Dual Passports AUS/UK

[alto25]

I was under the impression (possibly wrong) that you cannot hold more than 2 passports if one of them is Australian.

I have UK as well and was told I could only hold 2 passports - have I been given the wrong info?

As I understand it depends on how you gained AUS citizenship. I was born in the UK and I am a "naturalized" AUS. I lived in Canada for an extended period and married a Canadian. I hold AUS and UK passports, and I am a CAN resident.

I am eligible to apply for CAN citizenship (and therefore passport), however the AUS consulate advised me that if I did apply for CAN citizenship I would lose my AUS citizenship since I had "acquired" it - i.e. not by birth. This was too big a price to pay!:shock:

You cannot lose your AUS birth citizenship, so it may be viewed differently by other countries as you apply for a third citizenship and then passport.

 

[MelbMan]

Cheers Coverpoint.. thanks. It's a little frustrating not being able to do certain things on websites until you reach a certain post count. Hang in there, you'll reach the count (is it 10 posts) very shortly. I'd better pull the finger out on the new Aussie Passport. At least with this Right of Abode stamp I'll get 10 years out of the first one.

I wonder if I could get this done when in England at the place in Wales? It would waste a day but I probably need to head through Wales enroute to Ireland.
Your help very much appreciated!

Regards
John

 

[Oneworldplus2]

I got read the riot act.

Classic.
They [Seppo's] humor no end too. LOL

Conversation in New York many years ago...
American; "Where are you from?"
Me; "Sydney, Australia."
American; "Oh wow, we're driving there next week"
(To be fair, l that exact same conversation in Paris 1 week prior to that one)

 

[BillW]

20 odd years ago I had an Australian born citizen friend with an Australian born father and with an Australian passport who was elibile through his mother to apply for a UK passport, which he did in order to qualify for a job in in Europe somewhere, Belgium, Netherlands or similar. Australia peremptorilly withdrew his AUS passport, despite his having been born, grown up, educated, even served in the CMF here. I think that this may have changed. Can I receive some more recent enlightenment on this, in view of my above eligibility to apply for an Irish EU passport - not intending to rescind my AUS residency but convenient for travel through Europe/UK.
Bill

 

[Nigelinoz]

20 odd years ago I had an Australian born citizen friend with an Australian born father and with an Australian passport who was elibile through his mother to apply for a UK passport, which he did in order to qualify for a job in in Europe somewhere, Belgium, Netherlands or similar. Australia peremptorilly withdrew his AUS passport, despite his having been born, grown up, educated, even served in the CMF here. I think that this may have changed. Can I receive some more recent enlightenment on this, in view of my above eligibility to apply for an Irish EU passport - not intending to rescind my AUS residency but convenient for travel through Europe/UK.
Bill

The law changed in 2002.

Dual citizenship

Main content It is possible to hold citizenship of two or more countries if the law of those countries allow. This is known as dual, or multiple, citizenship.
People can become dual citizens automatically, or after being granted citizenship of another country.
For example, an Australian citizen may automatically gain citizenship of another country through marriage, while a permanent resident of Australia may become a dual citizen by becoming an Australian citizen.
Prior to 4 April 2002, Australian citizens who became citizens of another country lost their Australian citizenship automatically.
Can you become a dual citizen?

Australia allows its citizens to hold dual nationality. Other countries may not. To check if your country allows its citizens to hold dual or multiple citizenships, contact the embassy or consulate of that country in Australia.
Using your Australian passport

Australian citizens have right of entry to Australia and an Australian passport is the preferred and most conclusive proof of that right.
Dual nationals should use an Australian passport to enter and depart Australia. Other current passports can be used for travel when outside Australia if desired.
See: Citizenship and travel
Further information on dual citizenship, Australian passports and consular assistance is available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Travel information for dual nationals.

Australian Citizenship – Dual citizenship
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Oneworldplus2]

The then question becomes (for people who have dual citizenship), if you had to chose 1, which 1 would it be?

Me, l'm on the sidelines. But, l'd lean towards to EU as l travel there frequently.

 

[Nigelinoz]

The then question becomes (for people who have dual citizenship), if you had to chose 1, which 1 would it be?

Me, l'm on the sidelines. But, l'd lean towards to EU as l travel there frequently.

Australian-no contest.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Suzee]

JUST RETURNED FROM THE UK. I had to leave Oz on my Oz. passport enter UK on my UK one. But when I was leaving UK on my Oz. passport I was asked at Passport control for my UK Passport. So it is a Must to have both passports handy as you may have to show both.

