International Travel 2023

Hey travelers! I just received my passport with the unique identifier on the front page above the information page. I realize I have to show this to get though customs of a foreign country. But once I get in the country, is there a way I can LEGALLY cover up the mark with a sleeve or special film that will conceal what’s written on the page? I know I’m not supposed to alter the passport, and I don’t plan on doing that. I just want to temporarily cover the mark up when showing the passport to private establishments like Airbnb’s, hotels & rental cars. I don’t plan on concealing anything from government officials who might request to see the passport. So I want to keep everything legal. Any suggestions? Thank you

I just returned from our first international adventure.. an 8 day cruise from Colon, Panama to Panama city, Panama with disembarkments in Aruba, (where I walked my Daughter down the aisle at Eagle beach.) Curacao, Bonaire, and Costa Rica. I Did everything by the book as far as 21 day notice actually given 30 days before leaving. I applied for a marked Passport, but still received an unmarked passport. I even called the Panamanian consulate and explained my circumstances and asked whether I could be admitted. She said it was up to the immigration officer at the gate, but most likely it wouldn’t be a problem. I flew out of Houston with my family directly to Tocumen, Panama. We cruised to the ports mentioned above and finally cruised through the Panama canal and flew back home. At immigration We all got our fingerprints scanned and photos taken. My passport was scanned and stamped three times in Panama.. once on arrival, at the ship, and once again at departure. no secondary, not even a sideways look at me.. nothing other than “Welcome to Panama, Mr. *******!”
Upon our return, same deal… not an issue with anything except Copa Airline landed exceptionally hard.. I was fully prepared to be sent home directly upon landing, but was happily surprised by the lack of interest in me.
Already booking our next Adventure…
Anyone else having similar experiences?

I just canceled my Norweign Cruise line cruise for August. I was browsing a few forums I guess June of 2022 they banned RSO. I did call them to confirm this and the woman at first had no clue and finally after 20 minute on the phone her supervisor told her it is true. My guess is when you give your 21 day notice they inform the cruise line and tell them the boogie man is coming aboard. So i will have to make other plans, I did receive a full refund. Just a heads up to everyone

Hello, I have been to Guatemala on several occasions prior to the implementation of IML (pre 2013) and loved it each time. The people are welcoming and the laid back environment was always relaxing. I am currently listed only on the Florida registry (although I do not live there) and not required to register in my state. Also no mark on my passport.

I checked the travel matrix website resource and it states Y/N about being turned away which is odd and confusing…any idea of why some would be not allowed while others would be? Has anyone had personal experience visiting there? My wife and I are itching to travel since covid is less of an issue.

WORST SECONDARY EXPERIENCE EVER! 
On December 23, 2022, we flew into Miami from Buenos Aires. I got sent to Secondary, as expected. We sat down, and less than five minutes later they called my name, handed me my passport, and said you’re good to go, have a nice day. 
Yesterday, we flew into Miami from Guayaquil. I was sent to Secondary, as expected, and we went in and sat down. An agent approached me and asked me to come with him. My wife also got up, and he said, no, you stay here. He took me down a hallway to a room and told me to sit down. He sat across the table from me, took out a spiral notebook, opened it to a blank page, and started asking questions. He asked my full name, my date of birth, where I was born, where I grew up, what states I have lived in, where I went to school, where I went to college, what my job was (retired) what jobs have I had in the last 10 years, have I ever been arrested (actually, no. I was convicted but never arrested nor had my rights read to me). He wanted to know all the details about my conviction, what I was convicted of, who were the “victims”, girls or boys, what did I do to them (two girls, I still claim I did nothing illegal), what were their ages, how did I find them, what was I sentenced to, how long in jail or prison (30 days jail), am I married (yes, over 45 years), does my wife know about my conviction (45 years! stupid question), what is her birthdate, where was she born, how did we meet (seriously!), what are my parents’ names, where were they born, are they still living, do I have children (3), what are their birthdates, where were they born, do I have grandchildren (2), what are their birthdates (!?!), where do they live, how often am I around them, what email addresses do I use, what telephone numbers do I use, what social media am I on, who do I communicate with (my friends!!), etc, etc. I don’t remember all the questions. 
This went on for almost 30 minutes, he wrote down all my answers, almost a full notebook page. Then, he picked up my passport and waved it around.  
“In this country we have what is known as International Megans Law! Your conviction was against children! You are required to have your passport marked so other countries can be aware of your convictions! This passport is not marked!” 
I tried to calmly explain that I used to have a marked passport, but I am no longer required to register, and therefore no longer required to have a marked passport, so I got this new unmarked one. 
More questions: what state do you live in, how many states have you registered in, how long did you register (28 years), did you travel with a marked passport (yes), how many countries have you visited in the past 5 years (over 40), what are they (seriously, you want a list?? – mostly countries in Europe), how many countries wouldn’t let you in (1). 
Near the beginning, he asked me what time my connecting flight left. Several times he said, if you cooperate, we can get this done so you won’t miss your flight. 
What electronic devices do you have (my iPhone). Give it to me please. What is your passcode? Wrote it down, and then punched it in. He opened the phone “I’m disabling your cell service, your bluetooth, and your WiFi. I’m taking your phone to connect to our forensic evaluation equipment. If it passes our initial examination, we will make a copy of everything on your phone, and then return it to you. Is there going to be anything on it that will concern us? (no) Okay, I’ll bring it back as soon as I can, so you won’t miss your flight. 
About 15 minutes later, he brings back my phone and gives it to me. If our extensive examination of your phone produces anything that concerns us, a law enforcement agency will be contacting you. Otherwise, you can go. 
We made the connecting flight, but we didn’t have time to eat anything. 
Okay, I can already hear some of you (Will Allen) saying, I wouldn’t of answered his questions, I would have told him it is none of his business, I wouldn’t have given him the password to my phone, etc. Etc. 
The agent did give me a copy of a two-page document titled “Inspection of Electronic Devices” which pretty much laid out that they can do anything they want and that failure to provide access to the information on the devices could result in severe consequences. 
Yes, I am a chicken, I have low self-esteem, I don’t stand up for myself very well, especially in front of authority figures. I just want to try to make everyone happy and have everyone like me. Which is pretty much how I got convicted in the first place. I did what they said, because I wanted them to like me. 
I have no idea what triggered this individual. I have been through Secondary probably close to 100 times, and I have never before been interviewed (interrogated), and I have never been asked for my cell phone. He asked if I had any other electronic devices. I was sitting right there with my big camera bag, but I said no (my big Nikon isn’t an electronic device, is it?). Glad he didn’t take that and make a copy of all my pictures (about 12,000 on the 256gig chip in my camera – not that there was anything I was worried about). 
Basically I was treated as though I had just been convicted last month. I hope no one else has had to go through this. I hope this was just some rogue power-tripping bored agent and not an experiment with a new policy. Whatever it was, I think it will be a cold day in hell before I arrive from an international flight in Miami again. 

