Dual Citizenship

[Dip694 7]

I am starting my journey for citizenship. I am Belgian and I was wondering if I'd be able to be a dual citizen between US & Belgium? What is the process to be a dual citizen?

[Mike E 11,739]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_nationality_law : it seems the answer is yes and it is complicated. 

[OldUser 6,602]

Yes, based on brief research there is no problem. You can be a citizen of both countries. When in USA, you're considered American only. When in Belgium, you're considered Belgium citizen only.

 

Use USA passport to enter and exit the US. Use Belgium passport to enter and exit Belgium. Probably best to use Belgium passport to enter and leave EU (use same passport, e.g. do not enter as Belgian and leave as American).

 

File US taxes no matter where you live.

 

That's it 🙂

 

[randomstairs 303]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Yes, based on brief research there is no problem. You can be a citizen of both countries. When in USA, you're considered American only. When in Belgium, you're considered Belgium citizen only.

 

Use USA passport to enter and exit the US. Use Belgium passport to enter and exit Belgium. Probably best to use Belgium passport to enter and leave EU (use same passport, e.g. do not enter as Belgian and leave as American).

 

File US taxes no matter where you live.

 

That's it 🙂

 

I've been wondering how does the dual citizenship work for US/EU citizens with ONLY the US passport. Can you travel to the EU (Schengen) at all? It would be a bit ironic if an EU country refused your entry - not despite but because - you're an EU citizen. On the other hand, if they let you enter on the US passport, what is your status? 

[OldUser 6,602]

21 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

I've been wondering how does the dual citizenship work for US/EU citizens with ONLY the US passport. Can you travel to the EU (Schengen) at all? It would be a bit ironic if an EU country refused your entry - not despite but because - you're an EU citizen. On the other hand, if they let you enter on the US passport, what is your status? 

US passport allows visa free travel to EU for 90 days. Starting sometime in 2023 US citizens will have to file and pay ETIAS (travel authorization) fees to enter the EU.

 

With ETIAS, the'll probably ask a question about all citizenships. If you disclose your EU citizenship, then likely the application with US passport will be rejected.

 

If discovered upon entry, the US passport holder is a EU citizen, they'll probably be admitted in. But they would not be able to easily leave on their US passport, as there is passport control on exit in Europe. They'll likely be asked to apply for their EU country passport in order to leave.

 

Even if EU passport holder gets into EU country on US passport, if they have an interaction with law enforcement / officials etc they'll only be considered the citizen of that country, not US citizen.

 

Also, some countries may impose fines etc for their citizens not using correct passports. It all depends on the country laws.

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by OldUser

[Mike E 11,739]

12 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

I've been wondering how does the dual citizenship work for US/EU citizens with ONLY the US passport. Can you travel to the EU (Schengen) at all? It would be a bit ironic if an EU country refused your entry - not despite but because - you're an EU citizen. On the other hand, if they let you enter on the US passport, what is your status? 

My city of birth is Calgary.  
 

I once flew into Rome on my Canadian passport which lists my city of birth.   I was held  by an immigration police officer while he brought his supervisor to question me.  They thought I was born in Cagliari, Italy and so wanted to know where my Italian passport was. I explained that it wasn’t a typo, I was indeed born in Calgary,  Canada. They had a laugh and let me go.  
 

My advice is to not attempt to enter the Schengen Area without your Schengen passport. 

[Denis74 18]

6 hours ago, randomstairs said:

I've been wondering how does the dual citizenship work for US/EU citizens with ONLY the US passport. Can you travel to the EU (Schengen) at all? It would be a bit ironic if an EU country refused your entry - not despite but because - you're an EU citizen. On the other hand, if they let you enter on the US passport, what is your status? 

My wife is a French/American citizen with both passports and I can only encourage you to always have both with you if you are traveling between the US and the EU! First this is easier and second, I'm pretty sur you must have them both with you.

[randomstairs 303]

Okay, so here's what's still not clear to me in regards to dual citizenships (EU/US). Say you travel from the US to Japan on your US passport. You then depart Japan for the EU (Schengen). When you buy the ticket (Japan to EU) which passport number do you enter? If you enter your EU passport number wouldn't that present a problem when departing Japan (because you entered on the US PP and you should use the same PP for departure)? On the other hand, if you depart Japan on the US PP, how do you now enter the EU? Won't the airline require you to fill out the EU immigration documents as a US citizen?

 

Same goes for any non-EU country one might enter on the US passport before traveling to the EU. That must happen often! E.g. traveling to the EU with a stop in the UK.

