Traveling with two passports different names

[OldUser 5,053]

10 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

EU citizens will have no worries at these borders.  And (usually) zero queue to get in.

US citizens are treated equally well in my US citizen wife's experience, as we've seen on numerous trips to EU throughout the years.

 

As already described above, you can travel with both passports to EU if desired.

 

I hope this helps and answers the question.

Edited March 14, 2023 by OldUser

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

4 minutes ago, OldUser said:

You have the algorithm for travelling to EU on both passports, as I described above. Feel free using it if you don't mind carrying both passports all the time.

 

The OP does not need help to travel to and within the European Union - as a Spanish citizen he is a seasoned EU traveler-.

 

His question is regarding a third country and the possible issues with the airline and his mismatched passports.

[Seven 24]

40 minutes ago, OldUser said:

That's unfortunate. I would have not changed name in the US if I was intending to keep my country of origin's citizenship and they don't allow name changes. This is somewhat gray / undefined area.

 

Perhaps the easiest solution is to use US passport solely to enter 3rd country. Yes, it means applying for visa. But there's not so many countries requiring visa for US citizens. Unless you're talking China / Russia / Iran and similar.

 

The problem with airline tickets is that you need to provide name. And if the names don't match this will haunt you for the rest of your life. As long as air travel rules don't change to be more liberal, which I don't think they will anytime soon.

 

Thank you for your answer. It is much appreciated. The whole name mess that I got into when immigration happened (over a decade ago) was not entirely my decision either. I was very young too and uninformed to know how bad things got messed up. USCIS was not the most collaborative either. Long story. I guess Spanish names are not the most understood in the USA overall... Anyhow, my Spanish passport "opens more doors" than the US passport does. So just wondering how things could be done. The reason I am always going to keep my Spanish passport is because that's who I am, because all my family is in Spain, and because one never knows where life will bring. If (God forbid) a truck was to hit my husband tomorrow and kill him then I would have to think long and hard if I want to stay in a country where I absolutely have no one. Or we can make it both to our 90s and just leave this earth then. Who knows. Can't obsess about the what ifs...

[OldUser 5,053]

7 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

The OP does not need help to travel to and within the European Union - as a Spanish citizen he is a seasoned EU traveler-.

 

His question is regarding a third country and the possible issues with the airline and his mismatched passports.

Outside of EU, there's very limited number of countries as I listed, that Spanish passport has advantage over US passport.

 

 

[Seven 24]

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

What's the name difference? Maiden vs. married?

 

And the easiest way would be buying tickets separately in order to match each passport. 

Someone told me that I could book the flight with the Spanish passport name to a country such as Vietnam which requires no visa for Spanish passports. Then enter Vietnam with the Spanish one, exit Vietnam with the Spanish one and just take my American passport in US customs. What got me thinking is that when traveling with a GC with a different name than my Spanish passport to Spain, most of the time the airline people want me to check in using their kiosk. I tell them it won't work. They insist. Kiosk asks me if I have a US issued document, I say yes, names mismatch, need to go to the counter. Agent calls supervisor because according to her, I cannot fly with different names. Supervisor tells agent that I entered the name in my passport and any other issues are immigration's job, not hers. Then I am free to go on with my day. LOL. Sorry for the rant

[OldUser 5,053]

33 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Belarus, Bolivia, Gambia, Iran, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam

@Seven is your question about travelling to countries from this list?

[OldUser 5,053]

7 minutes ago, Seven said:

Then enter Vietnam with the Spanish one, exit Vietnam with the Spanish one 

Yes, as general rule you need to enter and leave the country using the same nationality. E.g. entered EU as Spanish citizen, then exit as Spanish citizen. Entered Vietnam as Spanish, exit Vietnam as Spanish. Entered UK as American, leave UK as American.

 

That part is right.

 

The difficult part is name mismatch in your case. If names in both passports were the same, you wouldn't have a problem. Hence was my comment early in the thread that this will cause pain.

 

Isn't the visa to Vietnam $25? They also seem to have eVisa which is quick to obtain. As I said, sometimes applying for eVisa may be easier than convincing agents and missing flights potentially. Unless you travel there a lot and often.

Edited March 14, 2023 by OldUser

[Seven 24]

6 minutes ago, OldUser said:

@Seven is your question about travelling to countries from this list?

My question was directed to any country that the Spanish passport has an advantage over the US passport, that being the need for a visa or any other restriction the world decides to make up.

[OldUser 5,053]

11 minutes ago, Seven said:

My question was directed to any country that the Spanish passport has an advantage over the US passport, that being the need for a visa or any other restriction the world decides to make up.

Only for those 3rd countries Spanish passport has advantage over US passport (excluding EU):

 

Belarus, Bolivia, Gambia, Iran, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam

 

To summarize, your options are:

 

1. If visa free access to those 3rd countries (outside EU and US) is so important, update your name on US passport to match other passport, since Spain doesn't allow name change.

2. If you only travel sometimes and don't mind paying $25 for eVisa / 7 EUR for eTIAS use US passport and save a lot of hassle with airline agents.

