ajax

I am not sure of the actual regulations, but I can more or less guarantee you that no French border guard will even look twice at your US passport, other than to find somewhere to stamp.

Even if they did, they might think it a bit odd that you're entering the Schengen Zone on a different passport from that which you used to enter the UK, but they certainly wouldn't deny your entry.

The question is, of course: why would you ever do that? Why would you enter the UK on a different passport from the one which you use to visit France?

Also it's worth pointing out that the EU does not have a common border policy. The Schengen Zone is not the same thing as the EU (there are many non-EU member states in it, and a few non-Schengen EU member states). Therefore it's impossible to insist that EU passport-holders use their EU passport when entering the EU. The fact that the passport says EU on it is really quite irrelevant when it comes to actually entering the "EU".

Darek1963

Many thanks.
Well, I have entered UK using my EU passport and since I am traveling for a few days from UK to France I wanted to use US passport just to have one stamp from UE. If not I will not have any stamps from EU in my US passport before i go to US.; so it looks like I have never been in EU. However, I wonder if it matter anyway.

Christopher

That really wouldn't matter. Passport control officers rarely look at stamps from other countries, and many countries don't stamp passports any more or stamp them erratically.

You also seem to be, if I might say so, under the continued misapprehension that there is going to be some problem with your holding both a Polish and a US passport. As long as you hold them both legally, there is no problem, and indeed there are millions of dual citizens (including in the US), many of whom carry a passport from both of their countries of citizenship.

Darek1963

Many thanks. ~This clarifies all my current issues with dual Us/Polish citizenship. It is indeed much simpler than I anticipated.
Best Darek

warakorn

If you have a Polish and US Passport, you must enter Poland with the Polish Passport.

There is one thing, people forget - this is compulsory military service / conscription.
Many EU countries still have it. The US doesn't have it (YET ).
This creates many problems for people with dual citizenship.

If you are a male Polish citizen, you must do your military service - no matter what. Poland still fears Russia and Germany, so there are quite insisting that all male go to the army.
If you live in the US and the Polish draft you for the military, the Polish cannot force you to go the military. The US simply wont extradite you.
But if you want to travel to Poland and you use your Polish Passport, the border guard might arrest you for dodging military service - and you will be forced into the Polish army.
If you use the US Passport, the Polish border guard might not recognize that you are dodging military service.
That's why it is illegal for Polish citizen to enter the Poland with a non-Polish Passport.

I guess the same applies to the US.
Imagine America starts a war with Iran/Pakistan and Congress decides to reinstitute the draft.
Imagine you are drafted, but you are still in Italy and have an Italian Passport.
Imagine you are going to enter the US with your Italian Passport. Chances are that no one will catch you.
That's why the US insists all their citizen to enter with the US Passport.

soitgoes

You do realize that conscription will end in January 2009 in Poland? And that by October, there won't be any more conscripts at all in the Polish military?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...scription.html

ajax

Yes, but what if you enter the Schengen Zone (of which Poland is a member) via another country on your US passport, and then go to Poland without passing through Polish border control? It seems pretty difficult to track. I know Greek citizens who enter Greece in exactly this way to avoid detection.

The US did have it, but we abandoned it.

Place of birth is listed on your passport, regardless of country. If you are born in the US but enter on a non-US passport, any astute immigration officer would notice if you were born in anything other than an obscure town with fewer than a few thousand inhabitants.

stupidhead

The correct answer is NEITHER. You enter any Country C of your choice on political asylum. A passport's a travel document and a citizenship is a legal document. It has no bearing on my relationship/loyalty whatsoever to/with that country and it will be considered as such when circumstances force me to choose between my own safety and a legal document. Just because I have a favorable view of that country and like living there doesn't mean I'll die for it. Sorry, I'm not putting my own life in jeopardy to defend a legal document.

soitgoes

If they let you in.

Citizenship doesn't represent a relationship with a country?

stupidhead

No, it doesn't. Citizenship is a legal construct that says you have an absolute right to enter the country without interference. Doesn't mean you owe the country anything, doesn't mean you have to stay and fight for it, and in my opinion anyone who would fight and die for a piece of paper needs some professional help. Any perceived relationship doesn't count for jack .... if you're dead.

It accords you the right enter, reside in, and leave the country freely without interference. It doesn't obligate you to jeopardize your own safety for it. In the event the country sinks like the Titanic, I'll be the first to reach for the life preservers and get out. I may not win any Medals of Honor, but that's fine, at least I won't be dead.

Christopher

That is so in the case of most countries. But some (non-Western-style) countries require their citizens to have an exit visa to leave the country, and not all such countries always grant an exit visa. There are also cases of some countries (again, non-Western-style countries, generally) refusing to re-admit their own citizens when it doesn't suit them or when they have been away for more than a prescribed period of time. This is one reason, in some cases, for the difficulty in returning failed asylum seekers to their country of origin.

International law and conventions notwithstanding, each country makes its own rules about who its citizens are and what rights they will or will not be accorded. We can't generalise based on the laws and regulations in our own country.

Christopher

Membership of the Schengen zone effectively ends the ability of a country to insist that its own citizens enter the country using that country's passport. Whatever the legal position might be, in practical terms it is very easy for a person with a passport of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland to enter the Schengen area elsewhere and then pass on to the country in question.

Not every country has the requirement that its own citizens enter on that country's passport, but some do, including (in theory at least) some Schengen area countries.

ajax

Yes, I agree. My question above was half-rhetorical, but we agree. The entrance of any country into the Schengen Zone effectively neutralises the effectivenesss of the requirement for their citizens to enter on its passport, since anyone with anything to hide can quite easily enter via another border.

Pingpong11

My son has his native passport and US green card and he also has US passport as well. Does he have to leave US use US passport? Can he leave US use his native passport and green card then return US with US passport?
I am always confused of this problem.
Thanks!

HkCaGu

Are you sure what you're talking about? You can't have a US green card if you have a US passport!