis

<br /><br />It's a bad habit emma69 unless you ALWAYS without fail travel with both passports. If you cannot show that entry or exit stamp when asked, what comes into play then is the DEFAULT assumption. In the case of travel, that assumption is unlike in a court of law where there is the 'presumption of innocence' and guilt must be proven. In travel, the assumption is guilt and the burden of proof falls to the traveller to prove their innocence.<br /><br />This happens with the Schengen countries all the time. Someone flies into say Paris, travels around for however long and then leaves. By your example, they might have left on a second passport and so they have an entry on one and an exit on another passport. If they then return to any Schengen country some time later, the computer will flag them as having 'overstayed' their last entry as there is no record of an exit. Now you MAY have that second passport on you and be able to show an exit stamp. You will certainly have a real problem if you don't have it with you.<br /><br />But let's suppose you do have it with you and when asked where is your exit stamp, you can say, 'Oh, I have it right here on my other passport.' Problem solved right? Well, maybe as you indicate has happened in the past to you. But let's now suppose that the Agent you get had a fight with his/her partner just before leaving for work that morning. You have now become a perfect target for her/him to take out some anger on. So when you say, 'Oh, I have it right here in my other passport', the agent says, 'please step to the side, someone will come to take you to secondary inspection, I am not going to hold up the line.'<br /><br />That's it, that's all that has to happen for you to find yourself now getting the third degree as to where and when you travelled in the past. 'What hotel did you stay in during your time in our country?' 'Do you have proof of when you left that hotel?' 'Can you show me a boarding pass for when you flew out of our country?' 'How do I know someone else didn't travel on this passport illegally?' 'Did you pack your bags yourself, we are going to go through them now.'<br /><br />Never underestimate the power a border agent has to mess up your day if they CHOOSE to do so. Unless you have a very good reason to enter on one and exit on the other, it is a far better practice to always enter and exit on the same passport. Do you have a good reason for switching them emma69? If so, what is it?<br /><br />What do you think the default thinking MIGHT be these days when an Agent sees someone using different passports when travelling?

MSPeconomist

emma69

As an EU passport holder, my passport is never stamped when entering the EU - I always use my EU passport to enter the EU, as generally it is far quicker so to do.

Travelling to Canada, if I were to travel on my EU passport I would require an ESTA to enter Canada (per the airline), so I travel back to Canada on my Canadian passport, always.

Thus there is never an EU stamp in either of my passports.

There are times when I fly from a non EU country to Canada via the EU, and during those occasions I will present both passports (proof I can enter the EU, and then enter the EU on that one, and proof of onward right to travel to Canada (and use that passport when boarding the second plane in the EU)). In those instances, if they have exit controls, I use the same passport for exit as I did for entry, whichever one of the two it may be.