Using Dual Passports
 

Just wondering how many travelers use dual passports? As I am an Australian with an Australian Passport and can also obtain a Malaysian Passport as well. However the Malaysia does not allow people to hold dual passports. Wondering if there are any advantages to get a Malaysian passport and how to use it without getting caught out.

Mrs P was born in Malaysia and so had a passport, but let it lapse when she became an Aussie.
I'm pretty sure that Malaysia is one of those countries where - if you willingly become a citizen of another country you automatically lose citizenship of that country. (Australia used to be the same - remember Rupert Murdoch lost his Aussie citizenship when he became a yank.)
But if you're born with dual nationality, then I expect you can keep them both?

Me - I have three current and valid passports - British by birth, Irish by ancestry, and Aussie by choice. Use the Aussie one for entering and leaving Australia and either of the other two for entering/leaving Europe. For other countries I shuffle them and pick one:p

Generally there is value in carrying a second (or third) passport to enter a country where diplomatic relations are better or where visa requirements are less stringent. When I went to Turkey last year my friend entered on her NZ passport as there was no fee for the visa for her while I was stuck paying $20 for mine. And you are supposed to enter a country where you hold a passport using that country's passport. Other than that, not too big a deal that I can figure out.

As for "sneaking" a second passport that you aren't supposed to have, I wouldn't go there. I don't see the upside as being good enough there for the risk.

Does a Malaysian passport get you anywhere that an Australian wouldn't?

I don't see much advantage to it over an Aussie.

Like with many other former British colonial holdings, Malaysian law generally prohibits dual citizenship for Malaysian nationals.

If making a choice between Malaysian citizenship and Australian citizenship and basing it on the utility of the passports for travel, then I would say that the Australian passport would generally be far more convenient for far more travel (without visa fees) than a Malaysian passport.

In some cases, the Malaysian passport means lower (or no) visa fees compared to Australian passport; however, that's more the exception than the norm given that Australian passports are good for entry without a visa in advance at a longer list of countries than Malaysian passports.

And if the OP does not foresee going to any of those countries it is a moot point. If the OP travels to those countries regularly then that is a different story.

I have two US passports: One that I have used for visiting Islamic countries and one for everywhere else, including Israel.

My wife was born and raised in London. She still has her UK passport but doesn't use it--especially in coming in and out of the US, where her US passport is far better.

So if it's possible to have two valid US passports, what is stopping the bad guys from doing the same, and why bother with the "security" circus...?
:confused:

Yes... a lot of countries allow for duplicate passports. If you have an Israeli stamp in your passport you can't travel to a lot of Middle Eastern/Arab countries.

We have said basically the same thing. There are some countries where it's cheaper and/or easier and/or better to use a Malaysian passport than an Australian passport, but the Australian passport is generally far more convenient for purposes of travel across more and more frequently visited countries.

Until people failed to read things in context, this thread was about dual citizenship and not dual passports from the same country. But in carrying on with the digression, there is very little to stop "bad guys" -- at least those who have their wits about them and are willing to spend a little more money to commit fraud -- that lets them do the same.

Legitimately, it's possible to have two valid US passports or even more than two valid US passports. Some Americans have had up to five valid US passports at a time -- but probably that is generally more likely to involve Americans who do not hold dual nationality than those who legitimately hold passports from a second country.

When it comes to entering the US, US nationals are required by law to enter the country as US citizens. Use of different passports (in the same name) of the same type by a US national won't make a difference as the US passports are now generally linked to the same named person regardless of which US passport is being used to re-enter the US.

To the OP: if Malaysian law does not allow you to hold a Malaysian passport because it doesn't consider you a Malaysian citizen since you are an Australian citizen (and I say "if" because although that is my understanding of the Malaysian position I don't know that for certain, but if it is true), then you will be holding a Malaysian passport that is technically invalid, so my advice would be to be very careful...

That is true for many countries, but not for all. The US, for instance, insists that its citizens use a US passport to enter the US. South Africa and, in almost all instances, Australia have similar requirements.

But the UK, for example, does not, and merely requires that the documentation presented at a UK port of entry is adequate for the purpose of the trip. So there is nothing to stop, say, a dual Botswanan-British citizen going to the UK on a holiday using his or her Botswanan passport and entering the UK as a Botswanan citizen. Generally, though, the only thing that the UK will put in the non-British passport of a British citizen is a right of abode certificate: they won't knowingly issue a visa to a British citizen.

Other countries that do not in all circumstances require their citizens to use the "home" passport are quite numerous, and include Ireland, France, New Zealand, Canada...

