Dual Citizenship USA/Ireland: Which Passport?

Hello all!

I plan on retiring next year to Great Britain, and I have one or two concerns that perhaps some of you might be able to help me allieviate.  I am a dual citizen between the USA and Ireland.  Although I was born it the USA to American parents, I did have one Irish grandparent, and by Irish law that entitled me to dual citizenship with Ireland.  This also entitles me to live, work, and move freely within any of the nations in the European Union, such as Great Britain.  When I retire next year I anticipate working in England at least part-time to supplement my pension, so I would like to travel into Britain on my Irish passport.  At this juncture I don't plan on living back in the USA, but I suppose I will want to come back periodically for visits.

My question is this:  When I leave the USA permanently next year, on which passport am I legally bound to travel on, my American or my Irish one?  I have heard a million and one horror stories about British Immigration officials holding people up at airports for days on end, perplexed why some American would want to live in Britain.  After a 7 hour flight the last thing I want is a Spanish Inquisition, and I really don't want to be told to leave Britain immediately because some junior Immigration guard isn't familiar with dual citizenship rights.  I also don't want to have American Immigration giving me a hard time if I choose to come back to the USA for a visit now and again because I traveled out of the USA initially on a foreign passport.  Therefore, would I be better off flying out of Canada and into Ireland on my Irish passport and then fly into Britain on my Irish passport again?  Or is this too much over nothing?  Would I raise red flags as an American citizen by arriving in a British airport with an Irish passport, as well as possesing documentation stating I plan on moving permenantly to the UK?

I can't get a straight answer out of anyone at US or British Immigration on these questions, so if any of you have any advice for me on this matter, I'll gladly listen.

Thanks,

Brian

Use your Irish passport to enter the UK and your US passport to enter the US.  Whatever country you're in, that's what passport you use.  It's not complicated and immigration is well aware of people holding more than one passport.

Kristi is correct and you shouldn't have any problems at all! When it comes to immigration, your situation is pretty clear cut.

Thanks for the replies!

I might have been misinformed, but I was told once that it is illegal for a anyone who posesses a dual USA and other nation citizenship to leave or enter the USA on anything but their USA Passport.  Is this true?  Again, I didn't hear this from an official source; consequently, that is why I had the lengthy initial question.  I wasn't trying to overcomplicate the matter, I was just confused. 

Thanks again!

Brian

When you're leaving the US, you show your US passport to the US officials.  Once you arrive in the UK on that same trip, you show your Irish passport.
You show the passport applicable to that nation.

Are you certain that is legal? You know...leaving the US on one passport, and then producing another nations' passport upon arrival in a land different from either land of citizenship.   Again, I don't want to sound doubtful, I just want to be sure it is legal to do this.  I called the Buffalo, New York office of US Immigration with this question and they said they weren't sure.  I even e-mailed the Immigration and Naturalization service in Washington with this question, and they never got around to returning my e-mail with an answer.  Beaurocracy....aghhhhhh!!!!!

Are you certain that is legal? You know...leaving the US on one passport, and then producing another nations' passport upon arrival in a land different from either land of citizenship.  

The information and advice posted in the thread above is correct.

The information and advice posted in the thread above is correct.

bdmarren, since you are new to this site, not sure if you are aware but Garry is an Immigration official so his word is gold! 

Thanks Gary and Jules!  You have taken a load off my mind.

Glad to hear! I know it can be daunting since so many people you contact don't know what they are talking about.

As for Garry, he is extremely well informed and takes his role very seriously.  Too bad there aren't more of him out there.

Actually we do have another on this site as well...Victoria, certainly don't want to exclude her!

Best of luck to you! 

Immigration consultant reather than official...we don't want people thinking we actually work *for* the Government!!!


Victoria

And one more note:  The US requires that US citizens enter with a US passport. 

There is no correspondingly similar law in the UK.  You can use any passport your want.  That's because of some rather complex history having to do with the Imperial times, which the US does not have. 

The catch is that unless your passport shows the right to enter under paragraph 18 (or alternatively, right of abode, naturalisation certificate, or what have you), then you enter as a visitor. 

The catch is that unless your passport shows the right to enter under paragraph 18 (or alternatively, right of abode, naturalisation certificate, or what have you), then you enter as a visitor. 

When you mention "passport" above, do you mean UK passport?

 

And one more note:  The US requires that US citizens enter with a US passport. 

There is no correspondingly similar law in the UK.  You can use any passport your want.  That's because of some rather complex history having to do with the Imperial times, which the US does not have. 

The catch is that unless your passport shows the right to enter under paragraph 18 (or alternatively, right of abode, naturalisation certificate, or what have you), then you enter as a visitor. 

Interesting you should note that, Garry.  I just came back to the UK from a visit in the US last week and had forgotten my daughter's British passport.  My husband brought it to the airport (he was in the UK already), but I really was not sure what would happen. The officer noted that I had settlement and my daughter did not.  I explained.  I also had my son with me, but I had his British passport.  She commented on it, but just said in future bring the British passport for re-entry into the UK.  I was really surprised I didn't get more hassle.

Grace,

You can get "right of abode" stickers placed by the Home Office into your daughter's US passport.  That would enable her to enter the UK on the US passport. The Home Office Right of Abode sticker shows that she is permanently entitled to reside in Britain. The only drawback is that they charge a fee for this.

I did it and it only took... 4 months. But with Gary's help I finally got my US passport back from Liverpool...

M.