The cost is expensive for 2 passports but well worth the cost IMHO.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Australian-no contest.
Cheers
N'oz

Yeah, l guess it depends on age.
I'm young (well, on this forum l guess), so having a EU with a PR on a Aussie passport would be suffice for me. So much easier l've found. But that may change with age.

 

[brucelaidlaw]

Well, I see we are nearly done with this thread but no one has raised the possibility of a "Right of Abode" as an option.

Amazingly, the "Right of Abode" only applies to a woman married to a UK man, and NOT the other way round. And gay and de-facto partners are not included either, if I'm reading it correctly:

8.1 Please indicate how you qualify for the right of abode. Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
• As someone born in the UK before 01/01/83
• As someone born in the UK on or after 01/01/83
• As someone adopted in the UK
• As someone registered or naturalised as a British Subject: citizen of the UK and Colonies in the UK before 01/01/83
• As someone whose father or mother was born, registered, naturalised or adopted in the UK, prior to your birth, which occurred outside the UK on or after 01/01/83
• As someone who, at birth, was a citizen of the UK and Colonies and has or had a grandparent born, registered, naturalised or adopted in the UK
• As someone who, as a citizen of the UK and Colonies, was ordinarily resident in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years before 01/01/83, and was settled in the UK at the end of that period
• As someone, who is a Commonwealth citizen, whose mother was born in the UK
• As a woman, who is a Commonwealth citizen, married before 01/01/83 to a man with the right of abode born in the UK
​

 

[Suzee]

BTW in case UK citizens in Australia need to renew their UK passports,they should note that UK passports are no longer issued by the British Consulate in Canberra,all UK passport renewals and applications in Australia are now done through Australia Post offices,an appointment is required and the application is forwarded to the UK consulate in New Zealand who forward the new passport via courier about 4-6 weeks later.

N'oz

Yes as I discovered late last year! It was an out & out time water as the Oz post staff had to follow what it said on the computer. I had all sorts of probs. getting them to understand that the forms I had been sent were not applicable to me I was renewing for the 5th time my UK passport and as I still had my old hard cover blue Passport & needed to send that and my last soft non-biometric passport as well. I just could not get them to understand that was the case so I hunted down a form on the Net that they then had to agreed to take both. Well I did get my Passport and it only took 2 weeks.

Suz.

 

[higheden]

I travel with two passports, my Aussie one and my Kiwi one. However my USA visa is attached to my Kiwi passport so I usually use this in the documentation when flying back home downunder.
BUT the last trip into Brisbane, I was taken for an 'interview' and was very seriously dressed down for not declaring my Aussie passport. I was told I can leave the USA on my kiwi passport if I want to but when I enter Australia, I MUST present my Aussie passport.
My partner, leaves the USA on his American Passport and enters NZ and Australia on his kiwi one and never seems to have an issue.

 

[MelbMan]

This has been a brilliant thread, particularly anyone interested in dual passports, or UK Rights of Abode. Well done everyone!

 

[Nigelinoz]

Yeah, l guess it depends on age.
I'm young (well, on this forum l guess), so having a EU with a PR on a Aussie passport would be suffice for me. So much easier l've found. But that may change with age.

I was born in the UK in 1960,came here with my parents in 1964,took out aussie citizenship in 1980,I'm proud that I was born in the UK but Australia gave me an education,and a set of values,I've seen a lot of the world but I always feel happiest when the aircraft touches down on aussie soil after an overseas trip.
I carry a UK passport because it makes the immigration process easier for me when I visit Europe but if push came to shove my Australian citizenship is much more important to me.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[equus]

The law changed in 2002.

Australian Citizenship – Dual citizenship
Cheers
N'oz

And it wasn't quite so bad even before 2002 - as the law related to acquiring citizenship, not a passport. If you were always considered to be a citizen of another country (e.g. UK parent), then simply applying for a passport should not have been an issue (as you were not actually acquiring citizenship - you already had it). If, however, you acquired the citizenship through some act of your own (e.g. marriage to a foreign citizen, residing in the country for a period of time etc), then you could lose the Australian citizenship.

Citizenship and acquiring a passport were (and still are) two separate items - whilst you must (generally speaking) have citizenship before being able to get a passport, not getting the passport does not mean you are not a citizen. (For instance, look at the plight of some individuals whose parents emigrated from countries which have compulsory military service. Those countries consider them citizens, and if they visit, will force them to fulfill their national service obligations).

Happily, the 2002 changes made things considerably easier (at least for those who were born Australian citizens).

