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I have 2 passports - both passports are same citizenship - UK. In passport 1 have a Visa for - let's say 'country A'. In passport 2 I have a visa for 'country B'. I am living in country 'A' and want to travel to country 'B' (neither is UK). There are direct flights, it is not an issue to travel between these countries. To leave country 'A' I must book the flight using passport 1 (same passport as I entered on and has the entry stamp / requires the exit stamp from country 'A'). When arriving in country 'B' I need to use passport 'B' as it has the correct Visa - will they question why my incoming flight booking was made using a different passport?

Thanks everyone for the answers. Countries A and B are India and China, appears China will be opening up again soon / reducing restrictions on flights. I just realised it actually becomes more complicated if I book a return ticket. From my experience for flights to India and China I have always been required to submit passport details during booking flight tickets. And as I mentioned earlier when leaving a country (with Visa / entry stamps in your passport) you must use the same passport as you entered with otherwise their system will not link the different passport numbers and you could face an issue when returning (because it would look like you never left).

Willeke
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Kev
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    We can give better guidance if you can specify what A and B are, but as a rule.of thumb, they will neither know nor care. (This assumes you have the same name in both passports and both countries permit dual citizenship.) – lambshaanxy Dec 18 '22 at 13:26
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    @lambshaanxy, not even dual citizenship, both passports are the same citizenship, see line one of Q, having two passports of one country is the case here. – Willeke Dec 18 '22 at 13:34
  • it is not generally possible to hold two valid passports for the same country. Perhaps one of them is expired? – Kate Gregory Dec 18 '22 at 15:05
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    @KateGregory, not true, several countries allow two passports at the same time. Your 'generally' is not as general as you imply. – Willeke Dec 18 '22 at 17:00
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    @KateGregory not all countries permit it, but those that do typically issue them to accommodate either (1) a need to submit one passport for a visa application while also needing to travel (if I recall correctly the Netherlands offers this only if the travel in question is business travel) and (2) a need to travel to two countries when one won't admit people who've been to the other. It's also possible for government officers to have two passports of different types, for example a regular passport for personal travel and a diplomatic, service, or official passport for official travel. – phoog Dec 18 '22 at 17:29
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    Can't you use passport 2 for booking/check-in and still get the exit stamp in passport 1? – Anders Dec 18 '22 at 18:23
  • Do you genuinely have two valid UK passports (a situation which is extremely rare but possible) or did you renew an old but still valid passport? Be aware that renewing a passport invalidates the old one - even though you get to keep it it cannot be used on its own. – DJClayworth Dec 19 '22 at 04:07
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    I confirm my 2 passports are single citizenship and as per 'a need to submit one passport for a visa application while also needing to travel'. – Kev Dec 19 '22 at 04:09
  • For check-in passport 1 'must' be used as immigration will stamp the exit stamp beside the entry stamp (otherwise there will be issues that I will not register as the leaving that country according to the passport I entered with) and immigration at this point always check the passport alongside the flight ticket. – Kev Dec 19 '22 at 04:16
  • India allows two passports for ordinary people? – Anish Sheela Dec 19 '22 at 09:19
  • @Kev I still don't understand. Do you get the exit stamp at check-in? If so you could get your exit-stamp at check-in and then just walk out from the airport without exiting the country? – Anders Dec 19 '22 at 18:06

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I don't have experience with two passports from the same country, but I have two passports from different countries, and I frequently use different passports on different portions of an itinerary booked all on one ticket. This has never been a problem. This of course does not mean that it won't be a problem for you, but you have several options to address any problems that might arise.

First, the booking is not -- or at least should not be -- tied to your passport but to you. The passport that they'll submit to the destination country is the one that you check in with for that flight, not the one that you submitted with your booking (indeed, in many cases it is not necessary to submit passport information when booking a flight).

Second, if the airline for some reason requires you to check in for the flight to country A with the passport that bears the visa for country B (or vice versa), you can most likely still present the other passport to the immigration inspector when you arrive. If the difference in passport number raises some alarm because that isn't the passport they received in the advance passenger information, you can show both passports. (In fact, many countries allow this as a matter of routine when the valid visa is in an expired passport.)

As long as you're not trying to deceive anyone, as long as countries A and B are okay with your holding the other country's visa, and as long as you have these two passports legitimately, all of which seem to be the case, you shouldn't have a problem, and, in the unlikely event that one arises, you should be able to resolve it fairly easily.

phoog
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