dual citizenship and two passports

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edels

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Does anyone know if there are likley to be problems using two different passports (Aussie and Canuck) when travelling via LAX to and from Canada? With the new fingerprinting etc I'm not sure if this will cause a huge headache for me, espcially as I'm travelling with my 3 month old who at the moment only has a Canadian passport.
 
As long as you only present one of your passports at US immigration, you will have no problems.
 
You are leagally required to use your Aussie passport for all access to and from Australia. This is likely to be the same for most counties that permit dual citizenship/passports. So that would mean you have to use the passort of the country being entered or departed if you have such a passport in your possession.
 
NM said:
You are leagally required to use your Aussie passport for all access to and from Australia. This is likely to be the same for most counties that permit dual citizenship/passports. So that would mean you have to use the passort of the country being entered or departed if you have such a passport in your possession.

Not sure this applies to the EU.

I have both an EU passport and an Aussie one.
 
I too have an Aussie and EU passport, and go by the general rule of using my Aussie passport when entering and leaving Australian shores, but use exclusively only my EU passprt throughout Europe. No headaches encountered. I am presuming the same will apply for Australian and Canadian passports.
I'm not sure about your specific situation, however feel that if the daughter's Canadian passport is valid, there should be no problems using it to leave/enter Australia/Canada.
 
NM said:
You are leagally required to use your Aussie passport for all access to and from Australia. This is likely to be the same for most counties that permit dual citizenship/passports. So that would mean you have to use the passort of the country being entered or departed if you have such a passport in your possession.

There aren't that many countries that want a nice big brother spying opportunity on people. Australia requires it and US requires it, but I am pretty certain that the UK doesn't care what you use. Technically, as a UK Citizen you don't even need a passport to enter the country

Dave
 
Thanks for the various replies. My big concern is returning to Canada on the Aussie passport and being asked questions by US immigration about my residency status. I'm a Canadian citizen but my Aussie passport still has my residency permit which has been stamped "no longer a resident". I can prove my Canadian citizenship but don't know if US immigration is going to get really picky about using the Aussie passport rather than the Canadian. And then if I use the Canadian instead will that cause headaches as suggested by Damien? Does anyone know a good US website to contact about these types of questions?
 
edels said:
Thanks for the various replies. My big concern is returning to Canada on the Aussie passport and being asked questions by US immigration about my residency status. I'm a Canadian citizen but my Aussie passport still has my residency permit which has been stamped "no longer a resident". I can prove my Canadian citizenship but don't know if US immigration is going to get really picky about using the Aussie passport rather than the Canadian. And then if I use the Canadian instead will that cause headaches as suggested by Damien? Does anyone know a good US website to contact about these types of questions?

Is your 3 month old and Australian Citizen? If so, I believe that the same rules of passports apply and that you need to apply for an Ozzian one for her/him.

As long as you use the Australian Passports at Australian immigration and the Canadian ones at US and Canadian immigraton, you'll have no issues.

Dave
 
My understanding is what NM said.
In your case, I think you need to use the Canadian passport when entering Canada (as both of you have Canadian Passports), and you can use Australian passport when you enter Australia.

From what I heard, when I was in Canada a few months ago, Canadians need to apply for a visa before entering Australia. I could not believe that but this person swore.
So, I am not sure if your child (who has a Canadian passport) will need a visa??????
 
arun said:
From what I heard, when I was in Canada a few months ago, Canadians need to apply for a visa before entering Australia. I could not believe that but this person swore.
So, I am not sure if your child (who has a Canadian passport) will need a visa??????

As I understand it, the only country whose citizens don't need a visa to come to good ol' Oz is NZ. (Unless they also have an Oz passport, that is).
 
From my exprience the guys at the immigration do not really care what passport you show them as long as that passport is valid and allows you to enter or leave the country.

You should however use the same passport to enter and leave as some countries impose time limits on stays without visa.

I have the situation with my wife & daugther who both have dual citizenship (Aussie & Thai).

Only trouble my wife had once once when leaving Thailand on here Thai passport and they checked her passport name against her name on the ticket (maiden name in Thai passport).

But this was quickly sorted out by presenting the second passport that proofed her indentify against the name on the ticket.

It's not a crime to have two passports if they are both valid an obtained legally!!!

As far as the visa requirements back to Australia go we always make sure to bring a copy of my daugther's Australian birth certificate as well as marriage certificate along in case of any questions.
 
I had a problem at MEL when I loaned my large bag to my brother for his trip to London, and guess what was in it, my Australian passport!

I had my UK passport, but they regarded me as an undocumented arrival - and run me through the griller (even though I was an undocumented arrival LEAVING Australia - why would they bother, if I was an illegal, I was leaving the country anyway, so I would have ceased to be a problem for them).

The only thing which saved me further grief was the scans of my passport pages uploaded to my website - which I had printouts of, and which they accessed - which proved I was an Aussie citizen.

Go figure, I have had a few problems with Australian Immigration, in PRECISELY the scenarios when I shouldn't have (domestic travel, outbound departure, and so on) - and I am an Aussie citizen. Who knows about these clowns...

Dave
 
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Copied from: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/tips/dualnat.html#4

Entering and leaving Australia
To avoid delays at airline check-in and again at the border entry point, Australian citizens who are dual nationals are advised to leave and return to Australia on their Australian passport. An Australian citizen cannot be granted a visa for Australia.

When entering Australia, all Australians, including those who hold dual nationality, must be able to prove that they are an Australian citizen. An Australian passport is conclusive evidence of a person's identity and citizenship, and provides the holder with unfettered right of entry to Australia.

An Australian citizen who arrives without an Australian passport may be delayed until their identity and claims to enter Australia have been checked. If a person holding a foreign passport claims to be an Australian citizen, immigration officers must confirm and verify this through official databases. This will invariably cause some delays to the person while the authorities undertake the necessary enquiries.

International airlines have an obligation to ensure that they only carry appropriately documented passengers to Australia. In the absence of an Australian passport, airlines are unable to assess an Australian citizen's claimed citizenship at the time of check-in and may decline to carry the traveller. Or, they may have to make inquiries with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in Australia to seek approval to carry the passenger, which takes time and may cause inconvenience to the passenger.

I am aware that this might not assist the OP concerning dual citizenship with AUS and CAN, but there might be some similar Canadian Govt site that could assist in the same way.
 
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