Malaysia's indigenous people -- just like the indigenous people in many other former British colonies in Africa and Asia -- insisted at the time of independence or soon after independence on rather strong prohibitions against holding more than one citizenship in order to try to break the ties between the (former) colonists and the land they (or their parents/grandparents) colonized.

I have both Australian and British, because the British offers me significant work and travel benefits across the EU and that's the only reason to bother.

I generally only use my US passport for entering and leaving the US; for every other trip, I use my UK passport.

Visa fees for UK passports at most embassies/high commissions in London are almost always cheaper for UK citizens than for US citizens, in my experience - at least for the countries to which I travel.

Thanks for the tips and advice guys. I'm born in Australia but dad is a Malaysian. I currently have Aussie Passport and a Malaysian ID Card but no Malaysian Passport. For me to travel to certain Asian cities requires a visa(s) and for Malaysian Passport no visa required. eg Vietnam. So I'm thinking if it's worth getting a Malaysian passport as well for this instance, how to use it without getting busted at the immigration as I would not want to surrender the Australian passport.

thanks

There are two different concepts at work here which many people (erroneously) conflate.

You have Australian citizenship.

Your Australian citizenship entitles you to physically hold an Australian passport.

These are not the same thing.

You may be a citizen of Malaysia by birth, in which case you would be entitled to a Malaysian passport provided that Malaysia

In any case, any agent operating on behalf of the Malaysian government cannot force you to surrender your Australian passport to them; your Australian passport is actually the property of the Australian government and no one else's. The only thing the Malaysian government can do is force you to choose citizenships (either that of Malaysia or of some other country).

I'm not familiar with Malaysian citizenship law so I do not know if you are a citizen of Malaysia (being in possession of an ID card, it sounds like you might be). If so, you might run into problems if you apply for a Malaysian passport and you are discovered to be in possession of country's passport by virtue of your citizenship of that country.

Your best bet would be to find out if dual nationality (by birth) is permitted by Malaysia. If so, then you should be fine, and entitled to hold a Malaysian passport as a Malaysian citizen. If not, then as pointed out, you are not a Malaysian citizen and thus your ID card is invalid.

I'm dual US and Spain. I use my US passport for US/Canada, and my Spanish passport for the EU. Anywhere else, it depends on which one gets me a cheaper visa (if req.) and which country is hostile with which.

Malaysia has legal prohibition against dual citizenship.

http://www.asianpacificpost.com/port...p_laws.do.html

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...s/cis_960.html

I have both Venezuelan & Italian passport.I always travel with dual passports. I present my Venezuelan passport to leave/enter Venezuela. Then, when arriving to another country abroad,lets say the states.. i enter as Italian since i don't require a Visa. (Even if i have a Visa on my Venezuelan).

So far i haven't had any troubles.I enjoy having dual passports.It all depends on the situation,which passport you may use to your advantage. For example, the Venezuelan passport doesn't need a Visa to enter Russia.

Overall EU passport is EU passport.
Italian is the winner.

I also have the possibility to hold a third US passport in the future. Though, i believe you are only allowed 2?

I have HK SAR and US passport. If I use US passport to enter another country(let's say London UK), and if I were got into trouble, I have to go to US embassy to seek help.... If I use HK SAR passport to enter London, I have to go to HK SAR embassy to seek help.

You can make your own choice :-)

No, that depends on the countries concerned, but virtually all countries that allow dual citizenship allow multiple citizenship. Some countries make a distinction, however, between citizenships acquired in different ways (e.g. at birth or by naturalisation), so it pays to make enquiries of the competent authorities.

This can be a bit of a grey area. In fact, in normal circumstances it is unlikely that either of your countries of citizenship would refuse help. The country that you are in, however, might insist as regarding you solely as a citizen of the country that you presented yourself as being on entry and so (for example) deny officials of the other country consular access to you if you were in prison. (The country that you used in your example, however – the UK – would not normally do that.)

Note too that if you were simply seeking routine consular services from one of your countries of citizenship while you were abroad (e.g. to renew a passport), then the passport that you used to enter the country you are in is of no relevance whatsoever (assuming, of course, that both the passports are legally held and you are indeed a citizen of both the countries).

Great. In that case, I guess our OP has to choose.

Interestingly, when I went to the British Embassy in Kathmandu to register myself for consular knowledge, the little screen where I typed up my details said something funny like "If you are a citizen of another country, then the UK will not look after you while you are abroad." In typical British fashion, it was maddeningly vague. Did that mean that if I'm a citizen of the UK and Paraguay, even though I enter Nepal on my UK passport, that I have to depend on Paraguay to rescue me? Or did it mean that I'm not protected by the UK only if I'm in the country of which I am also a citizen (which is true and is stated in the UK passport)? Annoying. And TBH I'd rather have the US rescue me than the UK any day. :)

No, that's only half the story. According to the UK Border Agency's page on dual nationality, regarding consular assistance:
Even that can be a grey area too, since sometimes unofficial assistance is able to be given (although such a relaxed situation would almost certainly not arise in the case of China!).

