During war or crisis, evacuation flights for emergency purposes usually organized by governments. However, those are intended for citizens of that country. For example, there were evacuation flights intended for French citizens stuck in the UAE during the initial stages of the Iran war following a drone attack, but what happens if the traveler has both a French & American passport? Which government takes charge on the situation?
Evacuation is straight forward when the person only has one nationality rather than two since that nation only ensures their safety & rescue while someone with two passports: let’s say both the US & France want this person out of the danger zone, but who takes the sole responsibility if both countries want the same thing? It can’t do both, has to be one or the other even if the French plane arrived first before the American one.
As far as France is concerned, the person is a French citizen, nothing else matters. As far as the US is concerned, the person is a US citizen, nothing else matters. So they will both likely be ready to evacuate the person, and the practical result will be that the person is allowed to choose.
I mean: I don’t think they can force anyone to evacuate. If the person says “no, France, I’m not getting on your plane, I’m waiting for the American one”, then what can anyone do about it?
You can’t really expect the written policy of a failed state like the United States to be an accurate predictor of behavior when executive-branch departments are staffed with low-IQ apparatchiks.
Kinda irrelevant to the topic?!
Explain.
Edit: Ok, I thought “Something you think is going to happen might not happen” would be relevant in answering the question, “What might happen?” but apparently not?
no.
This one’s easy. The person in this hypothetical will be advised to buy a plane ticket to leave the country by America and then evacuated by France.
If the dual passport holder is lucid and able to make decisions, they can choose which country’s evacuation effort they will take advantage of. Neither country is in any position to deny this, even if having the other nationality is in violation of the law in the first one. Rescue first, prosecute later.
If the person is unable to make decisions for themselves, there are a number of situations that are possible. Maybe the first consular staff on the scene takes charge; nobody looks for a second passport of a person they don’t know when they located the first. If for whatever reason both consular outfits are involved, they figure out who will be in charge. Probably the one where the unconscious patient has spent the most time in living most recently. A lot of that will have to do with how well the countries get along.
You raise an interesting point about someone that is unable to make decisions for themselves. I suspect that any person in such a state would already have a designated decision maker for them (a parent, guardian, officer of the court, medical authority, etc). I would think that this person would be the the deciding factor.
For a country to offer a service like evacuation to a citizen, it’s a binary question as far as the country is concerned: Are you a citizen of our country? Yes/No. They’re not going to take the time to coordinate your very specific dual citizenship.
It doesn’t hurt a country if their citizen gets out some other way first.
If you have some other means to get out that’s less strain on your government’s resources. Once out, it’s probably best to let them know that you’re ok so they don’t look for you in a place you’re not.
I think that person just naturally has one more option than other people. It’s a privilege to hold dual citizenship, people like us are literally “privileged”
Just guessing here but I would think it’s whichever passport the person originally travelled on. So whether you went into UAE on your French passport or your US passport would be the decider?
