Dual citizenship--which passport to use?
 

I'm lucky to have dual citizenship, both American and Icelandic, and will be traveling to Zambia this summer. I have to apply for a visa pretty soon though, so I'm wondering if you have any advice about which passport to use for the visa application. Usually when I travel out of the US I use the Icelandic passport 'cause it's FAR more innocent and less likely to raise hackles (esp. since most people don't give a rat's ass about lil' ol' Iceland) and only use the US one to re-enter the country.

If I do use the Icelandic one, will I have the same rights to the American embassy in Zambia if something goes wrong? Will they take me even if I'm not traveling as an American? Thanks...

I would think you would have the same rights at the embassy as any American regardless of how you entered the country.

If you were to show up claiming to be a US citizen they would help you in an instant.

Thanks Charlatan... you're probably right, as I'll be carrying my American passport with me anyway. I can flash that at the gates if need be. I was just worried since I'm planning to apply for the Zambian visa for my Icelandic passport, though maybe that means I won't be able to leave the US?? (I will fly through London and Johannesburg first.) Uggh, I have no clue about this stuff! :(

You won't have any problem leaving the US using either passport. They may ask to see your visa for Zambia at the check in counter as they are responsible for your flight back if you arrive in a country without proper paperwork.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Spend more time planning all the cool things you are going to do while in Zambia!

Generally speaking, if you're planning to travel to and from the US, it will be easier to do with your US passport. As a non-US citizen travelling, you often get shunted to different, sometimes longer and more involved, lines in customs. Also, you're 'supposed' to use whichever passport of the country you're currently residing in.
However, if you wish to use your Icelandic passport, I don't think you'll have any trouble with that either - especially since politically, they're considered so harmless.

I am pretty sure that this is only applicable in the US. In the EU, for example, they have shorter faster lines for EU citizens and all other nations must huddle in the long slow moving lines...

I have never seen a US citizen get preferential treatment over another nation outside of the US (I travel with US citizens frequently and they have to wait for me as I go through the slow line coming into the US).

What!??!?!!?!?!? You're ICELANDIC!?!??!?!?

Ekki Lakkris! I just finished my Noi Sirius Paska Egg :)

Yes, Cyn, I am Icelandic. *grins* Well, half-Icelandic, on my father's side. (See Gilda's hotseat thread for further discussion.) I've been meaning to ask you why you know so much about Iceland... then again, Skogafoss kinda gives it away. Is she actually Icelandic, though, or is she from another Scandinavian country?? :)

Mmmm I want a Páska egg!!! Talar þú íslensku?

Skogafoss is not Icelandic at all. She's just adopted the country as her favorite and her favorite place in the world is Skogafoss.

We have a number of Icelandic friends who live all over the country from Reykjavik to Aukeryi. We're actually considering buying some property there to build a summer home.

I don't speak any Icelandic except ekki lakkris (have to make sure they don't sneak any in under some chocoloate disguise.) We cannot wait to return to Iceland... for sure in 2007 for our 5 year anniversary unless there's some good Lucky Fares.

Fair enough - if you're not worried about getting home, and more about the other country, then you probably will have an easier time with the Icelandic. I'm just wondering which you'd use to come back with.

Sorry - My specialty is getting people into the US! :)

Oh Jess, I would definitely bring BOTH passports with me... see, this is my spy tactic. ;) Just kidding. No, I generally exit and enter the country using my US passport to make things easier, but when traveling in other countries, the Icelandic one is just safer in general and makes things faster (esp. in the EU). Thanks, though!

Hey, for those of us who don't like licorice, ekki lakris is a good phrase to know!!! They use it in EVERYTHING!! Bleh.

I'm always so pleased to meet people who love Iceland as much as I do, even if they are not Icelandic. It takes a special kind of person to be attracted to that place... in fact, that's one reason I noticed ktspktsp, because he took a two-week vacation to Iceland a couple of months before we met. We just had this basic foundation of loving Iceland together... :D

I will be going there this August for more fieldwork, actually (after Zambia!), and I can't wait (it's been nearly two years). Flying there from the east coast is very cheap in the off-season, you should try it then!! I went there for Thanksgiving for about $350 from Baltimore.

Nooo! There's nothing better than licorice! Opal and Noi Sirius, mmmm

Eg aetla ad rida lakris i kvold!

(I hope no one [well, save for abaya :)] can read Icelandic!)

my first trip to Iceland was Thanksgiving 2000 when I proposed to Skogafoss at Skogafoss :) last year we got good lucky fares during May :) and we found some good ones just the other weekend, but if we used our vacation now, we'll have nothing left for the end of the year.

One of these year's we'll go for Christmas and New Year's Eve to watch all the crazy fireworks :)

I too am fond of licorice... my Swedish friends always bring me a few tins when we meet.


Jess... I would agree with you. When abaya comes back into the US... use the US passport! Best way to get through customs.

Abaya, This is not a subject to be taken lightly. Do a little research. I also have dual citizenship. I won't get in to the specifics on a public forum but suffice to say I got in to some serious trouble traveling with both passports. At the very least, check with your passport office before you go. Different countries have different laws about entering with two passports. It has only been in the last ten years that the US has relaxed some of it's laws. Indeed, the US government still does not "approve" of dual citizenship (though it does allow it) and has some very specific rules.

Here's a site with an overview tho' I can't guarantee it's accuracy.:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html

^ Thanks, JJ. Very helpful website.. I admit I hadn't taken it too seriously yet, since I backpacked around Europe w/both passports and used them both often. However, I ALWAYS use the US one when coming and going from the US, and ALWAYS use the Icelandic one when doing the same w/Iceland. It's the spots in between I'm unsure of... like which passport should I use for the Zambian visa??

I too have dual citizenship of sorts. Since, as a naturalized US citizen I am forbidden from holding dual citizenship (at least this was case when I was naturalized), it is very important for me to use my US credentials when entering the US. Very important. Any whiff that I am showing allegance to another country and naturalization can be revoked. Returning from a country you used another passport to enter could pose problems.

This might have been relaxed as an earlier poster has suggested, but I am certainly not going to take any chances.

My country of birth, Canada, did not recognize my renouncement of citizenship, for US naturalization purposes, and this is how I am a "dual citizen" so to speak.

I would be very careful and make sure you've got your ducks in line.

The US in particular has become very particular about it's borders, it's credentials, and it's citizens, and frankly any one of us can be held incommunicado at guantanamo bay for the even the slightest whiff of inpropriatey. I would do everything I could to stay below the radar.

-bear

Some countries dont like you carrying around multiple passport. I know the swiss don't "allow" it. Most people have their girlfriend or boyfriend carry their second passport to get around this.

As of choosing passport, different countries help their citizens at different levels. The US and UK are for instance known to put alot of pressure on countries who fuck around with their citizens. They take their time to talk to authorities to atleast make their presence known...

I agree with charlton but it had better if you make sure from the proper rules directory at embassy.