csey1001

Hello,

I am a UK-US dual national living in NYC. I have up-to-date passports for both. I am going on holiday to Italy for 10 days and wondered if anyone could help me with which passport/s I should use for the legs of my trip?

When visiting the UK, I use my US passport to leave and enter the USA and my UK/EU passport to enter the UK (I have checked that this is correct with both the US and UK immigration).

When travelling to Italy, should I do the same? I.e. use my US passport to leave the US, my UK/EU passport to enter Italy and then my US passport to re-enter the US?

Any tips welcome!
Thanks

OCKF

Yes thats what I would do!

ian-mstm

Yes.

Ian

MarylandNed

You're missing a bit. Which passport do you use to check in for your return flight to the US from UK/Italy? When returning to the US, if you don't present your US passport at check-in, you could be asked why you don't have an ESTA.

Although the rest of the scenario you described seems to be what they prefer, it's actually not mandatory. As long as you use your US passport on the US side (per US law), it doesn't really matter which passport you use to visit the UK or Italy. I normally just use my US passport for the entire trip.

If you're going to use 2 passports, make sure you have both handy in case a question arises (e.g. where's your ESTA for your flight to the US?)

csey1001

@MarylandNed - I use my US passport to come back to the USA. When travelling to the UK, I only use my UK passport to enter the UK.

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I will definitely travel with both passports handy!

SanDiegogirl

I'm travelling to UK, Berlin and Spain and am using my US passport all the way.

Did this last year too and had no problems. (used my US passport for all ticket bookings)

An dual UK/US citizen,

tht

If I had both, I would use whichever had the shorter immigration line in Italy.

My wife has sometimes beat me through on her US passport when the line is shorter, but in general EU line will be shorter/quicker.

It probably also depends on if you intend to do any work while there, then I would use an EU passport.

BritInParis

Use your US passport to check in when leaving Italy, but show your British passport if asked when going through immigration.

RICH

When I returned from UK a couple of weeks ago there was a "security person" at the entrance to the check-in desks at Heathrow. I was asked to show passport, and I managed to grab both mine out of my pocket, which she spotted, and told me straight, if you are dual, you have to use your US passport to check in.

MarylandNed

I have also encountered a "security person" when returning to the US and Canada. If you show just the foreign passport (having entered the UK with the UK passport), they ask why there isn't a UK entry stamp in the foreign passport. Now I usually just use my US passport for the entire trip.