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Dual nationality, which passport?

PalawOne

Hello all,


Hopefully, a simple question. My wife has dual nationality, that is,  both Aussie and Philippines.


We intend to travel to the Philippines for 3 months.


Which passport should she (or must she?) present to authorities upon arrival in Manila?


Cheers, people

See also

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bigpearl

Show them both P1, that will confuse the officer. Really does it matter holding 2 passports? Both show she is a citizen of the passport she presents. Enjoy the 3 months mate.


OMO.


Cheers, Steve.

PalawOne

Thanks, BP .. and yes we expect to have a terrific time.


Wanting to avoid any hassle, as well as here, I've asked www.Claude.ai also ... though here's what Claude said:


"You should present your Philippine passport when entering and leaving the Philippines.


Here's why: The Philippines requires its citizens to use their Philippine passport when entering or leaving the country - this is actually a legal requirement under Philippine law.


Even though you're an Australian citizen too, the Philippine government considers you a Philippine citizen first when you're on their soil.


The practical benefits:


  1. No visa hassles - You can stay as long as you want as a citizen
  2. Smooth immigration - Avoids questions about why you're staying 3 months (tourist visas are typically 30 days initially)
  3. Compliance - You're following Philippine immigration law


Travel tip: Use your Australian passport for checking in with the airline in Australia (since you're departing as an Australian resident), then switch to your Philippine passport at Manila immigration. On your return, do the reverse - Philippine passport to exit Manila, Australian passport to enter Australia.


This is standard practice for dual nationals - you use the passport of the country you're entering/exiting when dealing with that country's immigration!"


Makes sense, I guess?


Cheers BP and all

mugtech

My wife, a dual US Philippines citizen, always shows her US passport in all travels.  She no longer has a Philippines passport, but carries the paperwork showing she is a dual citizen.  She also carries a copy of our marriage license so I can get BB status and stay for a year without a visa.  Been doing this for 10 years with no problems for either one of us.

vehicross100

We just went to Thailand with my Son who has dual. We usually just hand them both and let them hand one back. But on this trip while leaving Philippines to Thailand the immigration officer just wanted his philippine passport over the US one. Maybe because when we returned it will be back to Philippines. Not sure.

Currently in the US and we just used his US passport and thinking when we return we will use his Philippine passport. So probably your wife will hand them her Philippine passport going and her Aussie returning, seemingly it would work best other then just handing both. Either way I don't think it matters to much which way as long as she is carrying both.

Agozo

I am a dual citizen, NZ/Phil and always just use my NZ passport. As Balikbayan, you and your wife are entitled to stay up to a year even. So unless you’re planning to stay more than a year, just use the Aussie passport.


If your wife uses her Phil passport upon exiting the Philippines or if you use it when checking in at the airport, as Phil citizen, she will be asked to pay the Phil travel tax.

Rammers

Present both passports.


Our Children had dual Citizenship Philippine and EU. On a trip here we decided to use there Philippine passports. Which was fine untill we were checking in at the Airport to return to Germany.

Luckily we had both passports with us because the Philippine passports didn't have Visas for Germany, and the German passports didn't have entry stamps to the Philippines. The check in Clerk had to call a Manager, and he had to call a representative of the Airline, before we could board the Plane.

mokka007

@PalawOne

My wife is also a dual citizen and present both passports.

Immigration stamps both passports.