Dual Passports: Advice on API and destination entry procedures

Question

Many countries, such as Japan, now require API (Advanced Passenger Information) before travel.

My wife is a dual passport holder (UK passport and Chinese passport with Japanese working permit). We traveled a lot before, but every time she only used her Chinese passport to check in, in order to match the API when returning to Japan, but spent a lot time at the counter for visa checks.

Would using her UK passport to check in allow her to utilize the visa-free entry benefit for British nationals, making the check-in process smoother and allowing for online check-in without needing a visa check?

Upon arrival in Japan, she intends to use her Chinese passport, which is linked to her Japanese working permit. Therefore, Japan immigration may hold a different API record because she checked in with another passport. Would it still OK or would it make things more complicated?

Answer 1

For API, you should always provide the passport that you will use at passport control in the destination country, for each flight.

Many (most?) airlines allow you to change the passport used whenever you want online, or during check-in (or at the gate if you go there directly), so you can use a different one for each flight. I think I’ve even seen somewhere an airline which allows different inputs for each flight in advance.

So when you depart from Japan and you want to use the UK passport at the destination, so probably anywhere but China:

• Booking (if required): UK passport
• Check-in: UK passport
• Japan exit passport control: Chinese passport with work permit
• Gate: UK passport
• Destination passport control: UK passport

When flying to Japan:

• Booking (if required): CN passport
• Check-in: CN passport
• Local exit passport control, if there is one: UK passport (or more generally, the one you used to enter)
• Gate: CN passport
• Japan passport control: CN passport

Sometimes (especially when there’s no exit passport control) the airline will ask for the other passport, just hand it over when they do.

Of course in the case of travel to/from China (which theoretically does not allow dual citizenship) it can be more complex, but as long as you only travel to/from China from/to Japan it shouldn’t be an issue.

Answer 2

Would it still OK or would it make things more complicated?

It’s perfectly OK. I hold three passports and routinely mix and match them between check in and immigration. Just this past winter I’ve shown passport A when flying to Mexico but entered it on passport B. Immigration doesn’t really care about APIs, they care about the document you present to them at the counter.

So if it saves you a few minutes for every flight, go ahead and use the UK passport.

Important note: the above does not apply when traveling to/from China. You’ll have to be sure to only use the Chinese passport for those flights as China does not allow dual citizenship. See: I have two passports/nationalities. How do I use them when I travel?