Can the border guard match up the passports of a dual citizen?
We have the report of a Ghanaian-American dual citizen, recently naturalized, presenting their new USA passport at the UK border answering "yes" to the question "have you ever had any problems with immigration anywhere" and getting in some trouble (although no refusal).
We have the CBP answering in essence, the two passports of a dual citizen are completely independent.
Is it the person or is it the nationality? Is the question "have you ever had any problems with immigration anywhere" to be understood on its face value, where "you" is the biological person or is it "you as a citizen of the country your passport you are presenting to us" and they do not give this tirade every time because for the overwhelming majority of passengers the two are the same? Is your new passport a clean slate? Or do you carry the problems resulting from the heightened scrutiny of your other citizenship forever? Is it possible for a border guard to swipe my Canadian passport and be aware of the history of my Hungarian passport? How entwined are my two inner citizens :) ?
Let's restrict the question to those who have at least one citizenship in the Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) and one of the Five Eyes borders.
Best Answer
From personal experience, yes.
I'm an EU citizen who acquired Australian citizenship. I visited the US several times on my previous EU passport, then got a new ESTA (which IIRC did not ask about other nationalities, only other names) for the Australian passport and visited again.
First visit on the new passport, I was asked:
"Have you visited the US on a different passport?"
"Yes, last November."
"Welcome back." stamp stamp
Second visit:
"You're a dual citizen."
"Yes sir."
"Are you also an Iraqi or Syrian citizen?"
"No sir."
stamp stamp "Next!"
Note that this doesn't necessarily entail that the US and Australia share information, as the US could figure it out simply my matching my almost certainly globally unique name. (To be clear, I know they do share it, it's just not required here.)
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Can you get a clearance with dual citizenship?
While U.S. citizenship is a basic eligibility requirement to be considered for access to classified information, it does not automatically confer the right to a security clearance. Dual citizenship must be considered in context of other circumstances in an individual's background.Do dual citizens have to show both passports?
U.S. nationals, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country.Can dual citizens carry two passports?
Two Passports As a dual citizen, you are allowed to carry passports from both countries. For example, if you are a U.S. citizen and also a citizen of New Zealand, you can travel more easily between these two countries.How do you travel with two passports?
Travelling with two passports: which passport to use when dual citizen is at an airline counter. You need to show your second passport, for example a Maltese one. Usually, along with the ticket, the passenger must present a visa allowing entry to the European Union.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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