Dual Citizenship - Travel with 2 passports

[perfect 39]

My son is travelling to Brazil in a month to see a Brazilian girl he met almost 2 years ago while she was here in the US on a student visa. They have been communicating most of that 2 years and are wanting to establish whether this will become a "relationship" or not.

He has dual UK and US citizenship and we just want to make sure there won't be any problems travelling with 2 passports. (It's his first time travelling completely alone so we want to make sure he is 100% confident in doing this!)

Brazil does not require UK citizens to enter with a visa whereas the US does. So he will enter Brazil with his UK passport. We assume he can just exit Brazil with his UK passport to close out that trip with their immigration department and enter the US in Atlanta (his first stop-over) with his US passport. (also assume he would need to check-in at Brazil airport with his US passport so airline knows he is ok to enter US???)

Any issues doing this? Many thanks for your insights.

[blk 87]

My son is travelling to Brazil in a month to see a Brazilian girl he met almost 2 years ago while she was here in the US on a student visa. They have been communicating most of that 2 years and are wanting to establish whether this will become a "relationship" or not.

He has dual UK and US citizenship and we just want to make sure there won't be any problems travelling with 2 passports. (It's his first time travelling completely alone so we want to make sure he is 100% confident in doing this!)

Brazil does not require UK citizens to enter with a visa whereas the US does. So he will enter Brazil with his UK passport. We assume he can just exit Brazil with his UK passport to close out that trip with their immigration department and enter the US in Atlanta (his first stop-over) with his US passport. (also assume he would need to check-in at Brazil airport with his US passport so airline knows he is ok to enter US???)

Any issues doing this? Many thanks for your insights.

I honestly don't know if he can travel using two passports it might cause problems at some point, so it might be better just to travel on the US passport as if he needs prof later on that he has visited this girl then it will be in his US passport as that will be the one he would have to show the USCIS should this relationship go that far.

Brian

[JohnR! 5,495]

My son is travelling to Brazil in a month to see a Brazilian girl he met almost 2 years ago while she was here in the US on a student visa. They have been communicating most of that 2 years and are wanting to establish whether this will become a "relationship" or not.

He has dual UK and US citizenship and we just want to make sure there won't be any problems travelling with 2 passports. (It's his first time travelling completely alone so we want to make sure he is 100% confident in doing this!)

Brazil does not require UK citizens to enter with a visa whereas the US does. So he will enter Brazil with his UK passport. We assume he can just exit Brazil with his UK passport to close out that trip with their immigration department and enter the US in Atlanta (his first stop-over) with his US passport. (also assume he would need to check-in at Brazil airport with his US passport so airline knows he is ok to enter US???)

Any issues doing this? Many thanks for your insights.

No problem whatsoever. Our kids have dual nationality and they have traveled to Brazil on their EU passports on several occasions.

The procedure is as follows:

- Upon departure from the US your son will present both passports at the airline counter. His US passport as evidence of his presence in the US as a citizen and the GB passport as evidence he will not need a visa to enter Brazil.

- Upon landing in Brazil he will present his GB passport to the Brazilian authorities. His entry will be recorded.

- Upon departure from Brazil he will need to present both passports at the airline counter. His GB passport as evidence of legal presence in Brazil and his US passport as evidence he can enter the US.

- Brazilian authorities perform passport control upon departure and for that purpose he will to present his GB passport so they can match his exit with his entry records.

- Upon arrival in the US he should fill out his customs form using his US passport data and present that to CBP.

It sounds more complicated than it actually is.

[perfect 39]

Perfect - thank you so much!

[subwayguy 100]

It could be a problem. You have to enter and leave with the same passport. I got into trouble when I entered The UK with my Hong Kong passport and left the UK with my british passport. So they had no record of me actually leaving the UK. If your son enters Brazil with his UK passport and leave with US passport , Brazil checks passport upon departure and they may find no entry record on his US passport.

[aaron2020 11,651]

It could be a problem. You have to enter and leave with the same passport. I got into trouble when I entered The UK with my Hong Kong passport and left the UK with my british passport. So they had no record of me actually leaving the UK. If your son enters Brazil with his UK passport and leave with US passport , Brazil checks passport upon departure and they may find no entry record on his US passport.

You had a problem for using two different passports to enter and exit the same country.

[aaron2020 11,651]

The US doesn't care about multiple nationalities.

Use the US passport to enter and exit the US as required by US law.

Brazil does not care if you use a US passport or UK passport. If you enter on the UK passport, then leave using the UK passport.

Do not use different passports to enter and exit the same country.

Edited July 7, 2014 by aaron2020

[subwayguy 100]

You had a problem for using two different passports to enter and exit the same country.

Yes but his son wouldn't be able to board the plane with his UK passport if he didn't have ESTA , since he's a US citizen, he can't have ESTA.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Yes but his son wouldn't be able to board the plane with his UK passport if he didn't have ESTA , since he's a US citizen, he can't have ESTA.

Read my post. It outlines how this is done. My kids have done this same trip several times.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Yes but his son wouldn't be able to board the plane with his UK passport if he didn't have ESTA , since he's a US citizen, he can't have ESTA.

What does ESTA have to do with a UK citizen traveling to Brazil visa free?

Why would not having ESTA prevent the son from boarding a plane to Brazil?

[subwayguy 100]

What does ESTA have to do with a UK citizen traveling to Brazil visa free?

Why would not having ESTA prevent the son from boarding a plane to Brazil?

He would no problem going to Brazil. But on his way back to the US, he has to clear Brazil immigration with his uk passport if he entered with his uk passport. Uk passports need ESTA to travel to the us. The airline may deny boarding if he travels on his uk passport and doesn't have ESTA. Many visa waiver programme passport holders got denied boarding because they don't have ESTA.

[JohnR! 5,495]

He would no problem going to Brazil. But on his way back to the US, he has to clear Brazil immigration with his uk passport if he entered with his uk passport. Uk passports need ESTA to travel to the us. The airline may deny boarding if he travels on his uk passport and doesn't have ESTA. Many visa waiver programme passport holders got denied boarding because they don't have ESTA.

Except that is not how it happens when one of the two passports is American.