As a result, if you have a criminal record, you won’t be allowed to enter most countries where you’re required to obtain a visa prior.

List of Countries You Can’t Travel to With a Criminal Record 

Here is a list of countries that don’t allow convicted felons to enter:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Canada
• China
• Cuba
• India
• Iran
• Israel
• Japan
• Kenya
• Macau
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Taiwan
• The United Kingdom
• United States

What Countries Can a Convicted Felon Travel to?

You can travel to the following countries if you are a convicted felon:

• Brazil
• Cambodia
• Chile
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Nepal
• Peru
• Singapore 
• South Korea
• Tanzania
• The Dominican Republic
• The Philippines 
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates

Remember: The countries listed above do not ask you to provide your criminal history upfront but still have active laws which prohibit felons from entering the country. This means that while you don’t have to provide evidence of your criminal history, you will be denied entry if your history is discovered. 

Can I Visit Europe With a Criminal Record?

If you have visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen Zone, then you can enter even with a criminal record. If you don’t have visa-free access, you may be required to show your criminal history during the visa application process. But, still, you can usually enter any country in Europe if you have a criminal record and:

• Your conviction does not pass 3 years. 
• You were not arrested in crimes related to human trafficking or drug smuggling.

However, once ETIAS is launched in 2023, entering countries in Europe with a criminal history will be more difficult. ETIAS will provide background checks for every person who wants to enter the Schengen Area, and without receiving an entry authorization, you cannot visit member countries.

Am I Allowed to Enter Canada With a Criminal Record?

You usually can’t enter Canada if you have a criminal convention. However, you may gain entry if you submit an application for rehabilitation. If you are granted this waiver, then you can enter Canada despite your criminal history. But, waivers aren’t granted in severe crimes such as human trafficking. 

Can I Enter the US With a Criminal Record?

You can’t enter the US with a criminal record. But, sometimes there are exceptions; for example, if you were convicted of only one crime with a sentence of a maximum one year, this is considered a “sentencing exception.” In other cases, you may be eligible for special entry permission. 

What Is Considered a Felony When It Comes to Travelling?

Felonies that prohibit you from traveling include serious crimes such as: 

• Human trafficking
• Murder
• Manslaughter (unintentional killing)
• Rape/sexual assault
• Kidnapping 
• Child pornography 
• Manufacturing and selling drugs
• Assault 
• Animal cruelty
• Cybercrime
• Tax evasion 

Minor misdemeanors that might be overlooked when you travel internationally include: 

• Petty theft 
• Public intoxication
• Reckless driving 
• Shoplifting 
• Trespassing 
• Disorderly conduct 
• Vandalism 
• Indecent exposure 
• Possession of Marijuana (personal use)

You have to keep in mind that the definition of a “serious crime” and “less serious” is regulated by each country. As a result, a minor misdemeanor can be considered a felony in another country, and you may still be denied entry. In addition to this, it’s important to remember that time is an essential factor in deciding whether your criminal record affects your travel. 

Some countries consider the crime non-existent (or you’re rehabilitated) if enough time (10 or 15 years) has passed since you committed the crime – and you haven’t been convicted of other offenses in the meantime. On the other hand, certain countries don’t care how much time has passed; you won’t be allowed to enter with a criminal history in any case.

Can I Travel If I Was Acquitted? 

A few countries may allow you to enter if you were only accused of a crime but not legally prosecuted or convicted. However, this changes from country to country; you should check with a local embassy/consulate before leaving the country. 

What If I Have a Criminal Record And I Need to Travel for an Emergency?

You can still travel even with a criminal record if it is an emergency. Some countries, such as Canada and the US, issue waivers allowing you to travel. But, these waivers, which are issued only in emergencies and for humanitarian reasons, are difficult to obtain. Also, if you do get permission, you’re allowed to enter the country only once. 

Things to Keep in Mind When Traveling With a Criminal Record

To make your traveling experience more manageable, you should take note of the following things when traveling with a criminal history: 

• Prepare before traveling. Before you get ready to travel, you should check with your destination country and see their immigration laws. Know what is considered a serious crime and what crimes may be overlooked.
• Be honest. If you must divulge your record, be completely honest even if you think your crime is a minor offense. If you lie in your visa application or at the entry border, you may face serious consequences. 
• Be patient. When you travel with a criminal record, you have to be prepared to wait longer in border patrol. Even if you have a waiver allowing you to enter, border patrol officers will review everything in detail before deciding whether to let you enter. In this case, you have to be patient and wait while your case is processed. 

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However, even though I had come to Limahuli eager to see such rarities preserved in this 17-acre National Tropical Botanical Garden, I soon became entranced by something even more amazing: intricate layers of old rock-walled terraces that climbed the valley and disappeared into the dense highland forests above. They are a part of an ancient ahupua’a, an advanced system of land management and food production that once allowed Hawaii’s remote and densely populated pre-contact societies to be completely self-sufficient. Carbon dating has revealed that they are more than 1,000 years old. 

