Dawie wrote:
Many other countries have laws that force you to use the passport of that country to enter it if you are a citizen of that country. For example, using the UK/South Africa example again, if I was a dual citizen of the UK and South Africa, South Africa has a law that says that South African citizens with more than one nationality HAVE to enter and leave South Africa with a South African passport, otherwise they risk imprisonment and/or a massive fine. The US has a similar law.
Australian citizens must similarly enter and leave Australia on an Australian passport (with few exceptions), although I don't know that they risk imprisonment or a massive fine if they don't, rather long delays while their status is ascertained.
mahil_2000 wrote:
i called them. It takes 2 mins. Ring 0845 010 5200.
Actually, I would say that the advice you were given is bad advice - as, unfortunately, advice from these sort of helplines so often is. As far as I know there is no official advice from the Home Office to this effect: if anyone can point me to it (in writing), it would be interesting to see it.
There is absolutely no need for a dual British-Other citizen to present anything but his or her British passport to the passport control officer on entry to the UK, and neither is there any merit in doing so.
The question of missing stamps is hardly relevant - taking a broad view - because many countries do not stamp passports on entry or exit, or do so only sporadically. Anyone trying to trace a passport holder's travels using passport stamps would be likely to find it very difficult or impossible in many cases.
The only issue at stake that I can see would arise if a person were using a non-British passport (for travel outside the UK) to which he or she is not entitled, perhaps because the laws of the other country do not permit a person to hold its citizenship plus another citizenship. Apart from the rights or wrongs of using a passport to which one is not entitled, I'd be surprised if the immigration officers at UK ports of entry would be happy to stamp the non-British passports of British passport holders, although some might agree to do it (possibly with added comments such as 'by request' or 'entered the UK on British passport', though). Does anyone know if they will agree to do this?
But in general presenting two passports when not asked for them is not a good idea - one should, of course, never deny having a second citizenship and should present the other passport if it is asked for, but doing so if not asked seems to me to be a recipe for confusion.
It would be interested to hear other people's views!