June is here. Summer travel beckons. But there are new risks and rules everyone should understand.
I traveled recently to Turks and Caicos, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Bahamas. It is a British Overseas Territory with its own rules.
From the moment I arrived in the capital, co*ckburn Town, the stories of Americans being detained on the island served as a quick reminder of the importance of knowing local laws and customs whenever you travel outside the U.S. Failure to abide by them could be costly.
Recently, Turks and Caicos officials passed a law with a mandatory minimum 12-year sentence for anyone found in possession of firearms or ammunition. In the last few months, five Americans were detained with stray ammo in their luggage.
One of those detained was released last month — a Virginia father who spent three weeks in detention and paid a $9,000 fine. The others await their fate.
There are more extreme consequences if you break the law in a place like Russia. When Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player, arrived in Moscow in February 2022, she was arrested for having less than a gram of medically prescribed THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, in her suitcase in the form of cartridges of hashish oil.
Under Russian law, possession of less than seven grams of marijuana (about a quarter of an ounce) is an administrative offense punishable by fines. Possessing seven grams or more triggers criminal penalties, which can include up to two years of “corrective labor.” But because Griner had brought the substance into the country, she was charged with smuggling a “significant amount” of “narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances,” which comes with a sentence of five to 10 years.
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison, but U.S. officials were able to arrange a diplomatic trade for her release in December of that year, exchanging an imprisoned Russia arms dealer for Griner.
There are less dramatic stories. Recently, American rapper Nicki Minaj had to cancel her concert in Manchester after being arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and fined after police said they found dozens of joints in her luggage. She documented her arrest on social media.
Cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, but it is tolerated for recreational use.
Germany just became the first European country to permit the possession and purchase of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use for persons 18 and older. In Thailand, a new conservative government has suggested relisting cannabis as a narcotic, thereby banning its use.
Even tourist behavior is becoming more of an issue for busy islands. On the Spanish Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, the government has imposed a ban on late-night sales of alcohol and consumption of alcohol in the street. New restrictions have also been imposed on party boats in the same areas.
Knowledge of new local laws and customs is not hard to research. One source is the U.S. State Department, which issues travel guidance on every county and embassy alerts on high-risk areas. Political unrest in each corner of the world can alter travel plans or create new rules and local restrictions, and climate change can make weather unpredictable and dangerous.
Double checking for unusual or unexpected legal norms in individual countries is critical for everything from minor issues, such as driving or drinking, to major issues of gender and sexuality.
Equaldex is a collaborative knowledge base for that provides updates on country rules and regulations specifically related to gay rights. It lists at least 60 countries that have laws most Westerners would consider anti-gay or anti-transgender.
As one traveler shared in a recent article, if you’re an unmarried couple, sharing a room in Dubai or Qatar could cause serious legal consequences. In fact, an unwed woman cannot share a room with a man unless he is her husband or father. Gay couples could face jail.
One last bit of advice for those heading to New York City and hoping to rent an Airbnb to avoid high hotel prices: Starting Sept. 5, new local rules prohibit more than two paying guests from staying in a unit, even if it is large enough for more. Hosts must be physically present while the properties are rented, and no rooms within the rental can be locked.
Travel is a good thing. It is interesting, exciting and informative, and builds bridges between cultures. Being a smart traveler is a commonsense rule worth reiterating.
Tara D. Sonenshine served as U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs and is currently a senior nonresident fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
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