Does the US Allow Dual Citizenship? Rules, Taxes and Travel Duties

Whether you can keep your American passport while holding another one is decided by the United States, not by the country issuing the second document. This page sets out the current position, the statute behind it, and what it means in practice for someone considering a second citizenship.

Short answer: the United States permits dual citizenship. The detail below matters more than the headline, because the consequences of getting it wrong fall on the individual — usually years later, at a passport renewal or a border.

Does the United States allow dual citizenship?

Yes. United States law permits dual citizenship, and an American who acquires another nationality does not lose US citizenship by doing so.

The rule to establish first is always the one that applies to you at home. A second country can only grant its own status; it cannot preserve a nationality that your own law terminates. The wider picture is in how holding two passports works in practice, with the country-by-country table.

Key facts at a glance

What the law says

US nationality law contains no provision requiring a citizen to choose. The Supreme Court settled the question in Afroyim v. Rusk (1967) and Vance v. Terrazas (1980): citizenship cannot be taken away unless the person acted voluntarily and with the specific intention of relinquishing it. Applying for a second passport, on its own, is not such an act.

What this means in practice

• The US does not formally "recognise" the other nationality — it simply does not object. Inside the United States you are treated purely as an American.
• You must enter and leave the United States on a US passport. This is a statutory requirement (8 U.S.C. §1185(b)), not advice.
• The US taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live, and adds reporting duties such as FBAR and FATCA. A second passport changes nothing here.
• Renouncing US citizenship is possible but deliberate, expensive and may trigger the expatriation tax.

The authoritative source is the US Department of State. Rules in this area change by amendment and by notification, so the position should be confirmed at the time you act, not from any article.

What usually goes wrong

The mistakes below account for most of the cases where people discover a problem years after the event, typically when renewing a passport or crossing a border. The first one is the common one: this page describes the rule at one end of the arrangement only.

• Checking only one side of the arrangement. Each country decides for itself whether you may keep its nationality, so both rules have to hold — the permissive one described here does not protect you from a restrictive one elsewhere.
• Travelling on the "wrong" passport at the border of a country whose nationality you hold.
• Treating a second passport as a tax solution when the home country taxes on residence anyway.
• Forgetting that consular protection weakens, rather than strengthens, in the other country of nationality.

American citizens and Vanuatu citizenship

Americans can add a Vanuatu passport without endangering their US status. The usual motivation is travel flexibility and a second base rather than tax: US citizenship-based taxation follows you regardless of any other passport you hold, and any adviser who suggests otherwise is misleading you.

If the route does make sense for you, the practical detail is in the application process, the cost breakdown and the visa-free list.

Other countries that permit it

The same question, answered for comparable jurisdictions:

• Dual citizenship in Canada — permitted.
• Dual citizenship in Mexico — permitted.
• Dual citizenship in the Philippines — permitted.