Should I use my British or Irish passport when travelling?

[TinselMakeover]

I have dual nationality.

Both passports are up for renewal. The Irish one expired about 20 years ago.

Do you think one, rather than the other, is easier or more welcome for travel? A friend told me Irish passport more welcome but that could be just the craic 😂

Should I renew just one or both? Obviously extra expense.

I live in England 😘

Yes I get that. A good reminder to renew EHIC though.

I’m Irish living in Uk and entitled to a British one now I think but don’t see the point of having both really. It’s never been an issue.

Im also not sure about going out of the country using one and coming back using the other - I’m sure I’ve read that that is not advised.

It’s been a crap day. I actually couldn’t find my (British) passport just before travelling. Always keep it in the same place, so was beyond distressed!

Found it in the end, thank goodness. And see that passports always expire before you remember, and I’m usually very organised!

But as I’m up for renewal early next year anyway this has really focused my mind on this subject. Before - I just ignored the whole subject.

So it was a great thing in a way I thought I’d lost it. Every cloud. As now I have all this new information and clarity 😊 🙏

Last time we went to Europe, passport control spotted the DCs' Ireland tops and DH's harp passport and called us over to the empty EU arrivals desk. They happily overlooked the 3 British passports, even the navy blue one. They just looked glad of an excuse to do something while the other queue snaked around.

Irish won't have the 3 months of validity issue.

We'll dual-passport the DCs as they get older, but while they can't travel without us, and need renewing more frequently, it's of no great benefit at this point.

I had a friend once who had dual US-UK nationality.

He left the UK on his british passport. When he got to the US he tried to enter on his US one and got hauled into a side room and grilled for 2 hours.

My guess is the passport list is sent in advance of who is on the planes and they cross that off against the people they let in, and if you are not on the list you get the third degree.

So there is some risk in messing around.

In answer to the question which should you renew, the answer is of course both. because you never know how circumstances might change in the future and you may be glad of having them, and renewing a long period after expiry might be more difficult.

I travel with both my passports. Leave the UK with my British one, but always use my EU one to enter or leave the EU. Then use the British one after landing the get back into England

I thought so too but border patrol in Denmark told me it doesn't matter. It's only if you're travelling within EU on a UK passport you want to make sure you come out and in with it so as not to 'overstay' the visa. He also told me that the passport you give to border patrol can be different to the one you have on your ticket, obviously as long as the name matches, as the two systems aren't linked. I didn't know.

I have been told many times that dual nationals should use their EU passport to go into any EU country and the UK passport to go to the UK so ideally you would need to be carrying both.
I'm sure you can google this to check.

Isn’t the crappiest day sometines the most fruitful? 🤷‍♀️in a way ….

(takes so much time, energy though)

By the way, it was a border officer in Denmark who told me this was the correct way of doing it

This!! DS has his 2 passports in synch. Big mistake.

I am not sure it is. I had my UK passport stamped at Dover on leaving the UK. Should have given them the EU one!

Irish definitely.

Since Brexit, lots of EU countries see to go out of their way to make passport control very long for Brits.

Faro, Portugal is particularly bad. Two desks open for Brits and six for EU travellers- who swan through in a few minutes and we are still there an hour later...

I would give my eye teeth for an EU passport!

@Cappuccinfortwo, I don't know then. I have been doing it that way for years and it has always worked for me, but I always go by plane. I don't know how things work in Dover. Are there French officials there?

I’m Irish/US and travel between Ireland and the IS a few times each year.

Your friends mistake was starting and ending the same flight on different passports. He needs to use the passport of his detonation for each flight.
So get on and off his plane to the US as American, and on and off his plane back to the UK as British:

EU has exit immigration which the UK doesn't have. Going to the EU from the UK, use an EU passport. On leaving the EU to go to the UK it gets more complicated. EU passport at EU leaving immigration (if you use your UK one, they get confused because it won't have been stamped going in as you didn't use it - had a fun time in Portugal with a very nice immigration officer). UK passport at the UK border coming in.
But if you have both on you, people will be helpful.

You can travel together if one person has British and one Irish. It is officially allowed

^^ exactly this.

Totally ok. Our border control IT is so shit they have no idea where anyone is.

I travel almost weekly to europe and do exactly this

Its much easier to enter the UK on a British passport

I thought you HAD to enter the UK on a British passport if you are a UK citizen.

Same as HAVING to enter I to Germany on your German one if you are a German citizen

Most countries have this requirement.

This is what I do too

He left the UK on his british passport. When he got to the US he tried to enter on his US one and got hauled into a side room and grilled for 2 hours.

I don't understand this. The UK does not check passports on exit (apart from the airline checking your identity when you board).

Irish passport holders are part of the common travel area that exists between UK and Ireland so won’t have the same issues as EU passport holders from other countries.

though I did read Irish one more welcome in USA (obvious reasons).

What does this even mean? They don't make a decision on whether they'll let you into the country at passport control based on whether you present a British or Irish passport. Maybe if you land in Boston you'll get a customs officer who will want to banter with you, but either passport is perfectly fine, it makes absolutely no difference.

^I thought you HAD to enter the UK on a British passport if you are a UK citizen.

Most countries have this requirement.^

Some countries have this requirement, but the UK does not.