thebrit123

Will be flying to the UK in the next few months and have a question about using the two passports. I have both a USA and UK passport.

Will be flying into LHR from the USA and then transferring to a domestic flight to Scotland. The airline is British Airways but operated by American Airlines. the plane arrives at LHR Terminal 3 and the domestic one leaving Terminal 5.

Question 1 - Will my luggage be transferred straight thru to Scotland or do I need customs at LHR.

Question 2 - Do I go to immigration in LHR and if so should I use my British passport to save time.

Question 3 - On the airlines website I had to enter the passport info. It does not seem to allow for two passports so I entered the US one. Is that a problem.

On some thread, I had read the UK border control is upgrading the computer system that does not take into account dual nationals with two passports. Is that true as I have a fear that I would be denied boarding go back.

I had read that you must leave and enter the USA using the US passport. Should I show the airline that I have two passports or will that confuse them.

paulpur

no idea about the luggage part, but as far as the passports are concerned , having 2 passports is not a problem , use your US passport at the US airport on the way out, then use your UK passport when you arrive at London and for your flight to Scotland
and then on the return use your UK passport at the Scottish airport and at London just use your US passport
in reality, you can use whatever passport you want to use in the UK, they dont require that you enter and leave the country using your UK passport so if you wanted to you could always just use your US passport all the way through, the only issue with that is that you will be landed as a tourist under the 6month tourist visa free program

Bob

1 - Ask them, but chances are it'll be bagged to go straight through.

2 - You shouldn't go through immigration, there's a transfers corridor.

3 - No problem, it doesn't matter as long as the name on the passport matches the ticket.

And you are right, as a US citizen, you need to use your US passport to enter and leave the US. The airline won't care which you show them, they just want to know you have the right to travel to the destination. It won't hurt to show both passports, they wouldn't care though.

tonrob

Yes he will - otherwise how would they segregate domestic vs. intentional passengers on arrival in Scotland? The transfers route at LHR has a passport check in it.

Steve_

Basically, use the US passport throughout the trip to and from the UK, except when you go through the immigration line at LHR. Everywhere else, US immigration, check-in, gate, etc. use the US passport. Except of course for your trip to and from Scotland, but no passport is required for that (yet - Alex Salmond has different plans).

thebrit123

Thanks for all your replies. Sounds like I will use my UK passport in LHR in passport control to save time with the lines. Does it make any difference that the airline has on record my US passport number? Does this info get passed UK border control making them expect a US passport? Also does the US immigration people have any issues not seeing the UK stamp in the US passport and will they ask for the UK one for proof?

Guindalf

I got back from England last week and I used the US passport to leave and re-enter the US and the UK one at Heathrow.

I only entered the US one on the airline's website.

As for immigration, you will almost certainly have to go through customs at Heathrow. My trip ended there but I had a transfer in the US. I went through passport control and customs (plus an unnecessary security check which caused me to miss my connection) in DC before handing back my checked case for the continuation flight.

This is speculation, but your trip is pretty much the reverse of mine, so you should go through it all when you get to Heathrow and have an easier flight back.

Bob

No.

No.

galego

True but it depends how you answer when the immigration officer asks "how long are you staying".

I once had to enter the UK on my US passport as my British one was tied up in an embassy getting a visa. The agent asked about my plans for visiting the UK and my response was "I live here". I don't have a permanent resident stamp on my US passport (can never get UK Border Agency on the phone) and apparently speaking in a northern accent and having "Place of Birth: United Kingdom" on a foreign passport isn't enough. Luckily he let me through about half an hour later but I've learnt to keep my British passport close to me

md95065

Immigration and customs are two separate things.

The OP will go through immigration at Heathrow as part of their transfer to the domestic flight.

Their baggage will be checked through to their UK destination where it will come out on a different belt from the domestic baggage and they will go through customs there.

Bob

Your issue was passport not fit for purpose, as you mentioned, if you were using the US passport to enter the UK, to live long term, then you'd need a visa in it.

The fact that it states the UK as place of birth means nothing because unlike the US, being born in the UK does not give one automatic British citizenship.

galego

i agree... shame the border agency make it so hard to sort this issue out

Alan17

Your bags will go straight through. When they get to Scotland is a different matter. I've always had problems with bags (not) transferring between T3 and T5 at Heathrow. Customs in a Scotland may check them as theyll be tagged for a transfer but I've never seen that happen.

I always use the shortest line which is almost always the EU nationals line. Don't know if they have IRIS scanners at Flight Connections but if your passport lets you, use this. (IRIS UK passport and Global Entry on the US one means never having to talk to any immigration guy on a transatlantic trip - bliss)

I always enter the US one on the website as the US authorities seem to be the most picky.

thebrit123

Thanks for your replies. The last times, that I flew overseas was in 2009. At that time, I decided to use the US passport in Edinburgh as the immigration line was very short. The immigration officer suggested that I use the UK passport next time. I told her that I was worried about the USA giving me a hard time when returning back to the USA. I guess it would be better to use in Heathrow since the lines will be longer than Edinburgh.

This is our first family reunion in year. American/British airways are offering some good deals which worked out good. My younger sister, who is flying from another airport, will be traveling with her son. He has a US passport and she a UK one. I guess they will be split up in Heathrow when going thru passport control. Hope that does not happen since this is his first flight overseas and he is only 9 years old. How do they handle a person with a EU passport and a kid with a USA one?

tonrob

You'd kind of hope they would though, whenever someone tries to enter with documentation that's at odds with the stated reason for entry.