Dual Citizenship - What Passport Do I Show Entering and Exiting Switzerland?

Question

I'm leaving the U.S. for a two-months stay in Switzerland this summer. I have dual citizenship, U.S. and German; I'm departing the U.S for Switzerland with German passport and returning from Switzerland to the U.S. with U.S. passport. Is this correct?

Answer 1

Almost correct.

• On the way to Switzerland, you show the German passport.
• On the way to the US, you show the US passport to the airline and US immigration, but you show the German passport to Swiss emigration.

That's because you won't have an entry stamp on your US passport. The US passport would need one, the German passport doesn't. Having those two passports isn't illegal, so you can show the other passport whenever someone wonders.