3. Keep everything as is.

 

That's about it, maybe others have suggestions.

 

"I'm out" (c) @Mike E

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by OldUser

[Mike E 11,725]

5 hours ago, Seven said:

I am a bit confused: why carry on only?

few airlines interline and even fewer interline to another airline with a different named passenger.

 

so if you check a bag, then you will have to clear immigration, get the bag, and then re-check.  Most countries with international transit zones have exit controls. If you are using passport A to enter C you must use A to exit C. Your name won’t match. 

5 hours ago, Seven said:

 

 

Then maybe with the A and B it got confused but for example the Spanish passport would allow me to go just say Vietnam without a visa. The American needs a visa to go to Vietnam. So how that’d be? What name on the tickets? Would the airline in the US have a problem that the US passport is in another name?

Fly through Hong Kong.

5 hours ago, Seven said:

 

I thought all countries had a border security where you show the passport.

 

I got really lost at the multiple round trips bookings for so many countries. Sorry ! 

 

 Sorry I can’t explain it for you any simpler. All I can say, is I did it once. I had visa for India on my Canadian passport. So i flew to Hong Kong from Dallas on my U.S. passport on AA   Then hit the CX transit desk to my boarding pass for India using my Canadian passport. On the return, hit the transit desk in HK to get my AA boarding pass.

 

My name is the same on both passports but it would not have made a difference. It was going to work, and it did work.

 

 

[Seven 24]

24 minutes ago, Mike E said:

few airlines interline and even fewer interline to another airline with a different named passenger.

 

so if you check a bag, then you will have to clear immigration, get the bag, and then re-check.  Most countries with international transit zones have exit controls. If you are using passport A to enter C you must use A to exit C. Your name won’t match. 

Fly through Hong Kong.

 Sorry I can’t explain it for you any simpler. All I can say, is I did it once. I had visa for India on my Canadian passport. So i flew to Hong Kong from Dallas on my U.S. passport on AA   Then hit the CX transit desk to my boarding pass for India using my Canadian passport. On the return, hit the transit desk in HK to get my AA boarding pass.

 

My name is the same on both passports but it would not have made a difference. It was going to work, and it did work.

 

 

Couldn’t you have presented your Canadian at check in the US (having booked a round trip to India) then get your US passport out only to enter the US in customs? The US law doesn’t prohibit having other passports and doesn’t obligate the citizens to exit the country with it. They just care you enter as a man American. Therefore, for you, with the matching name, only have to think of you want to enter a country as a Canadian or a U.S. citizen.

Edited March 15, 2023 by Seven

[Mike E 11,725]

11 minutes ago, Seven said:

Couldn’t you have presented your Canadian at check in the US (having booked a round trip to India

Possibly. It is at the discretion of the airline employee. Ive have enough of my AA horror stories and read enough on VJ that there was no reason to risk a business trip as well as a meeting with my gf

[SteveInBostonI130 3,328]

7 hours ago, Seven said:

My question was directed to any country that the Spanish passport has an advantage over the US passport, that being the need for a visa or any other restriction the world decides to make up.

 

I find it a hassel to book multiple flights and try to organize transfers visa 3rd countries   And more expensive 

 

I would research the visa requirements for the country you wish to visit with your US passport.  If it is is something simple, like an electronic visa or on-arrival visa, then just use your US passport, register and pay the fee.

 

If it's something more complicated, like  requiring you to visit that country's embassy or mail your passport in, then I would seek the options that Olduser and MikeE described.

 

 

I am curious about your Spanish passport:  if there is a name change due to marriage locally, the name cannot be changed on the passport?

[Loren Y 2,740]

Getting a visa to Vietnam with a US passport is really easy and about 20 bucks now roughly. You can do it online now, and print out the visa in advance, and it's easy peasy. I have also gotten a Vietnam visa issued next day multiple times at their embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. I would stop by the embassy, fill out the form, pay about 15 bucks ( Make sure you have passport photos with you, I always travel with about 6 current ones), and pick up my passport the next day, then head to airport, hop on my Vietjet airways for 9 bucks one way back in the day, and away I went. The visa for Vietnam is not very difficult to get, and would save a lot of hassle in the long run.

Note: Make sure you do it directly at their Visa webpage, there are a lot of 3rd party ones that get you visas, but mark it up to like 90 bucks, and then just do everything for you online and pocket the 70 for themselves.

 

Looks like it went up to 25 now....

The standard fee for a single-entry e-visa is US$25

Edited March 15, 2023 by Loren Y

[Seven 24]

2 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

I find it a hassel to book multiple flights and try to organize transfers visa 3rd countries   And more expensive 

 

I would research the visa requirements for the country you wish to visit with your US passport.  If it is is something simple, like an electronic visa or on-arrival visa, then just use your US passport, register and pay the fee.

 

If it's something more complicated, like  requiring you to visit that country's embassy or mail your passport in, then I would seek the options that Olduser and MikeE described.

 

 

I am curious about your Spanish passport:  if there is a name change due to marriage locally, the name cannot be changed on the passport?

People are not allowed to change their names. Marriage is not a valid legal reason for name change. You are born and die with your name.