Thom U. Says:
If you have two passports, how do you choose which one to use? How does it work with Global Entry?
IL Global Diversification Expert Ted Bauman Says:
Hi Thom,
This really depends on which countries you’re entering and exiting.
Every country in the world requires that people who hold that country’s passport enter and exit the country on that passport. Entering or leaving the country on another country’s passport is typically a crime.
For example, I have a U.S. and a South African passport. Whenever I travel to South Africa, I exit the U.S. on my U.S. passport. When I arrive in South Africa, I present my South African passport. The same procedure applies in reverse.
If you want to know which passport you can use to travel between countries once you’re out of the U.S., it’s entirely up to you. Once you’re out in the world, you’re free from the U.S. government!
For example, I use my U.S. passport when I travel to the EU or UK, because it gives me a 90-day visa-free entry. By contrast, my South African passport would require a visa.
If I travel to countries like Brazil, it makes more sense to enter on my South African passport, because Brazil doesn’t require a visa for South Africans, but it does for U.S. citizens.
Global Entry is a special case as it only applies to U.S. passport holders. It doesn’t matter whether you have a second passport.
When I return to the U.S. after having been in South Africa, I go through the Global Entry channel. If the customs official asks questions about where I’ve been, or why there aren’t any South African visa stamps in my U.S. passport, I show them my South African passport and that’s the end of the discussion.
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