Travelling with 2 passports

[[e-mail]]

Hi,

I am in the middle of planning a trip for this spring that will include some stops in eastern Europe.  I am a Canadian citizen, and noticed in my reading that some eastern countries require visitor visas for Canadians.  The most troubling of these is the requirement for the Czech Republic: it is a recently added requirement for Canadians, and visas cannot be bought at the border.  I would very much like to visit Prague.

Luckily, I am also an Irish citizen since my mother was born there, and I recently obtained my Irish passport.  EU citizens have much more lenient travel restrictions regarding visas.  I don't believe that I will have any trouble using the Irish visa, but I was wondering if anybody had any experience in this sort of thing, particularly if they had any troubles.  Is there something I should know before I talk to the customs agents?
I would like to visit the Czech Republic, and possibly Poland.  I plan to say that I am an Irish citizen, but should I also mention my Canadian citizenship right away?  I will be travelling my my girlfriend who is an American citizen, if that makes any difference.

Thank you!

Matt

[Kim]

This is what I found for you:

For your girlfriend:

Visa Waiver for US Citizens Extended

Beginning January 1, 2002 a new visa regime for US travelers to the Czech Republic will enter into force. Under the current regulation, US citizens are allowed to stay on the territory of the Czech Republic without a visa for 30 days; the Czech Governments new initiative extends the limit to 90 days.

However, the visa waiver does not apply to visitors intending to engage in gainful activities. In such cases (employment, etc.), a visa will be required for visits shorter than 90 days. At the same time, the new regulation does not impact visa requirements for long term visitors (over 90 days) or non US nationals who are temporarily or permanently residing on US territory.

Foreigners must present at the border crossing their passports. Validity of the passport must exceed the expected length of his/her stay in the Czech Repubublic for at least 90 days.


As for you, I'm pretty sure that Irish passport holders do not need a visa. The thing I am uncertain about is the dual passport.

What you need to do is contact the Czech. Embassy in Washington, DC and double check.

Here is their info:
3900 Spring of Freedom St. NW,
Washington D.C., 20008,
U.S.A.
tel. [phone]

[e-mail]

Kim

[Christina]

I visited Prague last summer and Im a dual citizen (Greece and Canadian). I didnt bother getting a visa for Prague. In Europe I simply used the Greek passport. It was not a problem. I wasnt even asked about other citizenship when I went through the Prague airport (and I didnt volunteer the information). You're more likely to be asked questions when you come back into Canada, but you just explain about the dual passports (take both of them with you and use the Canadian one to get back into the country) and then it's not an issue.