Anyone else with dual US/DE citizenship? Which passport do you use?

My daughter has dual citizenship and needs to always have both passports when traveling to the US from Germany. The problem is that there isn't a residency visa stamped in her US passport, thus the need to show the airlines her German passport. Otherwise it looks like she overstayed her visit to Germany by a few years.
The law in the US says you should use it when entering and leaving the US. When you get to the UK, it shouldn't be a problem to use your American passport. If there are any questions, go ahead and show them your German passport.

I would just travel on the US passport to make it easier on yourself. Just keep the German one handy in case you need to show it.

I have dual U.S./Canadian citizenship. It is American law that you must enter the country with your U.S. passport, and I always do. NOTE, this is only to ENTER the U.S. Leaving the U.S. is irrelevant as they don't check your passport in the U.S. on departure anyway.

However, I re-enter Canada from anywhere in the world only with my Canadian passport - they have a similar entry law. I expect the advice you received to enter and leave Germany on your DE passport is correct; I'm sure they have the same entry law.

When I enter and leave Europe, I must use the same passport both times. I messed up this summer when departing and handed them the one that was NOT stamped with my European entry date. I had to pull out the one I entered with to be allowed to leave (due to Schengen restrictions of 90 days out of 180 max stay.) But the EU doesn't care if I use the U.S. or the Canadian one, only that it's the same both times to validate that I haven't overstayed.

Your situation is different and I agree that you should enter and leave the EU on your European passport. Then you don't have any Schengen restrictions (send hubby home and stay longer...)

P.S. About this question:
"However, I have to fill out British Airway's passport info form in advance, and since I am starting in the US I need to give them my American passport info."

That info is for entry into the arriving country, IMO. The airline needs to be sure that you have a valid passport for entry, otherwise they have to transport you back where you came from at their expense.. They don't care about your departure point, you've already cleared whatever you need to before you get on their plane. So I would use your DE passport on that form too. This blog post is helpful though of course not authoritative: Traveling with Two Passports

This is an interesting discussion. Indeed, I'm totally American and I'm sure the German immigration authorities would wonder why I speak German like an Ausländer! I read the link on the step by step guide and I'm still a tad confused. By these instructions, I would fill out the British Airways form as a German. So when I get to the check in counter in the US, I would show them my German passport. But then when I go through TSA would I then take out my American passport to get through easier? And then by these instructions I would arrive for my layover n London on my DE passport, and arrive in Germany on my DE passport as well.

Coming back from Germany, would I show my DE passport again, even though the airline wants to know that they can get me back to the US? Seems like I'd need to leave on my US passport. And then I'd show my US passport upon arrival at home, minus any entry stamp from Germany - and wouldn't I get questions? So I am finding this a tad confusing but want to be compliant with any regulations.

We're dual US/FR and always travel with our US passports entering and exiting the US and EU. On the other hand, we always have our French identity cards with us. When traveling within the EU, we use the French ID cards because it's faster.

The only drawback is sometimes having to stand in the longer non-EU line when entering the EU, but no one has ever bat an eye.

However.....

Come to think of it, we've stayed up to six months after entering with the US passport. Hmm. Maybe there is a data base because we weren't questioned about overstaying the 90 days. Now, you've got me wondering about why we weren't questioned. Guess you had better do whatever the Germans say. Maybe I had better ask the French consulate about this. Never crossed my mind.

My husband has dual citizenship and travels on his US passport but carries both. May use his EU passport for checking into hotels just for fun. Or use it when there are special discounts for EU seniors.

Or will I have a problem re-entering the US without a stamp from Germany in my US passport?

You have both citizenships. That means, you can enter both countries in any case, but you always have to do this with your citizen passport. This is a requirement: use your citizen passport on enter. That is so there isn't any immigration bureaucracy starting.

Your citizen passport is not checked on leave, there couldn't been any visa in there which the officer had to remove. They just want to see it (at least the cover) just because they do not know whether you are a citizen or not in advance. And, because you don't have an immigration stamp or visa in your foreign passport, showing it on leave will get you into troubles. So, leave the country with your citizen passport, too.

This applies both to the U.S and Germany.

What British Airways wants is not having you stranded in the transfer zone of an airport. So they want your U.S. passport number to make sure you are allowed to re-enter the U.S., should Europe not want you. It's a no-brainer, because that situation cannot happen because you have German citizenship. But they want to make sure.

With the UK, remember there is a passport control entering the UK from European countries, too. Show them your German passport, should you enter the UK from inside Europe.

Let's make it easy....the only time you need to use your U.S. passport is when you enter back into the U.S. Other than that, you could get away with using your German passport. (With a U.S passport you technically could be denied entry into the EU. You can't with a German passport.)

