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I am aware of this question, however that is primarily about which passport to present to whom within the airport.

I have two EU nationalities: Belgian and Finnish (born Finnish, acquired Belgian) Now, obviously, when entering specifically either of those two countries, I use that country's passport. But what about other EU countries? Do I base it on geographical proximity (eg use Belgium to enter France or the Netherlands and Finland to enter Estonia - less clear in other cases)? Whatever my primary country of residence is? Language? Vague notions of country friendliness?

FlixbusAnon
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    Well, you have an almost absolute right to visit or move to another EU country and exceptions to this are mostly nationality-independent (if you are a public security threat, you are a threat no matter which nationality you present). I don't see how it would better which passport you use in this case. – xngtng Feb 29 '20 at 17:59

2 Answers2

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It doesn't matter in the least. You can choose on any basis. You can flip a coin. You can choose according to the wind. It needn't be the same basis each time.

Your rights in other EU countries other than Belgium and Finland are the same regardless of whether you show a Belgian or Finnish passport, and even after entering with one passport you can always show the other in the unlikely event that you should need to prove a specific nationality, for example if you were being expelled.

phoog
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  • Basically I was asking how to judge what an immigration officer is less likely to be bothered with, but now that I think about it it's a bit of a silly question. – FlixbusAnon Feb 29 '20 at 19:21
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Given how little it matters, I suggest whenever possible picking one passport for actual use during a trip, and keeping the other as a backup in a more secure location, such as an inner pocket. If you are, for example, starting and ending a trip in Belgium, use that passport for the whole trip.

Patricia Shanahan
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    He doesn't need to do that either, since he's in Europe and European (you mentioned Belgium), but the thing wouldn't work if he loses the EU passport he entered with in an other country in that country, because authorities would ask for entry stamp if he show the other EU passport. Hence, one should always be wary of not losing his passporf outside. – us er Feb 29 '20 at 20:29