VeryVeritas

My daughter will be attending a post graduate degree program in the UK. My husband is a dual citizen (UK/US) and my daughter is as well.

I have tried to glean information and while I realize that one has to fly in and out of the US on that passport, it is my further understanding that a dual national can and perhaps should enter the UK and leave on that passport. However, conversation re tying passport data to flight data has me very confused.

To complicate things, her program is a solid year without interruption, so ideally she would fly on a one way ticket and book her return when closer to that time, if in fact she does not elect to stay and work in the UK.

One suggestion was to book a return within the time frame allowed by the airline (which appears to be at most 11 or 12 months) and then pay a penalty to change it. But is there any reason she can't just book a one way ticket? Would she have to provide evidence to the airline of her ability to stay there? Why should it matter to them? How do they know she won't be returning on the QEII??? Something she thinks would be a great idea BTW...

When she enters Britain on her UK passport should she have any concerns? Is traveling for study a red flag (I know that sounds like a crazy question but the whole world seems crazy these days...).

When/if she returns to the US one plus years later, entering on her US passport, will they be curious that there is no exit stamp and that it has been such a long time?

The UK and the US are the major employment hubs for her area of expertise and it is a very competitive field with limited opportunities compared to other career avenues. She is well qualified and should do well, but we want her to have the opportunity to work on either side of the pond and don't want to do anything stupid that would endanger her dual status.

BritInParis

Providing your daughter carries both a valid US and British passport she can come and go between the US and the UK as she pleases. She doesn't need to explain her movements to anyone nor book a return flight. The only legal requirement is that she must enter and exit the US on her US passport. Once she arrives in the UK she can just use her British passport to enter the UK as any other British citizen and stay for as long as she wishes.

VeryVeritas

Well that seems simple enough. Many thanks.

CanadianSpruce

It's also worth pointing out that you don't have to legally give the airline the US passport data when leaving. It's just a requirement to have it on you and the only time you'd have to present it is if there is a random exit check on the jet bridge.

holly_1948

As long as her name is exactly the same in both passports, no problem, just carry both passports. Otherwise the bureaucracies are unpredictable.
This happens often enough with young women who have married and maiden names.

In most US States law requires each person to have precisely one "legal name". It's a State matter, not a Federal matter. There is no such concept as legal name in Britain, you can call yourself whatever you wish.
I have heard it said that members of the Royal family have multiple names for various purposes.

The UK passport office used to have a rule (still do?) that they won't change the name in a passport unless the applicant has just one name that is used for all purposes. And this applies even if the name in the passport is no longer used for any other purpose. Women who have multiple citizenships, emigrate/immigrate and have marriages that end in divorces can end up with many names, all different, all without deceptive intentions.

durham_lad

Their systems don't seem to accommodate more than 1 set of passport details. I've tried both online when booking and also at the gate, so I always provide my UK passport details when traveling to the UK but have my US passport readily available.

Brigette

Quick question for you. I'm a dual citizen as well. I'm British by birth and a naturalized US CITIZEN. On one passport my middle name is spelled out and on the other the middle initial is listed. American passport says place of birth UK, American passport says London. Just wanted to know if this will be a problem when I travel next month. Thanks

Pulaski

No, no problem, the information in each passport is consistent i.e. not contradictory.

durham_lad

Same with us regarding birth places and my wife's middle initial is used on one and spelled out on the other. (I don't have a middle name).

Hasn't been a problem in the 19 years we have been Natturalized US citizens.

VeryVeritas

So if she has both passports on her, there is no barrier to booking a ticket under her British passport.

BritInParis

A one-way ticket to the UK, yes.

VeryVeritas

Perfect. Thank you!

Brigette

Thanks everyone for answering. Appreciate it