The airline wants your passport information because they can be fined if you don't have one that will allow you to enter the arriving country. . (And, they are going to run your name through a security database.)

TSA only looks at your passport to see if you have a government issue ID with photo, not to determine your citizenship. The airline gate agent only looks at passport to make sure you have one that is valid, so they don't have to bring you back if you're not allowed to enter the destination country. So neither are interested in your actual dual status.

I believe most agencies advise to travel on a single passport; ie: leave the US on your US, enter the EU on your US, Leave the EU and Reenter the US on your US. I suppose with security tracking you could raise a flag if you present a passport not expected, though it would be easily explained, but maybe a delay. I know a number of people that do switch to their EU or UK passport on arrival to avoid lines, with no apparent problems. Of course if your plans are to do an extended stay outside the limits of the Schengen agreement, then you should use your German (or applicable) passport.

That's what I was wondering, Paul. If they do a security check on my name and US passport they will find that I exist, have traveled before and that I'm not at all "interesting" to them. But if they do a security check on my name and German passport, they will likely find a person who doesn't exist, since I only got the German passport 2 years ago and have never used it and I've never lived in Germany, so I don't exist that way either. I want to be legal but don't want to create a perceived security problem or a travel delay. Hmmm!

Irene, if you have a German passport, you are indeed known to EU border authorities. Regardless whether you have visited Europe already or not. It's like the consulate said: use your citizen passport to enter and leave where you are a citizen. That way things aren't getting mixed up. You mix things up when you use your foreign passport to enter and leave where you are a citizen. So don't do that!

And don't even think about mixing up things like entering with your foreign passport and leaving with your citizen passport. That way authorities will look for an illegal immigrant who failed to left the country after some time and that could you get into trouble. (Not banned though, because you are a citizen of either areas.)

I'm just curious, what are the advantages of having the dual passports? Specifically, why did you get the German passport two years ago?

I'm just curious, what are the advantages of having the dual passports?

None that I could figure out up to now; we've always gone with the cheaper option, which is using our US passports internationally but our EU ID cards internally. Paying for an EU passport has been a non-starter for us as long as we have our cost-free ID cards.

That said, I will look into EU passports for next time we're staying over 90 days, but even that has never been an issue.

*I'm just curious, what are the advantages of having the dual passports? *

The primary advantage would be for an extended stay, not having to have a Visa, plus as a "Citizen" in some countries you may be entitled to some services such as Health Care. I suppose it would also make opening a Bank Account, purchasing property, buying a car, etc. easier (or possible) if you chose to live there long term.

Just to reiterate - this is illegal: "enter the EU on your US passport" if you have an EU passport.

Nelly,
Could you head m in the direction where I could see the official regulations or link your source. Also, you said if one has an EU passport. What happens if you are a citizen but don't have a passport? This really is a big deal, so I would like to see where it's written and what it says to be sure we're within the law. Thanks.

I got the citizenship and the passport just to give me some flexibility if I ever choose to stay in Europe more than 90 days. There are no plans right now to do so, but I thought it would be a "nice to have" option since I was entitled to it under the German constitution. And since I had to document a lot of things to prove eligibility, doing so while my dad is alive and well with access to substantial paperwork seemed like a good idea. Of course, if I do ever want to go for an extended period of time, I have no clue how I would get hubby in!

Thanks Kaeleku. i'll continue checking it out. So what does your wife put on her airplane tickets to Bulgaria--OP's question.

I wrote back to the consulate with a more detailed question and here's what I got back. It's pretty consistent with what a lot of you are saying:

"For the flight purposes, I would suggest to book the flight with your US passport information. You can always stay in Germany as a US citizen for a 90 day period without the visa so that should not be a concern for the airline. So I suggest:

• Book ticket with your US passport information
• Exit US with US passport, enter Germany with German passport
• Exit Germany with German passport but show US passport to airline at check in
• Enter US with US passport"

I hope this is helpful, since this thread seems to have raised a lot of questions for people!

The only thing I can't figure out is whether my German passport would be stamped on arrival. Because when I return to the US I feel like I need to have something to prove where I was, as they always ask that and previously there have been stamps in my US passport to prove it. Can I just ask the German immigration control officer nicely to stamp my DE passport?

Can I just ask the German immigration control officer nicely to stamp my DE passport?

You can do that, of course. And you might explain to her / him, that you are not just a stamp collector. I'd show my German ID card and ask hin to stamp the US passport.

The US immigration don't care about stamps

That's not my experiece. Mayby they don't look for them in US passports. But very often when I go to visit my daughter, who ins married in the US (and has dual citizenship), I'm questioned about the signification of all that previous stamps.

