When exactly to use what passport?

Hi everyone, I wanted to use my new British passport today but ran into issues when checking in at Heathrow. I was told that I had to use my American passport to enter. But, I said to the woman, I'm not entering yet, I'm leaving the UK, I'll use my American passport when I land.

No luck, I had to use my American passport. (After buying an esta as I was told I needed one, or I *could* use my American one - implying either was an option). It sounds like I'm going to need to use my American passport at three points (check-in UK, arrival US and departure US) and my British one at one point (arrival UK). Is that correct? Is it not going to cause problems, entering the UK on a different passport to what I left on?

Please help - I've gotten through now and am having my traditional morning airport cider but I'm so confused now as to what the actual procedure is - my understanding had been: British at check-in to depart UK, American on US arrival, American at check-in to depart US, British on UK arrival.

Thank you!

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After buying an esta as I was told I needed one

Doesn't the ESTA application ask you if you have/are entitled to an American passport?
If you answered yes to that, then I would have assumed it  would have then advised you that you are not eligible for ESTA and must use your US passport.

I think that what they told you was correct, because of the ESTA requirement. Before the ESTA was introduced, I don't think it would be an issue, but now, if you check in with a UK passport, they ask if you have either an ESTA or a US visa... if you don't have either, they won't let you on the plane.

So, to me, the most sensible thing to do, and what seems to be the general consensus on immigration forums (i.e. http://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/dual-uk-us-citizen-passport-do-i-use-788069/) is:
- Leave the UK on the US passport
- Enter the US on the US passport
- Leave the US on the US passport
- Enter the UK on the UK passport

While you are legally required to leave and enter the US on a US passport, this is not the case for the UK, so it shouldn't matter which passport you use to leave.

So, to me, the most sensible thing to do, and what seems to be the general consensus on immigration forums (i.e. http://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/dual-uk-us-citizen-passport-do-i-use-788069/) is:
- Leave the UK on the US passport
- Enter the US on the US passport
- Leave the US on the US passport
- Enter the UK on the UK passport

While you are legally required to leave and enter the US on a US passport, this is not the case for the UK, so it shouldn't matter which passport you use to leave.

This is exactly what we do. 

Doesn't the ESTA application ask you if you have/are entitled to an American passport?
If you answered yes to that, then I would have assumed it  would have then advised you that you are not eligible for ESTA and must use your US passport.

It asks if you hold any other citizenship. I answered American and provided my passport details and application still went through.

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I think that what they told you was correct, because of the ESTA requirement. Before the ESTA was introduced, I don't think it would be an issue, but now, if you check in with a UK passport, they ask if you have either an ESTA or a US visa... if you don't have either, they won't let you on the plane.

So, to me, the most sensible thing to do, and what seems to be the general consensus on immigration forums (i.e. http://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/dual-uk-us-citizen-passport-do-i-use-788069/) is:
- Leave the UK on the US passport
- Enter the US on the US passport
- Leave the US on the US passport
- Enter the UK on the UK passport

While you are legally required to leave and enter the US on a US passport, this is not the case for the UK, so it shouldn't matter which passport you use to leave.

Thank you ksand. It just doesn't make sense to me - I mean I don't doubt you in the slightest but their reasoning doesn't make sense. How is checking in considered to be part of the "enter" side of the requirement, how is it not wholly considered to be leaving the UK?

I'd suspected that the UK doesn't have the same passport requirement of its citizens, but I'm not sure how I can come in on something I didn't use going out. Again I've no doubt that you are correct and durhamlad has also confirmed having done this, but again - it doesn't make sense to me. How will they know I've left if I'm using a different passport on re-entry?

Thanks folks for getting back to me, I was really quite panicked earlier.

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Ksand sorry just reread a point in your post. If I now do have an ESTA on my British passport, is it possible to check in on that and then use my American when I actually land in the US?

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How is checking in considered to be part of the "enter" side of the requirement, how is it not wholly considered to be leaving the UK?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. It's not considered part of the enter side, but it's not part of 'leaving' either.

It's not about leaving and entering dates or your immigration status in the UK, it's a policy that the airlines have implemented for flights to the US. They check before you board the plane that you have the necessary 'paperwork' available to get into the US when you land. Completing the ESTA is filling out your landing card before you travel because you can't do it on the plane or at US immigration anymore, so they just make sure you have it before you leave the UK so you don't get stuck at immigration when you land because you can't enter the US.

How will they know I've left if I'm using a different passport on re-entry?

But why would they need to know you have left? I might be wrong, but you're a UK citizen, so as far as I can tell you leaving makes no difference to them whatsoever.

