Bad post in social media and holiday threads. On the border they will say “come back from where you arrived”
Imagine that you are coming to your dream vacation, and at the airport a border guard is browsing your Instagram and says: “I’m sorry, but your views do not suit us.” Sounds like dystopia? And yet this is a reality. In the era, when the boundaries play the role of ideological filters, ordinary tourists can lose their holidays through a meme, tattoo or old entries. Tomasz Kamola, founder of notberg.com, an expert in visas and documents, talks about what it looks like.
In an interview on the “Moments” channel Tomasz Kamola, the founder of Notberg.com talks about traps that change vacation into a nightmare.
Whole conversation:
Countries are more and more boldly reaching for your digital data. An important passport is not enough, what matters what you put on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter). For example, the United States requires the applicants to unlock profiles for student visits to check if you are a “threat”.
– Americans require, for example, educational visits, so that those who stay in the States for longer unlock their social media profiles in public – explains Kamola, adding that this is not an exception. Russia also demands links to accounts.
– On the other hand, remember that it is not that every country wants us – he adds.
Failed holidays through appearance? “There are countries that have a slightly different culture”
Appearance can also be a sentence. In countries with a different culture, like ZEA, tattoos often mean a “undesirable element”. The British, wanting to rest in Dubai, was sent only for … tattoo. – The last situation, the British who had some tattoos, withdrew from Dubai, said that we do not like the Lord and please go back to your country – reports Kamola.
– There are countries that have a slightly different culture. We should respect it, I think – he adds.
Social media is a new weapon of border guards. In Australia, they checked the Facebook account of a man who came with a professional camera and was considered an employee, not a tourist.
– There was also a photographer, a British who wanted to go on vacation to Australia and was turned back on the border, because the border guards saw that he had a professional camera and checked his Facebook, saw that he was earning on it and asked for a visa for a job – says Kamola
He protested: “I’m going on vacation”, but no one cares.
Journalists flying to India also need a special visa. – If you enter that you are a journalist, you just get a different category. No one is interested that you are going there to rest – he warns.
Bad post in social media and after the holidays
The expert also warns that a bad type of visa, no second name in the form or even a political post in social media and you return home. – A bad kind of visa, which was chosen perhaps by accident, no second name in the form may also be by accident – but these are the reasons why the borderline can say: ‘No sorry, but you come back’ – says the expert.
In the era of electronic visas and biometric scans, the data circulate quickly – the verdict at the border is in the blink of an eye.
Solution? Check the profiles before leaving, remove controversial posts, hide controversial tattoos. Notberg.com develops tools for flawless visa conclusions, but the expert calls for vigilance – we must be careful what we publish on our social media profiles. Holidays are not a law, it is a privilege, filtered by algorithms and officials.
