Dual Nationality - practicalities of two passports

[Chucklehead]

I've seen previous threads on this and fully expect it to be derailed, but i'm interested in hearing from those of you with dual nationality and the practicalities of flying with two passports.

I'm entitled to an Irish passport, and after a few irritating experiences am considering applying for one. Aside from using the machines when i transfer at AMS or FRA (or wherever) it'll also more readily allow me to work for an extended period of time in Spain or France if i choose to (is my understanding).

My wife wouldn't be entitled to an Irish passport, and my children not readily, so it's use for leisure travel with the family is limited. Every single trip i've had to the EU since Brexit has meant 30 mins to an hour at security and it's beginning to irritate. Also, the Irish passport is cheaper!

My EU travel with work is greatly reduced now, and my travel to the US has greatly increased, so i'm also contemplating Glboal Entry this year - which i'd attach to my UK passport. Not sure if having dual nationality may complicate things there.

So, the practicalities - if i tell the airline i'm flying out with my UK passport and present my Irish passport on either outbound/inbound at security does it matter? I'm guessing there's no harm in always having both passports, so long as i show the passport i told the airline i'd use at the gate?

Keen to hear others experiences whatever the nationality.

[Jader1973]

UK and Aus here.

I give the airline my Aus details and exit through security with that passport. When I get to the UK I enter on my UK passport. Vice versa on the way back.

However, with the automatic gates that scan the passport there is actually little or no benefit - took my wife and son exactly the same time to enter/exit the UK!

As long as you use the same passport in/out or out/in it shouldn’t be a problem.

Based on a typically scary message on an Aus Gov website I think the only thing to watch is consular assistance: I’m flying in to Europe later this year and will enter on my Aus passport so I’m able to get help from them if necessary. I suspect if I entered on my UK passport they may decide I’m not their problem.

[ATG]

I had two passports years ago when things were a bit more manual and tended to use them so that I didn't end up with stamps that appeared to show me repeatedly entering a country without ever seeming to have left it. Choice of passport was usually down to ease of obtaining a visa and its price. The only time I used them a bit strategically was when traveling to Greece and Turkey when things were a bit tense and similarly when traveling to Israel and some of its neighbours. An EU one now would be nice. Sadly my Irish ancestry is one generation too late.

[paul0843]

I have EU passport and British.
Always leave UK on my British passport and enter Europe on my European.
Leave Europe on my European and enter UK on my British.
Works amazingly well.

My online details are always of my British passport,and this has never been an issue.
Paul

[languagetimothy]

If you have an EU passport coming into the EU you can use a different passport control airports often separate non-EU on arrival which might be busy, longer queues, no electric gates, brits on hols etc., whereas with an EU one you can get through quicker.

With the Irish passport yes, you shouldn’t be restricted to the 90/180 rule (but don’t quote me on that)…but probably doesn’t include your family.

[RC1807]

I have 3 nationalities and passports: British, Irish, Luxembourgish. I’ve lived and worked in Lux since 1998.

When travelling, I’ll only use 1 and won’t carry any others. Makes little difference using the Tunnel, for example, except the French control on the UK aide if they see the Lux Lion on the front, they wave you straight past their window.

Travelled to/form Portugal on Lux ID card. Easy.

Flown in and out of the UK on my Irish passport. Easy.

I haven’t yet though returned to the U.S. since I gained Irish and Lux nationalities. I suspect my next ESTA request could be time consuming as I *had* Global Entry on 2 valid UK passports, and I’ll have to enter details of all 4 currently valid passports to get a new ESTA.

[Spitfire2]

Your spouse is entitles to exceed the 90 day rule if travelling with you on an eu passport. Need to ideqlly have evidence (boarding passes should be enough).

[nickfrog]

Spitfire2 said:

Your spouse is entitles to exceed the 90 day rule if travelling with you on an eu passport. Need to ideqlly have evidence (boarding passes should be enough).

Thanks for that. I was about to start applying for a UK passport as I only have a EU one. My wife has both. Are you saying that I don't need to bother as the 90 day rule won't apply to me if I can provide evidence that I travelled with her ? I don't want to risk losing my settled status but we want to start spending the winters outside of the UK.

[Chucklehead]

Some great info on this thread, thanks!

[worsy]

nickfrog said:

Spitfire2 said:

Your spouse is entitles to exceed the 90 day rule if travelling with you on an eu passport. Need to ideqlly have evidence (boarding passes should be enough).

Thanks for that. I was about to start applying for a UK passport as I only have a EU one. My wife has both. Are you saying that I don't need to bother as the 90 day rule won't apply to me if I can provide evidence that I travelled with her ? I don't want to risk losing my settled status but we want to start spending the winters outside of the UK.

That is true for UK to Schengen travel, not seen whether it is equally applied to an EU traveller by the UK. If your passport is Irish though there is no 90 day rule in the UK.

[PF62]

Chucklehead said:

My wife wouldn't be entitled to an Irish passport, and my children not readily, so its use for leisure travel with the family is limited. Every single trip i've had to the EU since Brexit has meant 30 mins to an hour at security and it's beginning to irritate. Also, the Irish passport is cheaper!

If you have an EU passport then your spouse, legal civil partner (not just partner) and children under 21 have the same freedom of movement in the EU / Schengen zone when they travel with you - i.e. no 90/180 day restriction.