Do bear in mind that if you have dual citizenship and commit an offence in say Germany the US can't do a thing to help you!

Irene, you wrote "The only thing I can't figure out is whether my German passport would be stamped on arrival. "
No, it is not. Why would it? The purpose of the stamp is to prove you entered the country legally, under what conditions, and to record the date you entered so they can check you did not outstay your limit. As a German citizen (or any other EU citizen), you have the legal right, to leave and re-enter Germany (or any other EU country) whenever and wherever you like and stay as long as you like without restriction. You can enter and leave Germany (or any other EU country) using your German national ID card, and there is no way that can be stamped!

I have been in and out of Germany literally hundreds of times. I have an EU passport, it is never stamped.

Enter and leave Germany using your German passport. As soon as the have scanned your passport (to check it is not a fake) they will let you through. Exit and enter the USA using your US passport. What you show the airline at check-in, and what you show passport control officers are two different things.

And to paraphrase Ramblin' on's comment: "Do bear in mind that if you have dual citizenship and commit an offence in say the USA, Germany can't do a thing to help you! "

Sorry if I offended anyone with the bolding. Looks like this is pretty well cleared up now.

I did find a German government reference to this, in response to Bets' request. Bets, I know in your case you're more interested in France, but I stuck with OP's situation. It's in German, sorry, but Google Translate should help. Here's the relevant paragraph :
Ich besitze sowohl einen deutschen als auch einen amerikanischen Pass. Mit welchem Dokument soll ich nach Deutschland reisen?
Bei Einreise in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland sollten Sie sich als (auch) Deutscher bei der Einreise nach Deutschland mit Ihrem deutschen Reisepass ausweisen. Für die Ausreise aus den USA und die dortige Wiedereinreise sollten Sie Ihren amerikanischen Pass verwenden.

Essentially, it says you should use your German passport to enter and leave Germany, and the US passport to enter and leave the US

German-US dual nationals

With an US passport when I leave Germany, it's stamped, Upon arrival in the US, my passport is stamped again, ie, reentry. I'm glad the passport gets these stamps. I can count on getting 3 stamps going from the US to the Schengen zone, include the UK on the same vacation, it's 5.

Nelly, that statement from the German site says "sollten", which means should. This means it is not a must, other wise it would say "mussen".

My American passport has a permanent German residency visa stamped in it and I don't get stamped entering or leaving Germany by the Germans, nor do I get stamped entering or leaving the US. I can freely enter and leave both countries as often as I like and stay as long as I like. Kind of similar to being a dual citizen except I only have 1 passport. They glance at it coming through passport control here. I have never seen them enter anything into a computer or that they scan it.

Consulates may tell you things that end up not being practical. No one at passport control is going to care that you have 2 passports. Show which ever one you want, though it sounds like you would like to use the German one when you enter Germany. Go for it. When you come back to the US if they should question you why you don't have a stamp in your US passport, show them your German passport. This is what dual citizens do all the time.

I've done everything short of calling the French Consulate to ask them about this but have come to the conclusion that every country, even within the EU, is different. Most of the answers on the French speaking forums where similar questions came up seemed to give a bof and Gallic shrug, saying use whichever one you want. The exception was for long term stays--and I'll have to remember that in the future--oops. Let's drink to that.

I'm another dual citizenship person.

1. The airline. Give them your US passport information. When you check in for the outbound flight, they will want to see a valid travel document. Since you would be given an automatic visitor's visa on arrival in Germany, they won't ask for more than your US passport. When you check in for your return flight, the airline will want to see your US passport to verify that you are legally entitled to enter the US (they don't want to be stuck with you if you are denied entry). There's no reason why they would need to know that you have another passport - it's irrelevant to them.

2. US Immigration/passport control. Leaving the US, all they care about is that you have photo ID and a valid travel document. I know this because 5 years ago, both my passports went walk-about, and the Israeli consulate gave me a laissez-passe (temporary pass) to get home to Israel. Didn't get replacements until I was back here. Re-entering the US, you'll need to use your US passport (it's the law). The only stamps I have in my US passport are from a 2013 trip. I had no trouble - not a question or a raised eyebrow - entering the US twice since then at O'Hare.

3. German Immigration/passport control. What you were told by the consulate sounds correct - that's how Israel operates too. My guess is that you could endanger your DE citizenship by not using your DE passport to enter Germany. When you leave Germany, you won't have a tourist visa in your US passport, which could raise a question and get you into hot water, so just show your DE passport. Again, there's no reason why they would ask for another passport. Then tuck it safely away until your next entry into the EU.

Happy trails.

My guess is that you could endanger your DE citizenship

No. That one cannot be revoked. It's even in Germany's constitution. You can only resign it yourself.