Twitcher1958

If you enter the UK, or Europe, on your British passport, you need to leave on it too - you may need to show your Canadian one to the airline but border officials will be looking for a stamp in a Canadian one, which won’t be there if you used your British passport to enter the country. You will need the Canadian one to get into Canada.

I found it confusing at first but found it easier to understand when I realized there are different needs for the airlines compared to border officials. The border officials in the UK are looking to match up your exit with your entry - so British in, British out or Canadian in, then Canadian out.

The airline in the UK is looking to identify you and that you have a valid way of entering Canada on your return, so they expect to see your Canadian passport.

I usually show my British passport to UK border officials on entry, because queues are shorter, then show it to them again when leaving, but use my Canadian one for everything else.
I hope this helps and doesn’t confuse further.

ilittlewood

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Thanks

Atlantic Xpat

Eh? Where and to whom do you have to show your passport to when leaving the UK - other than to the airline? Not the Border Force, that's for sure.

I travel to UK 8-10 times a year. I use my UK passport for the Canada to UK flight, entering the details on AC or WJ website and to pass through immigration at LHR/LGW. (I use the e-passport gates as my UK passport is an e-passport).

Returning to Canada I check in using my Canadian passport - online and for physical verification either at the check in desk/kiosk or preboarding (if travelling with only carry on). At no point to I have to show my passport to UK Border Force. At no point does anyone get at all worried that I don't have an entry stamp to the UK. The airlines simply don't check this but if they did I'm sure pulling out my UK passport would be sufficient explanation. Arriving in Canada I clear CBSA immigration using my Canadian passport.

In 5 years of frequent travel to the UK / Europe as a dual national I've only had a raised eyebrow from UK Border Force on one occasion. In that instance I arrive back at LGW late at night from Spain to be faced with a massive EU passport line up and a rather shorter "Other passports" one. So i opted for that line up instead (poor decision in hindsight as it moved rather slower than the EU line). The BF officer thumbed through my Canadian PP and asked me how long I was staying in the UK. I explained I was flying out the next day & she stamped it before I could get to the "here's my UK PP as well" line!

Twitcher1958

I obviously stand corrected! I do travel to UK and Europe regularly but admittedly more regularly to Europe and these airports all blend after a while. I do know that I’ve been challenged at a couple of European airports when I’ve shown the wrong passport inadvertently. Make sure you have both with you in that case 😏

Atlantic Xpat

No worries. I think you are right with EU airports - certainly leaving Spain there is a passport checkpoint prior to boarding. But you either have to have both or you have to have your Canadian one & travel everywhere on that. You can't just travel on your UK one as you wont be able to return to Canada. That, I think is the key point!

Twitcher1958

Strongly agree! Happy New Year 😀

Snowy560

I put all our Canadian PPs into the airline booking.
But on arrival at LGW we entered the UK on British PPs.
There was no issue.

And obviously we returned to Canada on the Canadian PP (both at check in at LGW and at YVR).

Atlantic Xpat

I wondered about that. I diligently enter my UK PP details but long suspected that I could enter my Canadian PP for APIS purposes and not cause the system the meltdown by actually entering UK on my UK PP.

Atlantic Xpat

Did this same thing on Saturday night flying to London. Checked in on Canadian passport but went through immigration (e-passport gates) on my UK one. No warning horns, flashing lights or border force officers descended on me. I'm a little surprised that there isn't a more positive link between the APIS info that an airline submits and actual entry into the country. i.e. Air Canada sends passport details for the 300 pax on the flight & one of them, Mr AX, doesn't enter the country. Or does but with a different nationality & passport details. I suppose it's question of what the UK border force would do with that info. How, for example, would they make it AC's problem that incorrect pp details were provided? How would AC enforce with me? Curious.

MarylandNed

At least twice that I can think of (in almost 30 years of travelling back and forth between North America and the UK), I have been stopped on exit from the UK and asked for my passport. This was after I had checked in with the airline. I'm not sure why this happened - maybe it's a random check - but I was asked why there was no UK entry stamp in my Canadian passport. I told the guy that I was also a British citizen and had entered the UK with my British passport. He then asked to see my British passport.

Hurlabrick

As regards exit checks and matching entry and exit information, I have a friend who only a few days ago flew from Poland to the UK, and she very nearly didn't get the flight coz the Polish exit officials couldn't find her entry information. She is a Canadian serving with the Canadian military in Poland, so would have entered under her military id. I guess what this shows is that some countries in Europe care about this!

The UK never used to have exit checks, but IIRC from April 2015, they started 'collecting' exit information and loading electronically collected information from operators (plenty on the interweb about this). But then again, it would be a 'government IT project', and we know how well those go!!!

I think it is a matter of time before the UK starts to get a lot more anal about it and they may also throw a hissy fit if you don't leave on the same passport you came in on

DigitalGhost

They do. My girlfriend currently lives in the UK with me on a Japanese passport and UK permanent resident status and everytime we leave these days the check-in staff go through her passport page by page looking for the tourist stamp and then ask why she doesn't have one. The obvious reason is because she gets the resident stamp and, like Canada, the UK doesn't use passport counterfoils for non-visa nationalities. They always have to call their 'supervisor' to check though.

All told it's a gigantic pain in the arse and it would probably just be easier for everyone if they reintroduced a proper exit check system.

BritInParis

Does she not have a BRP?

DigitalGhost

Yes but that's all she has and they never ask to see it and because everyone is constantly terrified of having any mistake attributed to them in the UK service sector, they will never just accept that instead of a visa counterfoil or tourist stamp.

I think these are the problems when you try to devolve that kind of job the airline check-in people who already have enough on their plate and don't really understand the system tbh.

BritInParis

The airline staff check her passport for a visitor stamp when leaving the UK?