Dual Citizen - Are both passports required for travel?

[dhlunar]

My wife is a dual citizen. A citizen of her country of birth and a naturalized US Citizen.

My wife may be going to Canada for a couple of days next month. She will be entering Canada with a US Passport, and of course returning to the US on the US Passport. Since she is a dual citizen is she required to carry her other passport when she travels internationally when she intends to enter/exit a country as a US Citizen?

 

[CalGreenCard]

My wife may be going to Canada for a couple of days next month. She will be entering Canada with a US Passport, and of course returning to the US on the US Passport. Since she is a dual citizen is she required to carry her other passport when she travels internationally when she intends to enter/exit a country as a US Citizen?

There is absolutely no requirement to carry the other passport unless the country of birth was, in fact, Canada. (You don't make this clear but the way your question is worded it sounds like her other passport is from her birth country which is neither Canada nor the US).

The only possible advantage to carrying the second passport would be that, if there were to be an unexpected emergency in her birth country while she is in Canada requiring her immediate departure to her birth country--she could travel directly from Canada without having to stopover in the US (or visit the birth country's consulate in Canada).

Sometimes people carry a second passport if the second passport affords certain advantages in the destination country that the primary passport doesn't offer--such as the ability to enter visa-free or with a visa with a lower price. Since US citizens can travel visa free to Canada without paying an entry fee, it is unlikely that her birth country's passport will give her any advantages in Canada that a US passport wouldn't also offer--although there might possibly be some Canadian privileges that Commonwealth citizens enjoy that US citizens don't.

 

[newacct]

There is absolutely no requirement to carry the other passport unless the country of birth was, in fact, Canada. (You don't make this clear but the way your question is worded it sounds like her other passport is from her birth country which is neither Canada nor the US).

And not even for Canada. Canada does not prohibit its citizens from entering Canada using another country's passport that has visa-free access (however, they will be asked how long they're staying, etc. in that case).

 

[dhlunar]

Thanks. My wife is not from Canada. Her birth country is one of those country that requires a visa to Canada. There are very few countries (I can only think of two off the top of my head) that having a passport from my wife's birth country is better then having a US Passport.

My wife doesn't want me to openly say what country she came from, because she has this thing about given out to much information on the Internet.

 

[König]

And not even for Canada. Canada does not prohibit its citizens from entering Canada using another country's passport that has visa-free access (however, they will be asked how long they're staying, etc. in that case).

Do you have a link to support this statement? The CBSA does not mention this possibility for sure.

What Canada does not require is that its citizens use passports or enhanced driving licences to enter the country, so a Canadian citizen may easily enter Canada with a US driving licence and a Canadian birth certificate or a Canadian citizenship certificate. Theoretically, a Canadian citizen can even enter Canada with a US passport and a Canadian citizenship document (i.e., birth certificate or citizenship certificate) - in this case, his/her US passport would be treated only as an identity document. The WHTI is purely a US invention; Canada never signed up for this.

 

[newacct]

Do you have a link to support this statement? The CBSA does not mention this possibility for sure.

What Canada does not require is that its citizens use passports or enhanced driving licences to enter the country, so a Canadian citizen may easily enter Canada with a US driving licence and a Canadian birth certificate or a Canadian citizenship certificate. Theoretically, a Canadian citizen can even enter Canada with a US passport and a Canadian citizenship document (i.e., birth certificate or citizenship certificate) - in this case, his/her US passport would be treated only as an identity document. The WHTI is purely a US invention; Canada never signed up for this.

The experience of me and many people on the Internet has been that it's not a problem, and there is simply no Canadian law or regulation that can be found to prohibit it (unlike the U.S.).

The CBSA website says:

The Government of Canada recommends that Canadian citizens travel with a valid Canadian passport because it is the only reliable and universally accepted travel and identification document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel.

Why would they say "recommends" if it is required. I guess, it's not clear either way, because you could interpret it as meaning that they are saying you could also use an enhanced driver's license, etc. But there is definitely no prohibition of using another passport written anywhere.

 

[König]

Fair enough. But is there any advantage in entering Canada as a US citizen?

 

[newacct]

Fair enough. But is there any advantage in entering Canada as a US citizen?

I'm not sure. Maybe if you had used the Canadian passport to enter Canada, when you re-enter the U.S. you might meet a mean officer who might ask you why there are no stamps in your passport, and using the U.S. passport will save such potential hassle? Probably not a real issue though.

 

[cafeconleche]

Nah, Canada routinely doesn't stamp passports from the us anyway.

 

[König]

I'm not sure. Maybe if you had used the Canadian passport to enter Canada, when you re-enter the U.S. you might meet a mean officer who might ask you why there are no stamps in your passport, and using the U.S. passport will save such potential hassle? Probably not a real issue though.

First of all, like cafeonleche mentioned, Canadian CBSA do not stamp US passports. Second, I had an opposite experience where a Canadian stamp (which I explicitly asked for) caused additional questions from the CBP. When I asked for a stamp, a CBSA officer was not in the mood, so she limited my stay to 1 week (by handwriting "valid until ..." under the stamp). Upon returning to the US, a CBP agent saw this stamp and asked me a bunch of annoying questions about my criminal history, my prior travel to Canada, my work, my profession, etc.

And then I personally like to enter the country of my citizenship as a citizen and not as a foreigner.

 

[Jackolantern]

And then I personally like to enter the country of my citizenship as a citizen and not as a foreigner.

Exactly. Using Country B's passport to enter Country A means you can't assert your guaranteed right to enter that country even though you're also a citizen of A; you're seen as a visitor and they'll choose or refuse to let you in at their discretion.

 

[König]

Exactly. Using Country B's passport to enter Country A means you can't assert your guaranteed right to enter that country even though you're also a citizen of A; you're seen as a visitor and they'll choose or refuse to let you in at their discretion.

This would not even be the worst case scenario. How about they discover your citizenship at the border, fine you, let you into the country and then you will be stuck there trying to obtain the proper passport? I have known of several Russian-US citizens who tried to enter Russia on US passports with Russian visas. Granted that nobody was actually fined (although officially they well could be), they were stuck there for several months obtaining Russian passports to be able to exit Russia. Now, Russian consulates actually perform citizenship verification, so having a visa would indeed indicate that the holder is not a Russian citizen.