Which Passport at Immigration?
Mar 12th 2008, 12:53 am
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 409
Which Passport at Immigration?
Next week I'm off to the UK for the first time since being sworn in as a US citizen last year. So I'm now the proud owner of both US and UK passports.
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
Mar 12th 2008, 12:59 am
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Oregon
Posts: 612
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
Next week I'm off to the UK for the first time since being sworn in as a US citizen last year. So I'm now the proud owner of both US and UK passports.
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
He said next time come in on your UK passport. So that's what I do now. Travel with both. UK passport to enter UK, US passport to enter US.
Mar 12th 2008, 1:05 am
#3
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,391
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
Right after I became a USC when I entered through UK immigration I only had my new US passport... I wasn't sure, so I asked the officer.
He said next time come in on your UK passport. So that's what I do now. Travel with both. UK passport to enter UK, US passport to enter US.
He said next time come in on your UK passport. So that's what I do now. Travel with both. UK passport to enter UK, US passport to enter US.
You don't need a passport to leave the US. You enter each country with that country's passport, i.e. British passport in the UK and US passport in the US
Mar 12th 2008, 1:58 pm
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 168
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
Which passport number do you record at the airlines early check in website? ... do you enter the UK passport # going to the UK and then change the passport for your US passport for the return flight once you are in the UK ?
Mar 12th 2008, 3:02 pm
#7
Account Closed
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 16,266
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
As a practical matter, you are correct. On the pedantic side, the Immigration & Nationality Act does require a US citizen to have a US passport on departure.
Mar 12th 2008, 3:17 pm
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Oregon
Posts: 612
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
Yep - and Continental (anyway if you are one of their club people or frequent traveler or some such) lets you input both passports into the system ahead of time so when you do the early check in you just select which passport instead of retyping all the info.
Mar 12th 2008, 4:48 pm
#9
gurt mint nit?
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: In my shed
Posts: 2,776
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
Next week I'm off to the UK for the first time since being sworn in as a US citizen last year. So I'm now the proud owner of both US and UK passports.
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
So it comes down to the question of which passport to use where. Obviously I'd use the US one to leave and enter the US, as it's the law. But how about the UK? If I entered the UK on a British passport, would US immigration wonder where the hell my passport stamp was and so on, or couldn't they give a toss?
I'm sure plenty of folks must have done the same thing, so what have you done and did you get grief from it.
Ta
Enter UK on UK passport.
Leave UK with US passport.
Enter US with Iranian passport.
Walk bandy-legged all the way to the car.
Btw: If you enter UK as a family of Britons and one member is a USC only, then they will let you all go thru together in the EU line.
Mar 12th 2008, 4:54 pm
#10
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Which Passport at Immigration?
You don't need a UK passport to enter the UK if the passport you hold is valid for the trip, so using your US passport is fine if it is just a holiday. Becomes a ball ache if you used that to enter if your making a permanent move, in which case you should use your UK passport, unless you've got a visa in the US passport 