 

[baggiez]

Congrats on a very interesting thread and an issue topical for me at the moment. I’ve been lurking for a while so it’s time to dip the toe in the water.
I have dual UK/AUS citizenship with two current passports and will travel to the UK for 6 weeks this Summer. My wife travelling with me has an AUS passport.
Reading the advice here we both leave on AUS passports but I should enter the UK on my UK passport (or as we’re transiting in AMS should I use my UK passport there too being a Eurozone country?)
Also, my wife can claim Right of Abode in the UK under this rule
1. As a woman, who is a Commonwealth citizen, married before 01/01/83 to a man with the right of abode born in the UK

But is it worth GBP150 for the stamp in her passport just to be able to queue with me in the EU line Or does this stamp help her when travelling in other EU countries.
To add another twist to the tale my wife was born in Greece and could potentially apply for a Greek passport but that’s another can of worms.
All advice gratefully accepted.
Cheers
Paul

 

[KateMayo]

Welcome to AFF baggiez!!


You can enter the UK on either your UK or your Australian passport. The UK one will result in fewer questions and may therefore be quicker.


I believe that families travelling together are allowed to join whichever queue any of the members of that family have passports for. That would mean, for example, that your wife can join you in the ”UK/EU” queue if using your UK passport, even though she is using an Australian passport, or that you could join her in the “other” queue whichever passport you chose to use. So, just pick the shorter queue :!:


Enjoy your trip!

 

[Robstar]

Hi There,

I have recently received my shiny new EU passport.
I have not used it yet however plan to within the next 6 months.

As I now hold dual citizenship, If I leave Australia with my Australian passport and for example land in London Heathrow, how does it work with entering the UK with an EU passport?

Won't customs look at the EU passport to look for a stamp showing that you have exited the country of origin? This will be in my Australian passport but nothing shown in EU.

Will be utilizing the EU passport in regards to possible work arrangements in the UK?
Any comments or tips from members would be great.
Regards,

RB

 

[themaiz]

Hi There,
I have recently received my shiny new EU passport.

Congratulations! Good feeling, huh?

If I leave Australia with my Australian passport and for example land in London Heathrow, how does it work with entering the UK with an EU passport?

Won't customs look at the EU passport to look for a stamp showing that you have exited the country of origin?

Unlikely. There are too many places which don't do stamps... and Australia is one of them! I had to pull my passport and check this, but since 2007 the only stamps I have are for LAX (heaps), NRT (in and out), HKG (in and out) and Canada (in but not out... not sure what happened there, because I flew back to the US). And I know I've been many more places than just those four. My UK passport has an entry and exit from Singapore and nothing else.

If you have a chip passport, then there's definitely no stamp coming back into Oz if you use the machine, and I have no stamps leaving Sydney.

At this rate, it's going to be impossible to "fill" either passport, for which I'm actually grateful.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

As I now hold dual citizenship, If I leave Australia with my Australian passport and for example land in London Heathrow, how does it work with entering the UK with an EU passport?

Won't customs look at the EU passport to look for a stamp showing that you have exited the country of origin? This will be in my Australian passport but nothing shown in EU.

Will be utilizing the EU passport in regards to possible work arrangements in the UK?
Any comments or tips from members would be great.
Regards,

RB

I believe most countries you enter are only concerned that you have a valid passport for the country you are entering so IMHO it would not matter to them on what document you used to depart another country.

Depending on what kind of system they use for immigration, if you arrived in the UK on a UK Passport & departed the UK on an Aussie one it may look like you'd never left the UK so could cause confusion when you arrive in the UK again.

I travel with two passports, my Aussie one and my Kiwi one. However my USA visa is attached to my Kiwi passport so I usually use this in the documentation when flying back home downunder.

BUT the last trip into Brisbane, I was taken for an 'interview' and was very seriously dressed down for not declaring my Aussie passport. I was told I can leave the USA on my kiwi passport if I want to but when I enter Australia, I MUST present my Aussie passport. My partner, leaves the USA on his American Passport and enters NZ and Australia on his kiwi one and never seems to have an issue.

I would depart Australia on your Aussie Passport & use your Kiwi Passport on to enter the USA & then do the mirror image for the return trip home ie depart the USA on the Kiwi one but you must enter Australia on your Aussie one. The dressing down would have been that you, as an Australian Citizen did not declare that passport on entering Australia as is a requirement for Australian Citizens.

Your partner is in a slightly different situation as (my understanding from your post) is he doesn't have an Aussie Passport so would depart/arrive Oz on his Kiwi Passport but use his USA one to arrive/depart the USA. Again it's not the issue that he's departing the USA on one passport and arriving in Australia on another one but the fact that if he was an Australian Citizen he must only use that passport to depart & arrive in Australia.

I think what's important here that besides departing/arriving Oz on your Aussie Passport it's also important to arrive & depart the country you're visiting on the same passport you entered on.