Dual Citizenship and ETIAS: Which Passport You Should Travel With

ETIAS is the new European travel authorisation for nationals of dozens of visa-exempt countries and territories around the world. From the last quarter of 2026, it will be required to enter the 30 European countries that demand it for short stays. For travellers with a single nationality the rules are straightforward, but what happens if you are a dual national who holds the nationality of two countries? Should you apply for a visa, apply for ETIAS, or can you travel without either?

In short, the answer depends on which two countries you are a citizen of, and on the type of passport you carry. The three situations below cover the most common combinations.

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

When one of your nationalities is European

If you are a citizen of any of the European countries that require ETIAS, or of Ireland, you are exempt from ETIAS regardless of any other nationality you hold. In that case you must travel with the passport issued by that European country or by Ireland. If that passport has expired or cannot be used, you should contact the authorities of the country that issued it, because otherwise you may not be able to travel to those European countries.

Consider Maria, a dual national of Argentina and Spain, who plans to travel from Buenos Aires to Italy for a holiday. Because Maria is a Spanish national, she does not need an ETIAS travel authorisation at all, and she must travel using her Spanish passport.

When both nationalities are visa-exempt or one requires a visa

If you hold passports from two visa-exempt countries, you will need to apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation, and you can choose which passport to use for the application. Because some travel documents have specific requirements, always check that the one you use meets them. Since the authorisation is linked to your passport, you must travel with the same document you used to apply, otherwise the carrier may refuse boarding or you may be refused entry at the border.

Take Denis, who holds Canadian and Serbian passports and is planning a trip to Finland. As a dual national of two visa-exempt countries, he must apply for ETIAS and can decide which passport to use. If he chooses his Serbian passport, it must meet the requirements for Serbian travel documents, such as being biometric; if it does not, the simplest option is to travel on his Canadian passport. A different rule applies when one nationality is visa-required: Laura, a US citizen who also holds Dominican nationality, can apply for ETIAS to travel with her American passport, but if she wants to use her Dominican passport she would need a visa instead. To check whether a given nationality needs ETIAS, a visa, or nothing at all, start with this guide to who needs ETIAS.