Dual citizenships

[Noaks]

Hi All.
Is there anyone who has citizenships in Japan and Australia? Or do you guys know any person who has?

Japan doesn't allow dual citizenships therefore I will have to give up Japanese citizen in order to become a citizen in Australia.
I can still work and live in Australia with a permanent residence visa,as same conditions as Australian citizens here in Australia.

So I am giving a lot thoughts.
It will be nice to hold an Australian passport ,though.

Some people say that as long as I entre Japan with Japanese passport everytime I go back, there is no way that the custom in Japan will know I hold two passports. But others say, as soon as I visit Japan even with Japanese passport, the custom will find out streight away on thire computer system.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Noaks

Some people say that as long as I entre Japan with Japanese passport everytime I go back, there is no way that the custom in Japan will know I hold two passports. But others say, as soon as I visit Japan even with Japanese passport, the custom will find out streight away on thire computer system.

You have to enter and leave a country in which you hold citizenship with that country`s passport...

In other words, even if you enter and leave Japan on your Japanese passport - you`ll still have left and entered Australia on your Australian passport. This means that departure and entry stamps for Australia will be conspicuously absent from your Japanese passport. Even if they cannot be certain of which country you hold a passport in with one glance, it will be extremely obvious that you do hold another passport. (Otherwise all stamps will be in your Japanese passport.)

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

You have to enter and leave a country in which you hold citizenship with that country`s passport...

In other words, even if you enter and leave Japan on your Japanese passport - you`ll still have left and entered Australia on your Australian passport. This means that departure and entry stamps for Australia will be conspicuously absent from your Japanese passport. Even if they cannot be certain of which country you hold a passport in with one glance, it will be extremely obvious that you do hold another passport. (Otherwise all stamps will be in your Japanese passport.)

Solution... enter Australia on Japanese passport. It won't matter because she'll be an Australian citizen anyway.

I say go for it.

Laws restricting dual citizenship are stupid...

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Solution... enter Australia on Japanese passport. It won't matter because she'll be an Australian citizen anyway.

I say go for it.

Laws restricting dual citizenship are stupid...

In terms of immigration, it does indeed matter. A stamp on the passport isn`t the only thing they do at the counter.

I don`t know how Australia handles things, but I know that if they check through the system and you are trying to enter the US on a passport from another country when you have US citizenship - you can be arrested and actually have your citizenship revoked.
I consider that quite risky... Especially when it has to do with the country you want to keep citizenship in.

ALSO, that means that as you will not be entering the country as a citizen, you will have none of the rights of a citizen - and will be put in the database as a tourist with applicable visa. This means that you might be able to pull it off the first time in, but next time you try to leave you will hit all sorts of trouble as you`d have overstayed your visa. Present proof of citizenship, and up the question comes - Why didn`t you enter on your proper passport?

I would say to go for it as originally said - leave and enter Australia on the Australian passport, and then enter and leave Japan on the Japanese. The worst they can really do is force you to give up your Japanese citizenship, which is something you`d have to do anyway. But I definitely wouldn`t do anything risky involving the citizenship you really want to keep.

[Ronin4hire]

I'm assuming Australia has the same laws as New Zealand.

Dual citizenship here means you can enter NZ on either passport. It's much easier to use your NZ passport of course. But it's up to you.

Wow... the US laws seem... stupid and unnecessary.

[Payne222]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

I'm assuming Australia has the same laws as New Zealand.

Dual citizenship here means you can enter NZ on either passport. It's much easier to use your NZ passport of course. But it's up to you.

Wow... the US laws seem... stupid and unnecessary.

Sorry our laws arn't as good as New Zealand's....

[Nyororin]

From the official Australian government travel page;

Entering and leaving Australia
To avoid delays at airline check-in and again at the border entry point, Australian citizens 
who are dual nationals are advised to leave and return to Australia on their Australian passport. 
An Australian citizen cannot be granted a visa for Australia.
When entering Australia, all Australians, including those who hold dual nationality, 
must be able to prove that they are an Australian citizen. An Australian passport is 
conclusive evidence of a person's identity and citizenship, and provides the holder with 
unfettered right of entry to Australia.
An Australian citizen who arrives without an Australian passport may be delayed until 
their identity and claims to enter Australia have been checked. If a person holding a 
foreign passport claims to be an Australian citizen, immigration officers must confirm and 
verify this through official databases. This will invariably cause some delays to the person 
while the authorities undertake the necessary enquiries.
International airlines have an obligation to ensure that they only carry appropriately 
documented passengers to Australia. In the absence of an Australian passport, airlines 
are unable to assess an Australian citizen's claimed citizenship at the time of check-in and may 
decline to carry the traveller. Or, they may have to make inquiries with the Department of 
Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in Australia to seek approval to carry the passenger, which 
takes time and may cause inconvenience to the passenger.

So it looks like Australia is okay with it as long as you carry your Australian passport with you to prove citizenship.