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I have dual nationality; let's say country A and country B. I am traveling to a third country, country X. I have previously used passport A to visit country X. On my next visit I want to use passport B to enter country X instead. Will this be a problem?

Countries B and X are both in the European Union, but country A is not. I want to work in country X, so using passport B is much better than passport A, since I don't need a work visa. The reason I used passport A previously is that I did not have a valid passport B at the time (I have never actually lived in country B).

I want this to be a general question, but to be specific X=United Kingdom, B=Germany, and A=United States. There are other questions on this site that deal with traveling between A and B in my situation, but I am visiting a third country and am worried about being inconsistent with my passport use.

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  • It is no problem. Also, as you are an EU citizen you are entitled to enter the UK.
    – Calchas
    May 18, 2017 at 22:13
  • Be aware that while you can come to the UK and work right now on your German passport this may not remain the case in the future.
    – Peter Green
    May 18, 2017 at 23:13
  • The problem with asking the question in general terms is that different countries will have different rules and procedures. Many countries don't care, but some might.
    – phoog
    May 18, 2017 at 23:19

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Unless you're a citizen of one of the countries (in which case you're often, but not always, required to use that country's passport to enter/exit that country), there are no problems using a different passport.

Germany does not record entries and exits, so they have no idea what passport you previously entered on.

So yes, you can use your German passport in the UK without problems. In fact, you won't even have to see an officer, as you can use automated face recognition gares as a German citizen.

Lastly, as pointed out by Calchas, a German cannot be refused entry to the UK other than on serious secuity grounds. They do not require any permission to enter, or even live, in the UK.

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    Many countries have no requirement for their own citizens to use their own passport to enter, and the UK is among the most prominent of these.
    – phoog
    May 18, 2017 at 23:14
  • @phoog Hence "often"
    – Crazydre
    May 18, 2017 at 23:14
  • Hm, I must have skimmed over that word.
    – phoog
    May 18, 2017 at 23:28
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    And those countries that record your entry will often want you to enter and leave with the same passport.
    – gnasher729
    May 19, 2017 at 5:42
  • @gnasher729 common sense suggests that as a practical matter everyone will be better off if a traveler departs a country using the same passport as for entry, though there are certainly exceptions (particularly, if you've entered a country you're a citizen of with your foreign passport for some reason, it may make sense to leave it with your domestic passport). But I've never seen any country stating this officially. Have you?
    – phoog
    May 21, 2017 at 15:52

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