Dual passport usage when traveling?
 

My wife just became a US citizen. She’s trying to figure how she should use her US and Thai passport when traveling to Thailand. Which passport for buying the ticket, leaving the US, entering Thailand, leaving Thailand, checking into to the flight back to the US and entering the US.

Entering the US is a nobrainer since she has to use the US passport. Entering Thailand with a US passport limits the time she can stay without a visa so she’d rather enter with the Thai passport.

Since someone may ask or wonder: she’s lived in the US for 30 years, so over half her life.

This is what my nieces do. Coming to the US, US passport. Going home to Japan, use Japan passport.

Not sure about Thailand, but I'm a UK / US Duel Citizen. In the past I've just my UK passport to enter UK/Europe, and my US for returning home for shorter lines when on my own. When I'm with my wife, you used to be able to bring non UK Citizen family members through the UK Citizen line with you. You can't do that these days, although amusingly last time we tired and she got sent to the Foreign nationals line she still made it through before me. No one has ever commented on me using different passports to enter and leave a country though.

Funny aside, after getting my US Citizenship in 08, there was a period 09-12 when my UK passport had expired and I kept forgetting to renew it in time, so I was entering the UK, where I was born, on my US passport. That was fun actually.

I would think it does not matter because having dual passports she doesn't even need a visum.. at all.

So presenting ones self to the Thai customs.. even if by chance she did it on a US passport.. 30 day visum free

enter all you want
Who cares if you stay 40 days if the person is a THAI citizen the 30 days simply do not apply

But as others have said.. just use the one for the country you are entering and you'll benefit from all the easy access available to nationals of that country
nobrainer.

is it a sin to present both to immigration?

Sounds scary. "Different" gets attention - I think there you want to be one of the cattle.

Me? I share a name, middle initial and birthdate with a felon. This is "scary" to them. Immigration never takes less than two hours. After enough managers come through to access various levels of info they must find a photo then they chuckle and send me off. Apparently the other 47yo Michael Johnson isn't a mild-mannered 5'8" suburban dude...

I'll add another UK funny aside: I have a friend who grew up in East Texas, has the East Texas drawl when she speaks and for all intents and purposes is a Texan, but she was born in the UK and maintains a UK passport.

Last time I went to Thailand, pre-Covid, I went thru the Thai citizen line with my wife which went pretty quick. Not sure how that works today.

So it sounds like she should:
Buy the ticket with her US passport.
Leave the US with her US passport.
Enter Thailand with her Thai passport including any paperwork she fills out before landing.
Check into the flight in Thailand back to the US with her US passport
Enter the US with the Thai passport. (Meant US passport )

I do it all the time... depending on which line is shortest... It's not a problem...
One time I think the US side commented there were no entry stamps at all, and asked if I'd used another passport where I'd gone - said yes - that's was it.

Customs people have seen it all, a dual passport is not scary to them

because it's much harder ot fake 2 passports then 1 so to them it's much easier to confirm things are as they should with 2 vs 1 passport. And they know their own passports like the back of their hand so really non issue either way

That's what I do with my French passport when going to Europe. I guess I can leave the French passport at home when I go to England this summer since the UK booted themselves out of the EU.

That's it.
I also have US and EU (Spanish) passport. When I got to Madrid last time from NYC with my USA passport they asked me for my Spanish passport.

OK, I'll buy that! And like ER docs they've very well seen everything...

Is it strange to have three passports? My brother has a friend whose parents are Norwegian. He was born in Brazil and for some reason he had Portuguese citizenship. He lives in the US

So he ended up with three passports at one time. I believe when he turned 18 he had to declare citizenship, US.

It is a bit more complicated: exit US - US passport must be stamped. Enter into another country, local passport must be stamped. Exit same country (or region like EU), local passport must be stamped. Enter US - US passport must be stamped.

Otherwise there will be an inconsistency and you may be questioned.

Don't ask me how I know.

Something something " I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen" something something?

Or am I old fashioned in thinking that new US citizens should dispose of passports from home countries?

I would think the Exit is just a function of last entrance, bit obvious to get exit stamp for each entry.

It's not wrong perse, it's not illegal or disallowed.. it's just something they spot, they spot inconsistency for a living. And that one is obvious.

What would you do if you keep getting entrance stamps and never any exits
or vice versa? Curiousity is their profession.


Obviously if you have 2 and you use em both; you'de be best to always carry both and then such questioning would be easily resolved..It's just avoidable by using them in a consistent way

There are countries that make ut legally impossible to renounce citizenship.. Turkey if I'm not mistaken considers you turkish for life..even if you werent born there but yiur parents are they will call you up for military service.

Dispose the passport all you wany. Its just papers.
The citizenship is what matters

Not sure if you could evn renouce us citizen ship to the full extent.. IRS Technicall vwants your money no matter where you live and earn money.. you can qvoid that by giving up passport and rights. But not sure if that is full renounce of citizenship or if it just pauses some rights

Problem is owning property in the other county which is why my wife has been hesitant to get a U.S. passport for so long. The US doesn’t care who owns property but many other countries like Thailand only allow citizens to own land and wife isn’t giving up any property.

Get yourself a SENTRI/GOES card.
Automatic TSA pre-check line
Special line in Customs too.
10 minutes to get checked back into USA last time to Europe

Having a non US passport is very handy if you travel internationally a lot. Makes some things easier. Also US citizens aren't always the most popular so if someone were to collect everyones passport - I'd rather NOT give them a US one.