Any problem using a new country's passport?

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Skoorb
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:44 pm

Any problem using a new country's passport?

Post by Skoorb »

I'm in the US as a permanent resident and I've only ever used my Canadian passport to go in and out. I also used photocopies of it to support my green card app a couple years back.

My CAN Passport is being renewed and I'd like to leave for a couple of days. Is it perfectly ok to use my UK passport to enter Canada and then come back in the US? I imagine there's no problem with it from Canada's end, but will the US have any problem if I present that passport and my greencard? I only ask because I know the US frowns on dual citizenship and Canada does not, though the frowning may only be if it's US + another for the duality.

In any case, I have a valid Alabama license, but all of my proof of canadian citizenship docs are in the CAN passport office!

If I do this, should I even mention my CAN passport is being renewed?

Thanky!
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

Your green card is generally sufficient (until next january, anyways) to travel between US and canada.


I would not assume that the 'problem' would be less going into canada, since you have nothing that would indicate any right to go there. Neither your British passport nor your US GC give you nay special right to enter Canada. you would thus want to be able to show that you paln to go back to US. For US you have a green card, which trumps just about everything else.

But, since you have a British passport, this is a valid travel document.

By the way, don't most Cdns have several valid copies of their birth cert? I have 4, my wife has 2. When we send on in for passport processing, it doesn't strand us without a document.
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nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

By the way, US doesn't 'frown' on dual citizenship. They only insist (like most countries) that you not try to duck out of your duties as an American by hiding behind another country's citizenship.

canada's stand is basically the same as US: nothing you do after you legally obtain citizenship can remove it from you, other than formally renouncing it in front of a Cdn official.

but, in your case, with 2 FOREIGN citizenships, they couldn't care less.
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Skoorb
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:44 pm

Post by Skoorb »

Thanks, Nelson. Helpful as always.

My birth cert is for England. The only CAN identification I have is the expired passport and CAN citizenship card, both with the new passport app, plus a really old expired CAN passport still in my possession. I have a SIN card and an expired provincial healthcare card.

The greencard says my place of birth is UK, which is why I hoped no border officer would think I'm "playing games", claiming one citizenship in one case and another in another. I suppose I'd be forthright at the border and offer that I'm a CAN citizen but my passport is currently renewing.

Would there be a potential issue entering/exiting the country with different passports and things not lining up properly (whatever that means)? Thanks!
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

No.
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