Dual citizenship, different names on passports - Travel?

[Christi85 86]

Hello all,

I'm posting this question in case anyone is able to shed some light.

I have successfully passed my US citizenship interview and test and have been invited to an oath ceremony next week, where I expect to naturalize as a US citizen. I am currently a Greek citizen and plan to retain my Greek citizenship and be a dual citizen of both the US and Greece. I have been married to my husband for 4 years now, but Greek law discourages name changes upon marriage and while it is possible to do it, it is a real hassle that involves court hearings, criminal record checks etc. So I never bothered changing my name in my home country and all my Greek-issued legal documents are in my maiden name. My husband has very much wanted me to take his name (and I've wanted that too), so we agreed that I would request a name change here in the US once I became eligible for naturalization, so that I could legally take his name. So at my naturalization next week, I also expect to be granted a name change, where I will be taking my husband's last name and keeping my current maiden name as a middle name. I will also be applying for a US passport immediately after naturalization.

So far so good. Now, I have started to plan a trip to Europe for early October and it has just struck me that my situation after my name change may be much more complicated when it comes to travel. Two passports, each with a different last name. Let's say my maiden name is Mary Smith and that's what is on my Greek (EU) passport (no middle name), while my US passport will have my new name, Mary Smith Brown. Smith becoming a middle name and Brown becoming my new last name. My plan was to fly from the US to the UK for a few days, then from the UK to my home country Greece, and from there back to the US. My questions are:

1) What is the proper way to use each passport in each of my stops? I know I need to re-enter the US on a US passport, and I'm pretty sure Greece and the UK also require me to present my EU passport upon entering, and probably upon leaving each of those countries. What if these don't match the name on my boarding pass?

2) How much of a trouble is having two passports with different names likely to cause me? Anything I can do to avoid hassle/trouble?

3) Which name do I book the flights under? I was thinking I'd book my round trip to the US (US-UK and then Greece-US) under my US passport name, but is it allowable to book my one-way trip UK-Greece (which I will be booking separately) under my Greek name, since that will be traveling within the EU?

I'm very confused and would appreciate any insights. I do not mean to sound shady or trick any authorities, I just want to do the right thing to avoid trouble. I am double checking now, but it is rather unlikely that I will be able to change my name on my Greek passport to match my new US name, and even if it possible, it's doubtful that it could even be done before my trip, so please, any advice you give, assume that I will have to travel with two passports with different last names.

Thank you!

[ryna 132]

Colombia doesn't make name changes easy either but my wife took my last name here in the U.S. What I understand is that, at least in Colombia, it is possible to have a notation placed in the foreign passport in the annotations section that states that the passport holder is also known as "Married name" in the U.S. and that this can be done at the consulate.

Maybe you could check with the Greek Embassy/consulate for your region of the US to see if this is a possibility?

[Christi85 86]

Colombia doesn't make name changes easy either but my wife took my last name here in the U.S. What I understand is that, at least in Colombia, it is possible to have a notation placed in the foreign passport in the annotations section that states that the passport holder is also known as "Married name" in the U.S. and that this can be done at the consulate.

Maybe you could check with the Greek Embassy/consulate for your region of the US to see if this is a possibility?

Thank you. I'll give them a call and ask. Has your wife been ok traveling in and out of Colombia with this notation on her passport?

[ryna 132]

Thank you. I'll give them a call and ask. Has your wife been ok traveling in and out of Colombia with this notation on her passport?

Honestly, she's still about 2 weeks away from filing her N-400 so she's still travelling on her Colombian passport (without the notation) and GC when we arrive back in the US. But, she will be in the same situation when she becomes a USC and has to re-enter the US on a US Passport. This was the solution that the airline told us when we purchased an international flight ticket in her GC/married name by mistake once. We changed the name on the ticket because it was quicker than going to the consulate at the time.

I wouldn't think you'd have any issues travelling with the notation. Usually, each country requires its own citizens to enter on their own passports but the airlines send passenger manifests (based on ticketed name) to immigration before arrival. The notation gives immigration (and the airline employees responsible for letting people with the proper travel documents board the plane) a way to know that the manifest name/passport name are referring to the same person. The Greek consulate will be able to tell you for sure but I think this is a fairly common occuerence, especially in this day and age.

And, congrats on your upcoming oath ceremony!

[kehills 217]

I have no idea if this will work for you, but when my US passport was in my married name after I had divorced and gone back to my maiden name legally, I was able to travel with a copy of the notarized name change form from my divorce (to make airlines happy with my legal name being different from passport name). I'm not sure if that's an option open to you with your Greek passport, but might be worth checking in to?

[Christi85 86]

Thank you both!