But if you are a citizen of both the UK and Paraguay and find yourself in need of consular assistance in Nepal, that issue does not arise, of course.

Yes, that's what I thought. And that's more or less what it directly says in the UK passport. I just thought it was very poorly worded on this little web-page thingy that I registered my details on. It seemed to say that I wouldn't be covered by the UK if I were a citizen of any other country. That sounded wrong to me.

Information given out by British missions abroad, the Home Office telephone helplines, and even official websites about nationality matters (in particular) can be lamentably poor. It always pays to double check, if you can, sadly.

Oh well I think I'll just stick to my Australian passport then for the moment. Thanks for the input once again.

Perhaps I should have added, for the sake of completeness, that the quoted information applies if you are in difficulty (e.g. in prison) and require consular assistance. It does not apply to the ordinary work of a British consulate or embassy. So, for example, if you are a both a British citizen and a US citizen (say) and you lose your British passport while you are in the USA, or you want to register a newborn child with the British authorities, the British consul or embassy can render that sort of assistance.

Though in fact you might want to seek competent legal advice (from a lawyer who is well versed in Malaysian nationality and immigration law) or advice from the Malaysian authorities if you really want to pursue what possibilities are open to you.

Competent attorneys in Malaysia will inform the OP that a choice has to be made -- Australian or Malaysian citizenship, can't be both -- and that they should consider the impact upon rights (particularly property/property acquisition/inheritance rights) in Malaysia as a non-citizen if electing to surrender/announce surrender of Malaysian citizenship.

Going to the Malaysian government authorities about such a matter should be done if and only if wanting to surrender/announce surrendering of Malaysian citizenship -- this going to authorities should preferably done after consultation with Malaysian attorneys to get briefed on rights that may be disrupted by a termination of Malaysian citizenship and what should be done about that.

I'm sure what you say about competent Malaysian lawyers is correct: my point was really that the OP oughtn't to rely on information from an on-line forum when it comes to making a decision such as this.

And I agree that before even considering going to the Malaysian authorities it would be very wise to be armed with all the facts.

Malaysian vs US Passport - URGENT, Plz Help!!!
 

I'm a Green-card holder and consider to become US Naturalization (anytime now, if I apply). My concern is that I planned to go back to Malaysia very soon for more than a year (or maybe forever). I want to keep both of my status in Malaysia and U.S.

I know the option for applying the Re-Entry Permit (Form I-131) is not 100% secure if I stay oversea for more than 1 year. The 2nd option about becoming US Naturalization which concern me the followings:

1) How would I use those passports with being busted by US or Malaysia immigrant? I know for US we have to enter and exit via US passport but how about Malaysia..?
2) If I use US passport to enter Malaysia; wouldn't Malaysian immigration has my Malaysian status to find out that I have a dual citizenship? At least on the US passport they will show my origin place of birth is Malaysia.
3) If I use US passport to enter Malaysia; can I use my Malaysia passport to go to other countries (not US; elsewhere) from Malaysia?

I'm clueless of being dual nationality and afraid if I apply for Naturalization that will mess up my Malaysia passport. Thank you in advance for your helpful reply.

I have a friend who legally holds passports for 5 countries, "just because he can." He travels with the passport/s appropriate for the places he will be visiting.

His nationalities are from UK, Ireland, Zimbabwe, South Africa and New Zealand.

That depends on the country. Some countries insist on it: the USA, Australia (except in rare circumstances), South Africa, for example. But the UK, for example, has no such requirement, and merely requires that the documentation that the traveller presents on arrival be sufficient for the intended purpose of the stay in the UK.

With multiple passports: The biggest issue is if you are travelling on an itinerary that does not match up passport stamps in one passport.

Parents tried to save a few dollars by using a second passport to enter country A which has no entry visa requirement for their second passport. On their way home they needed to transit via another country where their second passport would require an entry visa so they used their first passport.
When it was determined that they came from country A and the border officer could not find the entry and exit stamp in their first passport they were detained and questioned(interrogated?). They ended up missing their connection and had to layover at their own expenses. I think every time their passport is scanned from now on the flashing red light goes off.

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If you are a citizen of one country by birth or any other legal means according to the law of that country, having a foreign passport will not be of any help if and when you need assistance of a foreign government.

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I have close relatives who are Malaysian nationals and they knew of cases where people's Malaysian citizenship was terminated and passports confiscated when a second passport under their name was discovered.

What is the transiting country?