Hi all,

I have been catching up on all of the comments on this bulletin board and it is really really great to have this community. However, what would REALLY be great is if groups like ACSOL or NARSOL or Registrattag.org had up to date, comprehensive, lawyer-vetted reference sections that covers ALL rules and regs for travel, A-Z including internal or domestic. Some of this does exist, although it’s scattered, and scant. And having such a comprehensive factual reference guide would avoid all of the conflicting advice on these bulletins, which obviously can be confusing and potentially dangerous. And it also points up that whatever “movement” we’re in the midst of to reform SO laws domestic and global, it is in its infancy. Which is sad. These orgs need to grow, need more funding so they can be powerful advocates and change agents. Support them if you can.

I also have a question for any folks who have traveled extensively in Europe. I just got off probation, have my Megans Law stamped passport, and my wife and I are ready to go on vacation in the fall to Europe. And while we know there are NEVER any guarantees with the ease of passing through borders, anywhere, we would like to know which of the following countries have the BEST chance of being easy. Bottom line, which have the least potential for being denied entry:

France
Belgium
Luxemburg
Netherlands
Germany
Italy

In advance, thank you for any feedback you can provide.

Over the last couple of months, I haven’t seen any comments on entering Canada successfully or not; plus nothing about a registrant‘s attempt to apply for the Application for Criminal Rehabilitation to enter Canada. I have hired a lawyer to assist with the application, I have fulfilled all of the requirements and soon my lawyer will submit the application and documents to Canadian authorities. If successful, I plan to submit it too INTERPOL to show that Canada, a Commonwealth nation, has assessed me as not a threat with the hope that INTERPOL won’t send a notice to countries I want to visit. Has anyone applied successfully to enter Canada? Second, what do you think of my plan about INTERPOL?

I’m always changing my mind on where I want to go. Often I select a start location to fly into and then decide where to continue my travels. As I checked the travel matrix, I don’t see any issues with Hong Kong or Turkey. I have seen posts here talking about positive experiences in Turkey but I don’t remember anything on Hong Kong.
Here is my question. When it comes to notifications, if I fly into a ‘safe’ country do you think the evil people who send out the notices look at the countries you have visited before and potentially send notices to them as well even if you have no flights booked for those destinations. If I flew into Hong Kong, would they say – oh that is near X, Y, and Z countries where he has been before and lets send a notice to them. Am I overthinking things. Wherever I go, I want to start somewhere safe and then consider other destinations within striking distance. Thanks

I HAVE GEORGIA ON MY MIND….as the late Ray Charles would say. I’m pleased to report that I landed in Batumi, Georgia and made it through customs…..barely. Two ladies were working the desk, and when I approached them with my American passport, one lady zeroed in on me. She kept flipping thru my passport book and comparing my photo with me. She then pulled out some catalog (I guess it had a picture of an American passport) and a magnifying glass. She used it to inspect the id page, inch by inch, while her partner started smiling and asking me questions like where I’m staying, am I in Georgia on holiday, am I traveling alone. After the other lady put the magnifying glass away and pulled out a stamper, it really started to get hilarious. She hovered over my passport with the stamper in her hand for almost 1 minute. She was that hesitant. It felt like an episode of Deal or No Deal. I kept yelling inside my head, just stamp the freakin passport! It’s not fraudulent. Finally she did it, and said welcome to Georgia. Of course I know this was total racial profiling, but it’s nothing new for me. Many people overseas still have trouble believing that there’s a long established black population in the U.S. We can only blame American media & Hollywood for that. I’m sure those ladies had no clue about my conviction or registry status, because that would have certainly triggered refusal of entry into their country. But a registrant with the right skin color might be granted entry into Georgia despite their status. Despite the border experience, Georgia has been great, and people have been kind. Batumi’s a very poor city with a lot of dilapidated (Soviet era) apartment blocks, mixed with brand new high rise apartments, hotels and casinos. I’m staying in a beautiful new apartment building where my studio has a view of the Black Sea. There’s many real-estate deals for people looking to invest. Remember, you can stay here for a year, but as a registrant, I would be hesitant to invest unless I was 100% certain that I’d be allowed to stay in this country despite my status. Cheers family!

Is the 21 day ATN , a state by state requirement? This is the 1st I’m learning about it.