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I have dual UK and Canadian citizenship, with both passports, and am ordinarily resident in the UK. I have an upcoming trip to Canada and I'm dimly aware that Canada now requires me to travel on my Canadian passport when entering the country.

So, which passport should I actually book my flights with?

If I book using my UK passport details, would I use the UK passport to check in and leave the UK, and then just present the Canadian passport at border control when I arrive in Canada?

Then on the way back, would I have to check in and exit Canada using my UK passport, as that's the one I'm travelling on? Then I'd present my UK passport on arrival in the UK of course.

The thing I'm worried about above is, that I'd be entering Canada on my Canadian passport but then leaving it on my UK one. Is that ok, unwise, or illegal? Or am I doing it wrong?

Relaxed
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RC75
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2 Answers2

14

In this situation, you always give the airline the passport for the destination, and the authorities the passport for the country you are in.

  • UK->CA: Booking/check-in/boarding: CA
  • No UK exit control
  • CA entry passport control: CA
  • CA->UK: booking/check-in/boarding: UK passport
  • I believe CA does not have exit passport control either, but I’m not sure. If they have it, CA passport
  • UK entry passport control: UK

In the event anyone asks about the other passport (or asks “how did you get in”), show the other passport.

Thousands of people do that every single day. Nothing to worry about.

Note that you do not “book with a passport”. You make a booking, and you provide advance passenger information for a flight. That information can be provided and overridden at any time before the flight. You can provide the CA passport details initially and just before the return flight overwrite that with the UK passport details. You can often do that online. If you can’t, just provide the UK passport at check-in and they will use that.

It gets more complex if your details don’t match from one passport to the other (yes, that happens, some people have different names or birth dates in different passports, and no, they are not Jason Bourne), or when either country does not allow dual citizenship, but in the general case, it’s just business as usual.

jcaron
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Just a note that you wouldn't have been able to use your UK passport both ways even if you tried. Canada requires UK citizens to hold an ETA to enter the country. Canadian citizens cannot acquire ETAs. Given that you are also Canadian, you would not be able to get an ETA to fly to Canada your UK passport. JCaron's answer is the only way you can physically do it.

user189402
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