Transit US on one passport and enter Canada on Canadian passport feasible?

[bumpsetspike]

Greetings. I am a Canadian and my teenage son has both Chinese and Canadian passports. He has not visited Canada before and he has travelled internationally solely on his Chinese passport up until now. We figured we would deal with renouncement issues once he is 18 or ready to go away for university. Circumstances have arisen though that really necessitates us to travel to Canada for a short visit. Would it be possible as a one-off to travel to the US on his Chinese passport (with current US visa) and then fly to Canada on his Canadian passport? We'd stay for a few weeks and then return to China via the US using the same method. Is this feasible?

And should we voluntarily disclose to either border control the existence of the passport? We had tried set things up in advance so we would not have to deal with this but it is what it is. Thanks.

 

[chikloo]

Greetings. I am a Canadian and my teenage son has both Chinese and Canadian passports. He has not visited Canada before and he has travelled internationally solely on his Chinese passport up until now. We figured we would deal with renouncement issues once he is 18 or ready to go away for university. Circumstances have arisen though that really necessitates us to travel to Canada for a short visit. Would it be possible as a one-off to travel to the US on his Chinese passport (with current US visa) and then fly to Canada on his Canadian passport? We'd stay for a few weeks and then return to China via the US using the same method. Is this feasible?

And should we voluntarily disclose to either border control the existence of the passport? We had tried set things up in advance so we would not have to deal with this but it is what it is. Thanks.

Hi,
Any particular reason you want to enter US with Chinese passport instead of Canadian. Coz Canadian nationals don't need visa to enter US.

 

[bumpsetspike]

He has never used his Canadian passport before so cannot exit China with no proof having entered.

 

[alphazip]

Greetings. I am a Canadian and my teenage son has both Chinese and Canadian passports. He has not visited Canada before and he has travelled internationally solely on his Chinese passport up until now. We figured we would deal with renouncement issues once he is 18 or ready to go away for university. Circumstances have arisen though that really necessitates us to travel to Canada for a short visit. Would it be possible as a one-off to travel to the US on his Chinese passport (with current US visa) and then fly to Canada on his Canadian passport? We'd stay for a few weeks and then return to China via the US using the same method. Is this feasible?

And should we voluntarily disclose to either border control the existence of the passport? We had tried set things up in advance so we would not have to deal with this but it is what it is. Thanks.

I don't see why not. The U.S. doesn't care whether he's Chinese or Canadian, as long as he's permitted to enter the U.S. And, of course, a Canadian citizen has the right to enter Canada on a Canadian passport.

 

[CanV]

He can leave china with the Chinese passport, transit through US using either visa or Canadian passport

 

[bumpsetspike]

The only snag I see is that since he will return to the US using his Canadian passport and then use the Chinese passport to check in for his US-China flight, as a Canadian he will officially still be in the US. On one hand, not an issue if there are no plans to repeat this journey in the future but perhaps definitely an issue if he returns to the US as a Canadian without having officially left.

This is why I wonder if this is a reason to disclose his situation upfront with border authorities. Or we just inviting trouble by doing that?

 

[Bs65]

Very easy to over think these things but assuming that both the outward and return are on a single through ticket with just a transit through the US then not really sure why things are being complicated by flipping between passports.

Assuming as the OP mentions the son has a valid US visa on the Chinese passport then transiting the US should just be a formality so travel both ways on the Chinese passport but use the Canadian passport only to enter Canada not to leave or transit the US. Or exit China with the Chinese passport and use the Canadian passport on the outbound to enter and transit the US/enter Canada but solely use the Chinese passport for the return leg.

Travelling on 2 tickets as opposed to a single ticket puts a different slant on things but with a valid US visa same approach applies given all US immigration are concerned about is onward travel so use the Canadian passport only to enter Canada.

All assumes of course that the name on any boarding passes matches the names in both Chinese and Canadian passports for any security check that matches boarding pass to passport.

As said very easy to overthink these things

 

[bumpsetspike]

Thanks. We spent fifteen years not thinking about it at all so I guess we're just making up for lost time.

 

[thecoolguysam]

He has never used his Canadian passport before so cannot exit China with no proof having entered.

Why is that so?

How did your son obtain Canadian passport? Did you apply for the Canadian passport in China?
If he uses his new Canadian passport to exit China (as he has never used the Canadian passport before), he/you can tell that he is using it for first time. What does "no proof having entered" has to do with his exit?

 

[links18]

If child is Chinese citizen, is he required to identify as such to Chinese officials?

 

[Bs65]

Why is that so?

How did your son obtain Canadian passport? Did you apply for the Canadian passport in China?
If he uses his new Canadian passport to exit China (as he has never used the Canadian passport before), he/you can tell that he is using it for first time. What does "no proof having entered" has to do with his exit?

although i have no info on this scenario if you think about it using a Canadian passport to leave I guess the OP is concerned the Chinese authorities might think the son entered China illegally without a visa in the Canadian passport. Of course this is not true given the son is a legal resident in China but only the OP i assume knows what checks are performed leaving China.

 

[willzou]

I totally understand the situation.
but I do not think this is the right place to ask. As only Chinese know more about how Chinese Government manage Chinese passport & foreign passport.

I think he has no other choice, he cannot use Canada passport to leave China, so he has to use Chinese passport to leave China. As Canada has new law that Canadian must enter Canada with Canada passport, so he cannot enter Canada directly. He has to go transit one country that allow entering and leaving with different passport.

just do it. I think it should work.

 

[screech339]

If the Chinese person has canadian citizenship, he/she will lose chinese citizenship automatically. China does not allow dual citizenship. So if the person has canadian citizenship, he/she can leave China using canadian passport. He/she no longer has chinese citizenship.

If the Chinese is trying to use chinese passport while holding Canadian passport, he/she is committing immigration fraud.

 

[thecoolguysam]

Now I understand the situation.
The OP is try to maintain both the nationalities however China does not allow dual nationality and he/she is indeed trying to commit immigration fraud.

 

[alphazip]

Now I understand the situation.
The OP is try to maintain both the nationalities however China does not allow dual nationality and he/she is indeed trying to commit immigration fraud.

The term "immigration fraud" is a bit extreme! If China doesn't allow dual citizenship, that's something to be left to China to enforce. It's not up to us to enforce China's citizenship policy, any more than it is the one-child (now two-child) policy. From Canada's point of view, the person is a Canadian citizen and can enter Canada on a Canadian passport.