# Passport question



## xolo (May 25, 2014)

For those who have a Mexican passport and also one from a different country (in my case USA and the names do _*not*_ match) how do you purchase airline tickets and how do you negotiate airlines/immigration/customs?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

xolo said:


> For those who have a Mexican passport and also one from a different country (in my case USA and the names do _*not*_ match) how do you purchase airline tickets and how do you negotiate airlines/immigration/customs?


I can't tell you about the names since the same name is on both of my passports. 

I usually indicate that my passport is Mexican when buying tickets online, and use it for all travel except when going into the US. Then I use my US passport. I believe the airlines include the tourist permit fee in the price of the fare when traveling into Mexico. I have not verified that the country of passport makes a difference in the fare price. I could believe that the airlines add it to the price for all travelers, then just pocket it if you are a Mexican citizen or visa holder.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You should never be showing both passports to any of those folks at the same time.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> You should never be showing both passports to any of those folks at the same time.


Not that we would - but why is that ? Something to do with renouncing the previous citizenship ?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Gatos said:


> Not that we would - but why is that ? Something to do with renouncing the previous citizenship ?


If in the USA, you only show your US Passport. If in Mexico, you only show your Mexican passport. A dual citizen cannot claim to be a citizen of one country when he is in the other one.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> If in the USA, you only show your US Passport. If in Mexico, you only show your Mexican passport. A dual citizen cannot claim to be a citizen of one country when he is in the other one.


Thanks - less than a year now.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> If in the USA, you only show your US Passport. If in Mexico, you only show your Mexican passport. A dual citizen cannot claim to be a citizen of one country when he is in the other one.


Except when checking in to a flight to the US from Mexico. They will want to see your US passport to prove that the US will accept you, and you have to show them your Mexican passport or else they will want to see an FMM form stamped by INM. But for Mexican citizens, you don't need to check out with INM. So they need to see both passports. You are not asserting your US citizenship while in Mexico. That is illegal as RV mentions, and would result in the loss of Mexican citizenship if the rules were enforced. You are just demonstrating that you can get into the US. People with just a Mexican citizenship have to show a US visa to board a flight to the US. For people with dual citizenship, your US passport is the proof that you can enter the US.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

yes I always show both my passports to the airlines but only one passport to the immigration .Sometimes it gets confusing. Once i flew into France and show my rench passport to get in. Going out I had a change of place in Amsterdam and there I showed my Mexican passport to get the Amsterdam Mexico flihgt..all alarms went on as they could not figure out why My Mexican passport was not stamped when I went into Europe so I had to show my French passport to the Dutch immigration and showed my Mexican passport when I got into Mexico..


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

citlali said:


> yes I always show both my passports to the airlines but only one passport to the immigration .Sometimes it gets confusing. Once i flew into France and show my rench passport to get in. Going out I had a change of place in Amsterdam and there I showed my Mexican passport to get the Amsterdam Mexico flihgt..all alarms went on as they could not figure out why My Mexican passport was not stamped when I went into Europe so I had to show my French passport to the Dutch immigration and showed my Mexican passport when I got into Mexico..


That is why I decided to use my Mexican passport for all travel. It just confuses the issue and could cause problems if you to leave a country with a different passport than you entered it with. So the only time I use my US passport is to check-in for flights to the US where you have to prove you can enter and when arriving in the US. The rest of the time I use my Mexican passport, even when boarding flights in the US.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Same here I use my Mexican passport when I go to countries where I do not have to have a visa. 
I use my French passport for the US and France but I use my Mexican passport for Guatemala or Peru..and now I know that if I enter France on a French passport I have to use my French passport accross Europe even on the flight going back to Mexico..


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> I can't tell you about the names since the same name is on both of my passports.
> 
> I usually indicate that my passport is Mexican when buying tickets online, and use it for all travel except when going into the US. Then I use my US passport. I believe the airlines include the tourist permit fee in the price of the fare when traveling into Mexico. I have not verified that the country of passport makes a difference in the fare price. I could believe that the airlines add it to the price for all travelers, then just pocket it if you are a Mexican citizen or visa holder.


The airlines are not legally allowed to charge you the Mexican tourism tax if you are a Mexican citizen or a temporary or permanent resident. They must either deduct it when booking your ticket, or refund it. Anyone who wants to save this addition to their flight fare should call the airlines before booking to see how they handle it. Don't take "not possible" for an answer. Air Canada told me they had "never heard of refunding that", but I wrote into their resolution department, sending a scan of my permanent residency card, and did in fact receive a refund.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Thanks for all the input, really helps. 

This is actually quite complicated when you start thinking of different scenarios.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

How much is this tax? Is the tax assessed on arriving flights or departing flights or both? I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble to go after a refund. I just flew one-way from Houston to Cancun (via Atlanta, to get a cheap fare). Air travel was $100, all taxes together were $55. The airline didn't know I had an RT card.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

The tourism tax is was $27 Canadian when I flew in August. It is charged on flights into Mexico, not both ways. If you fly up north from Mexico, the tax will be added to your return flight. So on a flight from Houston to Cancun via Atlanta, that tax would be on the Atlanta-Cancun portion. But if the ticket only cost $100, it might not be worth the time to try to get it back. I know Westjet, for instance, has a policy that you have to let them know BEFORE you book in order to get the refund.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

surabi said:


> The tourism tax is was $27 Canadian when I flew in August. It is charged on flights into Mexico, not both ways. If you fly up north from Mexico, the tax will be added to your return flight. So on a flight from Houston to Cancun via Atlanta, that tax would be on the Atlanta-Cancun portion. But if the ticket only cost $100, it might not be worth the time to try to get it back. I know Westjet, for instance, has a policy that you have to let them know BEFORE you book in order to get the refund.


When I purchase tickets online, they ask what country passport you are traveling on. If I select Mexico as the passport, does that mean they don't charge me for the tourist fee? I guess I could try it both ways but have not done that.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> When I purchase tickets online, they ask what country passport you are traveling on. If I select Mexico as the passport, does that mean they don't charge me for the tourist fee? I guess I could try it both ways but have not done that.


I have heard that is the case, yes. But don't have personal experience with doing it that way.


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