However more importantly for leisure travel, they can accompany you into the EU / Schengen zone passport queue - although obviously you would all need to go to the manual desk not the electronic gates.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-my-british-wife-trea...

Non-paywall version is available, but not sure if permitted here.

And the EU border guard’s manual, section 2.1.2 on pages 21 and 22 is useful reading for the 90/180 rule.

https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-1...

[3454.5]

My wife has UK and New Zealand passports.

She leaves UK on UK passport, enters New Zealand on NZ passport. leaves NZ on that passport, enters UK on UK passport.

That's up to a few years ago as, thanks to covid, we haven't been recently.

[rdjohn]

nickfrog said:

Thanks for that. I was about to start applying for a UK passport as I only have a EU one. My wife has both. Are you saying that I don't need to bother as the 90 day rule won't apply to me if I can provide evidence that I travelled with her ? I don't want to risk losing my settled status but we want to start spending the winters outside of the UK.

The 90-day rule is not reciprocal, you are allowed to visit the UK, as a tourist, for up to 180-days. This is what alienates many UK passport holders who happen to also own a holiday property within the EU.

[worsy]

rdjohn said:

nickfrog said:

Thanks for that. I was about to start applying for a UK passport as I only have a EU one. My wife has both. Are you saying that I don't need to bother as the 90 day rule won't apply to me if I can provide evidence that I travelled with her ? I don't want to risk losing my settled status but we want to start spending the winters outside of the UK.

The 90-day rule is not reciprocal, you are allowed to visit the UK, as a tourist, for up to 180-days. This is what alienates many UK passport holders who happen to also own a holiday property within the EU.

Yes if I am correct the rules are:

UK to EU - Permitted to stay 90 days in any 180 days to a maximum of 180 days in any 12 month period.

EU to UK - Permitted to stay for 6 months per visit. This means you can exit the UK and return and the 6 months starts again.

[PF62]

worsy said:

Yes if I am correct the rules are:

UK to EU - Permitted to stay 90 days in any 180 days to a maximum of 180 days in any 12 month period.

EU to UK - Permitted to stay for 6 months per visit. This means you can exit the UK and return and the 6 months starts again.

What a wonderful ‘cake and eat it’ negotiation the UK achieved.

[nickfrog]

worsy said:

rdjohn said:

nickfrog said:

Thanks for that. I was about to start applying for a UK passport as I only have a EU one. My wife has both. Are you saying that I don't need to bother as the 90 day rule won't apply to me if I can provide evidence that I travelled with her ? I don't want to risk losing my settled status but we want to start spending the winters outside of the UK.

The 90-day rule is not reciprocal, you are allowed to visit the UK, as a tourist, for up to 180-days. This is what alienates many UK passport holders who happen to also own a holiday property within the EU.

Yes if I am correct the rules are:

UK to EU - Permitted to stay 90 days in any 180 days to a maximum of 180 days in any 12 month period.

EU to UK - Permitted to stay for 6 months per visit. This means you can exit the UK and return and the 6 months starts again.

Thanks for that. I have since found out that I can stay away from the UK for 5 years without losing my settled status so while that sounds a bit too good to be true, it means I don't need to get a British passport and my wife's dual passports should be enough for us to get effective FOM.

[rdjohn]

worsy said:

Yes if I am correct the rules are:

UK to EU - Permitted to stay 90 days in any 180 days to a maximum of 180 days in any 12 month period.

EU to UK - Permitted to stay for 6 months per visit. This means you can exit the UK and return and the 6 months starts again.

The latter part is not quite true. Spend more than 183-days living in the UK during any tax year and you become UK resident for tax purposes.

Mind you, if you do not have a residence, no paid income and live solely in holiday accommodation, you are quite difficult to catch.

[gregs656]

No brainer to get an EU passport if you can IMO.

[languagetimothy]

rdjohn said:

worsy said:

Yes if I am correct the rules are:

UK to EU - Permitted to stay 90 days in any 180 days to a maximum of 180 days in any 12 month period.

EU to UK - Permitted to stay for 6 months per visit. This means you can exit the UK and return and the 6 months starts again.

The latter part is not quite true. Spend more than 183-days living in the UK during any tax year and you become UK resident for tax purposes.

Mind you, if you do not have a residence, no paid income and live solely in holiday accommodation, you are quite difficult to catch.

You used to get a lot of young Aussies doing that in my industry (finance) work for as long as possible through a limited company that gets paid gross, then leave the country before that taxman asks for his share.

I’m a Brit living in the EU with a British passport but I’m still bound by the 90/180 rule which of course doesn’t include or count for my country of residence.. but if I travel within schegen the clock starts ticking…. yet another brexit bonus!

[halfpenny43]

I've lived and worked in NL for more around 15 years, married to a Dutch national and now have both my UK and NL passport.

If you live in Europe having a European passport makes it easier (no queuing in the non-EU line) to travel especially outside the Schengen and to stay in another European country over the 90 day rule for UK passport holders.

I've had the iris scanning card for Amsterdam Airport (I travel a lot) bypassing passport control.
However since Brexit and before I got my NL passport, I was allowed to keep my card but still had to show my passport and residents visa.
Now I have a NL passport - i can bypass passport control using the iris scanning card as intended and pre-Brexit.

As others have said - use my NL passport to enter and leave the Netherlands and really only my UK passport to enter the UK.