A US citizen traveling to the UK is now required to have an ETA. A person with dual US and UK citizenship is not able to get an ETA (because they have a British passport), which means they must enter and exit England on their British passport. Can anyone talk me through the actual process of traveling with two passports? Do we give both passport numbers to the airlines when we book the flights? Do we show one (which one?) or both passports as we exit the US? Which one (or both) do we show upon arrival? And what's the process in reverse? I understand people do this all the time, but I don't want to get into trouble by showing the wrong passport at the wrong time. Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA & Bordeaux, France
596 posts
Hi Kerry. I am an EU/US citizen. I leave/enter the USA on my US passport and put my US passport number in my ticket. I enter/leave the EU on my EU passport. I only put my EU passport number in my airline ticket if I'm flying places that do not include the US. Hope this is helpful!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
9127 posts
You need to have both passports with you. The US does not ask for a passport on exit, just for ID at TSA, and your airline will want to verify you have proper documentation. Since airlines now will kinda-sorta be required to verify the ETA, you should let them know you have a UK passport to prevent any issues.
Entering the UK, you must use your UK passport, no ETA required. While in the UK you are just a UK citizen. When you leave the UK, there likely will be no exit immigration. Once you land in the US, you must use your US passport to enter.
If you are going to one of the Schengen area countries on this trip, it really does not matter what passport you use.
Posted by
London
1094 posts
I am a dual citizen as well, and do this regularly. When I book my flight to the US I use the passport info for my US passport and enter on my US passport. The only time it is checked is when I’m boarding the plane, the UK does not have immigration exit checks. Then when I fly home when I’m checking in online I change my passport info to my UK passport. Again there are no exit checks in the US so I just use my UK passport to board the plane and then to enter the UK. It’s pretty simple and I’ve never had an issue. Good luck, and happy to answer more questions if you have them!
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thank you all! It sounds like it's pretty straightforward, and that I'm unlikely to get into any trouble so long as I have both passports with. Much appreciated.
Posted by
Missouri, USA and Essex, UK.
1100 posts
I have both a US and UK passport. I ended up just getting the ETA as I didn't want to have any problems when boarding my flight to the UK. I know you don't need it if you are a UK citizen or you can't supposedly get passed the one question on the form about dual passports, but I spent the $12 and have the ETA for 2 years. It came back within 5 minutes of applying. I travel to the UK 2-3 times a year, and haven't ever got in trouble for just traveling on my US passport but then I am only staying for 2-3 weeks at a time. I only enter the US passport into my flight details on my American Airline or Delta account. You don't have to show both passports when leaving, honestly most of it is biometrics facial recognition. Upon arrival in the UK, I use the e-gates with my US passport. I leave the UK on my US passport to match my flight details.
I find it more complicated to switch up passports in the midst of travel. I take my UK passport with me, but have only used it a handful of times when I have entered European countries from the UK.
. If I planned to stay longer in the UK than allowed on a US passport, then I would have to enter with my UK passport at Heathrow. You can choose to go to the UK line at Heathrow once you land if that is what you want to do, but I often have other people traveling with me that do not have dual passports and its just easy to go through the egates and stand in line with them.
Also, you have to enter the US on your US passport, and its got to match your airline. so that is why I always leave the UK on my US passport.
Posted by
London
1094 posts
To clarify, the rules have recently changed about entering on a non UK passport if you are a dual citizen. See here: https://www.gov.uk/dual-citizenship
Copying the relevant text below:
"As a dual national, you must travel to the UK using either:
-a valid UK passport or Irish passport
-any other valid passport with a certificate of entitlement
You can apply for a passport or certificate of entitlement if you need one. You will not be able to travel without one of these documents.
You cannot get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) if you’re a British or Irish dual citizen."
Therefore I do not recommend entering the UK on a non UK passport or applying for an ETA if you are a dual citizen. As I mentioned above it's quite straightforward to travel out on one passport and back on another.
Posted by
Missouri, USA and Essex, UK.
1100 posts
Thanks for the clarification. I got the ETA when it first came out and it was not clear what dual passport holders should do and there was a "transitional period" to work out some of these issues.
I have not had any problems using my US passport to enter the UK for my past 4 visits. I know the US make it clear that all US citizens must use a valid US passport to enter and depart the United States with no exceptions, and this is where it gets confusing, as without the ETA, at some point you would have to produce your UK passport to show the airline that you can travel to the UK without the ETA.
I have a trip in March and I have an ETA that will expire January 2027. I will continue to use my US passport to leave and return to the US and enter the UK on my British passport. If I have any issues, I will come back to the forum to let you all know how it goes.