I spoke to my local Greek Consulate and it turns out it may be possible to get a new passport with the changed name, so that is great to know for future reference. Unfortunately, since I need to travel in early October and getting a new passport via the Consulate takes 6-8 weeks (they send it to Greece and back) plus 3-4 weeks to get an appointment in the first place, there is no time to do it before my upcoming trip. So this time I'm still stuck with two passports with different names. I asked about the notation in the passport, but the employee I spoke to had no idea, so I'll be calling back later to try and speak with the passport officer in the Consulate. Hopefully she'll know better. The employee I spoke to seemed nice but not entirely up to speed with things, so I'm not holding my breath that the information I got is accurate. If it is truly possible to get an updated passport though, I will definitely opt for that as soon as I'm back from my trip (I may even see if I can do it while in Greece) to avoid future headache. Now I still need to figure out what to do with this one trip.

ryna - best of luck to your wife! From my experience, naturalization was much easier and much more straightforward than the immigration part, and the supporting documentation required is infinitely less. Most people are done within 4-5 months start to finish.

kehills - thanks! I think I will definitely carry my naturalization certificate with me in hopes that it will help.

The Consulate lady I spoke to seemed to think that I should be able to complete my whole trip on my US passport (US citizens don't need visas for less than 90 days), but as nice as she might have been, she sounded a little confused in general, so I'm not exactly taking her word for all that she said. I seem to have read in many different articles/forums from the research I did that you are legally required to enter the country you're a citizen of with the corresponding passport. And as for the UK, it seems like EU citizens are required to use their EU passport when entering an EU country, or they may be facing a fine

Edited August 18, 2014 by Christi85

[B & G 200]

Thank you both!

I spoke to my local Greek Consulate and it turns out it may be possible to get a new passport with the changed name, so that is great to know for future reference. Unfortunately, since I need to travel in early October and getting a new passport via the Consulate takes 6-8 weeks (they send it to Greece and back) plus 3-4 weeks to get an appointment in the first place, there is no time to do it before my upcoming trip. So this time I'm still stuck with two passports with different names. I asked about the notation in the passport, but the employee I spoke to had no idea, so I'll be calling back later to try and speak with the passport officer in the Consulate. Hopefully she'll know better. The employee I spoke to seemed nice but not entirely up to speed with things, so I'm not holding my breath that the information I got is accurate. If it is truly possible to get an updated passport though, I will definitely opt for that as soon as I'm back from my trip (I may even see if I can do it while in Greece) to avoid future headache. Now I still need to figure out what to do with this one trip.

ryna - best of luck to your wife! From my experience, naturalization was much easier and much more straightforward than the immigration part, and the supporting documentation required is infinitely less. Most people are done within 4-5 months start to finish.

kehills - thanks! I think I will definitely carry my naturalization certificate with me in hopes that it will help.

The Consulate lady I spoke to seemed to think that I should be able to complete my whole trip on my US passport (US citizens don't need visas for less than 90 days), but as nice as she might have been, she sounded a little confused in general, so I'm not exactly taking her word for all that she said. I seem to have read in many different articles/forums from the research I did that you are legally required to enter the country you're a citizen of with the corresponding passport. And as for the UK, it seems like EU citizens are required to use their EU passport when entering an EU country, or they may be facing a fine

Easiest way possible to do this is first to book your ticket in both names. E.g. Name is US passport is Smith and name in Greek passport is Papadopoulou. So book your ticket as SmithPapadopoulou/Christi. By booking both names airline will be able to see both of them regardless which passport you show.

When leaving the US you give over your US passport, and exit out with that. Once you arrive in Greece, you show your Greek passport and be entered in with that.

And as you leave Greece, you show your US passport at check in. Showing your Greek means you will need an ESTA. Which in your case it totally unnecassary.

However at Athens Immigration, when you exit, you show your Greek passport.

I work at Athens airport, and deal with alot of Greek-American passengers. This is something we see often.

[Christi85 86]

Easiest way possible to do this is first to book your ticket in both names. E.g. Name is US passport is Smith and name in Greek passport is Papadopoulou. So book your ticket as SmithPapadopoulou/Christi. By booking both names airline will be able to see both of them regardless which passport you show.

When leaving the US you give over your US passport, and exit out with that. Once you arrive in Greece, you show your Greek passport and be entered in with that.

And as you leave Greece, you show your US passport at check in. Showing your Greek means you will need an ESTA. Which in your case it totally unnecassary.

However at Athens Immigration, when you exit, you show your Greek passport.

I work at Athens airport, and deal with alot of Greek-American passengers. This is something we see often.

Thank you - this is actually really helpful and a great idea! So book tickets with both names as one last name? I hadn't thought of that

This is really useful coming from the source.

Thanks and best of luck in your visa journey!

[B & G 200]

Thank you - this is actually really helpful and a great idea! So book tickets with both names as one last name? I hadn't thought of that

This is really useful coming from the source.

Thanks and best of luck in your visa journey!

Glad I could help and thank you!!!