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I flew out to Poland in August entering Poland using my American passport because at the time I only had one passport. You can stay in Poland for three months without a visa. During my three months, I became a Polish citizen and have my I.D card and a Polish Passport. I'm about to leave for America in a few days, so my question is: When I go up to the border control in Poland which passport do I show them? I've been told by most people to show my Polish passport and if they need to see my American passport I can give them that also. The only thing I have an issue with is that I entered with an American passport. Don't they keep track of that in a computer or something?

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    You entered on your American passport, you should probably leave on it, so that your immigration record shows you as departing.
    – user13044
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:15
  • @Tom But wouldn't that be stir some confusion since you can only stay 3 months on your American passport without a visa. I'v been in Poland for about 4 months.
    – Michael Rudowski
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:18
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    You kind of left that 4 month bit out in your original post ;-) So technically you have already violated your entry, as far as your American passport goes. I would show them both and ask immigration to note your US passport as having left, just to be safe.
    – user13044
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:23
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    @Tom I think he felt he shared that info by saying he entered in August and wants to leave now
    – skv
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:29
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    I would just show the Polish passport. Don't complicate matters.
    – phoog
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 16:46

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Show your Polish passport to border guards anywhere in the EU (in Poland but also in Germany, UK, etc. should you go there in the future), you won't get any question and the rest (like the entry stamp you have in your US passport) doesn't matter anymore. Paperwork aside, you certainly cannot be arrested or punished in any way for being in Poland as a Polish citizen.

In fact, as Polish citizen, it's showing only your US passport to the Polish authorities that could theoretically put you in trouble, you are always supposed to use your Polish passport (see the section on dual citizenship in the Wikipedia article on Polish nationality law).

When booking/checking in for a US-bound flight, provide the airline with your US passport details to establish you can enter the country and avoid problem there. As far as the US is concerned, you are still supposed to use your US passport every time you cross the US border.

If anyone ask, you can always show the other passport to explain your situation but there is no reason to worry about this.

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  • Wow ok. Thanks so much for this info! It puts a lot of weight off my shoulder! I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to leave the country in time for Christmas due to my unique passport situation. Thanks so much again! (:
    – Michael Rudowski
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 12:52
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    @MichaelRudowski, your situation is not unique. Something much like it happens whenever somebody is naturalized. The only problem I can think of is when some third country notices the absence of your exit stamp in the US passport and wonders if you are a reliable traveller. (BTW, you should read up on the travel rights you and your dependents now have in the EU.)
    – o.m.
    Commented Dec 21, 2015 at 8:35

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