What matters is that when you come back, you are let in as a UK citizen and not a US citizen. Although there's no legal requirement that you must use your UK passport to enter, you'd need a valid visa if you wanted to enter on the US passport.

Just found this article that explains it quite well, what matters is that you check in on te passport that you will use to enter your destination country so that the airline knows you have permission to enter that country:
http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/


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Ksand sorry just reread a point in your post. If I now do have an ESTA on my British passport, is it possible to check in on that and then use my American when I actually land in the US?

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But why would you want to do that? Surely it just makes things more complicated, when you could just use your US passport and bypass any questions about why you have an ESTA.
Especially since, because you are a US citizen, it's illegal for you to enter the US on a UK passport with ESTA.


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I'm not sure I understand what you mean. It's not considered part of the enter side, but it's not part of 'leaving' either.

It's not about leaving and entering dates or your immigration status in the UK, it's a policy that the airlines have implemented for flights to the US. They check before you board the plane that you have the necessary 'paperwork' available to get into the US when you land. Completing the ESTA is filling out your landing card before you travel because you can't do it on the plane or at US immigration anymore, so they just make sure you have it before you leave the UK so you don't get stuck at immigration when you land because you can't enter the US.

But why would they need to know you have left? I might be wrong, but you're a UK citizen, so as far as I can tell you leaving makes no difference to them whatsoever.

What matters is that when you come back, you are let in as a UK citizen and not a US citizen. Although there's no legal requirement that you must use your UK passport to enter, you'd need a valid visa if you wanted to enter on the US passport.

Just found this article that explains it quite well, what matters is that you check in on te passport that you will use to enter your destination country so that the airline knows you have permission to enter that country:
http://www.stylehiclub.com/cruising-flying/step-step-guide-to-traveling-with-two-passports/


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I am a UK citizen. I have no idea why they would need to know not so much when I left but that I left. At the time it just sounded like something that would get flagged. Thanks.

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But why would you want to do that? Surely it just makes things more complicated, when you could just use your US passport and bypass any questions about why you have an ESTA.
Especially since, because you are a US citizen, it's illegal for you to enter the US on a UK passport with ESTA.


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Because to my mind it seemed like you would need to check back into the country on the same passport you left on. Thanks.

ETA: As mentioned, I'd been intending to go through US passport control with my American visa as required because to mind my that was the enter part. I was confused as to how check in came into it at all.

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Don't confuse checking in with the airline and passport control/immigration..  When you check in at the airline desk the airline need to know that you hold the correct documents to enter the country you are traveling to, passport/visa. They are not officially checking your passport for the country you are departing from, that is done when you pass through security, if at all. They are collecting Advanced Passenger Information for the US. If the airline accept you on a flight without ensuring you have the correct paperwork they face a very large fine if you are refused entry once you land at your destination.

I have been a dual citizen for many years and here is what I do on a trip back home to US.

UK check-in = US passport
US Arrival = US passport
US check-in = US passport
UK Arrival = UK passport

I always have both passports available but have never been asked to show them both.

Don't confuse checking in with the airline and passport control/immigration..  When you check in at the airline desk the airline need to know that you hold the correct documents to enter the country you are traveling to, passport/visa. They are not officially checking your passport for the country you are departing from, that is done when you pass through security, if at all. They are collecting Advanced Passenger Information for the US. If the airline accept you on a flight without ensuring you have the correct paperwork they face a very large fine if you are refused entry once you land at your destination.

Yes, this was what I was talking about.

Showing your US passport at check in has nothing to do with leaving the country on a certain passport, it's about showing the airline you have the necessary paperwork to enter the country you are flying to.

It's to show that you are a US citizen and therefore do not need a visa or ESTA to travel to the US and so can be allowed to board the plane without the airline getting in trouble.

I don't believe that UK immigration does exit checks to record what passport you leave the country on, though some countries do (when I flew back from Switzerland a few weeks ago, I had to go through Swiss immigration in Geneva before I boarded the plane and then through UK immigration when I arrived), so it shouldn't matter that you've shown the US passport at check in... That's just information for the airline.


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The UK used to do exit checks but no longer do.  I used to fly out of Newcastle and I think they stopped doing exit checks there in the 90's.  The purpose was to look for people who had been staying in the country illegally.

When we went to Australia for 6 months last year and it was cheaper to get a visa in our UK passport so we used that for giving to the airline when we flew from the USA, and on entering Australia.  When we flew back we gave the airline our US Passport details, and also used it to enter the US at LA airport.  Australia has exit checks so we showed our British passport since it was the one with the visa.

Don't confuse checking in with the airline and passport control/immigration.. 

That's exactly what I was doing as my passport has never been checked except for visual comparison after that. Therefore it seemed as though that is the exit check x

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