[OldUser 6,602]

15 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

Okay, so here's what's still not clear to me in regards to dual citizenships (EU/US). Say you travel from the US to Japan on your US passport. You then depart Japan for the EU (Schengen). When you buy the ticket (Japan to EU) which passport number do you enter? If you enter your EU passport number wouldn't that present a problem when departing Japan (because you entered on the US PP and you should use the same PP for departure)? On the other hand, if you depart Japan on the US PP, how do you now enter the EU? Won't the airline require you to fill out the EU immigration documents as a US citizen?

 

Same goes for any non-EU country one might enter on the US passport before traveling to the EU. That must happen often! E.g. traveling to the EU with a stop in the UK.

Welcome to the world of dual citizenship!

There's two parties interested in your passport data: airline and border control agency of the country (CBP in USA, Border Force in UK etc).

 

Airlines are interested in knowing you can enter destination country without a problem. At airline check in show them passport allowing you to enter the destination. To border control official show the passport you need to be entering / leaving the country with.

 

Let's see example...

 

Trip to EU

You're a French (EU) citizen travelling from USA to France via Japan.

 

At check in to Japan, you show the airline agent your EU passport (doesn't require visa in Japan). If before you board the plane, CBP at US airport needs to check documents (almost never happens), show them US passport. Go through border control in Japan with your EU passport.

 

When boarding the plane to France from Japan, at the airline desk, show your EU passport. When going through border control in Japan (if any), show them EU passport.

 

When you enter France, show border control French passport.

 

Trip back to the US

In France, at airline check in show them your US passport. When going through border control in France on the exit, show them your French passport.

 

In Japan, show them US passport on arrival and departure when going through border control. Show US passport to airline in Japan, when boarding the plane to the US'

 

When arriving in the US, show your US passport to CBP.

 

[OldUser 6,602]

@randomstairs dual citizenship may create a slight incovenience in a sense that you cannot complete online check in if airline does not support entering details for dual citizens. In most cases, passport number is not required, but name and date of birth is. Just complete the check in at the airport.

[Marieke H 2,496]

Yes, you will be able to keep your Belgian citizenship when you become a US citizen: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/voor-belgen-het-buitenland/nationaliteit/verlies-behoud-en-herkrijging.

 

 

[Dashinka 24,478]

My wife has dual citizenship and for her it is a little more complicated since her passports do not have the same name (doing a name change on her Russian passport is a long bureaucratic process involving getting a legal name change).  She has no issues when traveling, she exits and enters the US and most other countries using her US passport, but of course she has to show her Russian passport to board any flights to Russia, and of course when entering and exiting Russia.  Sometimes when she transits a country that only allows a few days visa free transit (I.e. China), she has to show her Russian passport and onward flight information when leaving the US to prove she doesn’t need a visa since her return flight (also a transit) is beyond the visa free period.  Several times when entering China, one of their boarder agents insists she cannot enter with no visa, but my wife persists, shows her onward flight, etc.

 

My whole point here is to say travel as a dual citizen can be complicated, but it is really no big deal.  My wife has never had any denials, just sometimes some brief delays.

[OldUser 6,602]

4 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

My wife has dual citizenship and for her it is a little more complicated since her passports do not have the same name (doing a name change on her Russian passport is a long bureaucratic process involving getting a legal name change).  

If she gets a chance she should probably go through that annoying bureaucratic process in Russia to avoid any potential problems in the future.

[Dashinka 24,478]

4 minutes ago, OldUser said:

If she gets a chance she should probably go through that annoying bureaucratic process in Russia to avoid any potential problems in the future.

I know, we discussed it, the problem with Russia and a lot of other former Soviet Bloc countries is that they use a National ID card commonly referred to a their domestic passport.  To change their travel passport they first have to change the domestic passport along with every other Russian program tied to that passport.  This can only be done inside Russia and can take anywhere from six weeks to six months depending on how much many things are tied to the domestic passport.

 

Honestly, it would have been easier for her to not change her family name when we got married, but she wanted to do that.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Dashinka

[OldUser 6,602]

1 minute ago, Dashinka said:

I know, we discussed it, the problem with Russia and a lot of other former Soviet Bloc countries is that they use a National ID card commonly referred to a their domestic passport.  To change their travel passport they first have to change the domestic passport along with every other Russian program tied to that passport.  This can only be done inside Russia and can take anywhere from six weeks to six months depending on how much property a Russian citizen owns.

I know it's painful, but for the future benefit. I would suspect this issue may come into play if she ever decides to renounce her Russian citizenship for example. At that point she would present her proof of US citizenship, and Russian consulate officials may force her to go through the name change procedure then...