Biiiiink

Exactly, that's why I just nodded contritely and said of course I'd use a UK passport next time. And never have.

I think it's 6mths - see the stamp I got in my post above. Like I said, I wouldn't attempt UK life on a Canadian passport, but I'm happy at UK immigration with it given my year of birth and place.

Biiiiink

Hah, true! But if my bag's pinched, I haven't got the cost of 2 to replace, and the worry of being passport-less whilst they're replaced. I'd get back to Canada with the police report I guess, and would use the British one to travel, with citizenship card for crossing the US border.

iaink

The difference is that for the sake of a vacation I don't really care if they think I'm British or Canadian, as long as they let me in for a visit.

Do people go through the shorter British Citizens lineup using just a Canadian PP with a UK birthplace, rather than queue with the great unwashed masses of non British PP holders?

Last time I was there I still had my (valid) British PP with me (as well as my new Canadian one) and went in the short line, along with the wife and kids on their Canadian passports. Could I do that with just my Canadian passport?

If for whatever reason I needed to prove beyond doubt that I was British (although I cant think of any circumstances right now), there is always the option of taking my expired British passport and my birth cert, they should count for something hopefully?

Souvenir

Interesting questions. I think, although I may be wrong, that the lanes are for nationality, not passport. You could probably do what you suggest in your last paragraph but the ensuing conversation might well take longer than lining up with the great unwashed.

iaink

I was quite prepared to stay with the wife and kids in the foreign line...What was nice was that one of the staff noticed me standing around with maroon passport in hand and directed us all over to the shorter line... Maybe I should just take the expired one anyway


Any positive impression of customer service in the UK was however erased shortly afterwards while we stood for what seemed like 5 minutes at the rail counter waiting for the "customer service" agent to finish up her obviously personal call on her mobile before she deigned to deal with us! My wife was gobsmaked, but after a week or so she was pretty much resigned to the abysmal level that now seems normal there.

Souvenir

I'm surprised to hear that. I find customer service in the UK to be miles ahead of what I get here. Railway stations in particular.

Pamela 1

We are British born and Canadian citizens therefore have both passports. We will be over our 6 months this time but have our return flight. Passports seem to be scanned now not stamped, but what does the scan say?

I don't think there should be any problem returning past 6 months if we use UK to leave and Canandian to return, do you?

iaink

What do you mean by "over our six months"?

Ramsey

Put one in your Hand-luggage and one in your suitcase.... Then if one get's pinched you can still travel without too much hassle on that trip and save all the replacement issues for when you get home.... It's not often (touch-wood) that all your bags get pinched....

neill

The scan reads the two lines at the bottom of a passport, (known as the "Machine Readable" bit). It is a repeat of the information above it + a checksum to validate.

neill

The only way i could see this being a problem is if you submit Advanced passenger info to your airline with one passport and then present another passport at check-in.

I have heard that it is better to enter the UK on your UK passport and Can on your Canadian passport because if you don't it looks like you are trying to hide something. I also saw (a few years ago) a man getting a major bollocking in front of his family by a UK immigration officer for using his Canadian passport instead of his UK one (he had both on him).

I always use the passport of the country i'm entering (UK/Can) and never have any problems. As far as travel to the USA is concerned, i use my Canadian passport to save time and money.

Butch Cassidy

Possession of a passport does not prove citizenship. My B-I-L carrys an irish passport, a passport he was entitled to (as I understand) because his mother is Irish.

Pamela 1

We will be away 7 months so that is more than the usual 6 months. That's what I meant.

iaink

In which case you dont have much choice but to use a british passport on arrival in London...you wont be allowed in for that long on anything else I suspect.

When you get back to canada it doesnt really matter which you use... although it makes more sense to use the canadian one as it clearly indicates your status as a canadian citizen. As a canadian citizen, the fact youve been out of the country for 7 months makes no difference to anything, it doesnt affect your status at all.

Even if you were still a PR traveling back to canada on a british passport your length of absence shouldnt make any difference, although I suppose it could reaise eyebrows and they might look into your absences in a bit of detail if they suspected that the overall residency requirements for PR were no longer being met.

Hobbess

On this theme, here's the scenario my family will be facing as we travel back to the UK at the end of this month.

My wife and I are both British citizens with UK passports and 2 year residency visas in Canada right now. Our newly born son has already got Canadian and UK passports in preparation for the trip back.

When flying into the UK do we use our son's UK passport or Canadian, from what I read he's got the right to use either, however thinking ahead to the trip back is the Canadian easier so he gets stamped, but then that means standing in the non-UK line.

To add a twist I'm returning 2 weeks earlier than my wife and son (she's on mat leave so can take her time) . They are going to have a consent letter from me but which passport should we bring our son back in on, Canadian or UK. I almost feel like the UK one would be easier as it matches my wifes so should involve less hassle.

I think overall that this should be straightforward but IO experience in the past around the world (not in Calgary to be fair) means I want to get some advice.