Pre-contact, there were over 50 ahupua’a on Kauai, and there were hundreds or perhaps thousands more on the other Hawaiian islands.

Each ahupua’a had its narrow starting point high in the inland volcanic peaks and then widened, like a pie slice, to embrace a stretch of shore and the fishing grounds up to a mile out to sea. The Hawaiians described this area as spanning from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean). To irrigate lo’i kalo (lowland taro pond fields), stream water was redirected into channels that were designed to move water from pond to pond and minimize stagnation. As a result, dryland farming produces five times as much per acre.

Extensive rock-walled fishponds blended nutrient-rich water from the taro ponds with tidal flow where freshwater streams met the ocean, producing the perfect environment for fattening fish caught through sluice gates. Except for people with understanding of forest care, the uplands were off-limits since they were regarded as wao akua (the realm of the gods).

Water is the organizing basis of the ahupua’a, according to Davianna Pmaikai McGregor, professor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. “Our word for wealth in Hawaiian is wa’i wai because if you had an abundance of water, your land was rich and you had an abundance of food,” says one Hawaiian speaker.

Decades of work to maintain and restore one of the last surviving instances of a complete ahupua’a are paying off in the town of H’ena at Kauai’s isolated northwestern point. 600 acres of agricultural terracing have now been restored by H’ena’s Limahuli Garden & Preserve. In addition to rebuilding taro ponds and revitalizing traditional mountains-to-sea land management, Hui Maka’inana o Makana, a grassroots community group that includes many descendants of H’ena’s original families, has also established the first state-sanctioned, community-based marine fishery.

As a result, H’ena has come to serve as a role model for initiatives to protect already-existing ahupua’a on all of the islands and to rebuild others that were long-since devastated by pineapple plantations and cattle ranches. 

Lei Wann, director of Limahuli Garden & Preserve and a descendant of one of the original H’ena families, noted that the apuhua’a system was “extremely holistic, thinking about the ecology of the whole watershed, the agricultural area, and fisheries as one location.” Since we’ve been using this method to manage our resources for so long, we can now assess how effectively past generations understood and protected their environment based on what is still around.

The state government, the parks service, and private landowners are collaborating with courageous and diverse coalitions of community activists, scientists, and environmentalists on the islands to re-establish traditional sustainable practices. They are adapting them to the contemporary environment through initiatives that have made them well-known internationally, a crucial objective in a US state that now notoriously imports 85% of its food.

Sam ‘Ohu Gon, senior scientist at the Biocultural Initiative of the Pacific, a task of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, described the ahupua’a as the “guide map to searching at Hawaii from a totally usual Hawaiian factor of view, taking you returned hundreds of years and imparting you the ideas of the humans who have lived there and been stewards of the land all this time.” It serves as a gateway to all of the historic know-how that is nevertheless actually applicable today.

In fact, according to Gon, the ahupua’a system, also known as moku, may serve as a blueprint for how to sustainably feed and house the planet’s expanding population in the face of climate change. Hawaiians were able to sustain several hundred thousand people without any outside help thanks to their tightly regulated farming and fishing systems, which used less than 15% of their terrestrial ecosystem, according to him.

The potential previous production and distribution capacity of these ahupua’a were calculated by scientists using spatial distribution models, and their future potential was assessed by accounting for current land use and a variety of potential future climate scenarios. They discovered that those production levels might satisfy the present-day consumption needs of Hawaiians. Hawaii was chosen by the UN in 2018 to be a Local2030 Sustainability Hub, an honor that acknowledges the state’s effective community-led organizing initiatives and their potential to serve as a role model for others.

Projects to restore native species, reforest uplands ravaged by grazing, reclaim estuaries, reconstruct taro fields and fishponds, and safeguard ocean fisheries are currently underway on every Hawaiian island. While new signage projects are delineating the boundaries of traditional ahupua’a, boosting awareness of the holistic system, in most regions, development hinders the restoration of a whole ahupua’a system.

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Illegal Workers in a Diverse Job Market

The UK has a very diverse job market, and some sectors, such as the NHS, rely heavily on foreign doctors to bring much-needed skills where there are not enough natives qualified. These roles have robust recruitment processes and, therefore, the chances of an illegal worker becoming small. However, the problems tend to be more concentrated in the unskilled labour roles. Illegal workers at this level are easier to hide, and despite the punishments levied at the employer as well as the employee, it tends to be prevalent, taking away opportunities from legal immigrants. 

What Skills Do You Need to Be Employed and Obtain a Working Visa in the UK?

To obtain a working visa in the UK, you need to meet the criteria in one of the different categories. A skilled worker visa could be for you if you have secured employment with a Home Office-approved employer. In this case, it would be normal to expect the employer to assist with the application, and they will usually have a fee to pay based on their size and status. A successful application in this category will see you granted a visa of up to 5 years. 

A global business mobility visa is another option. Within this category, there are different sets of criteria which would need to be met in order to qualify for this option. There are many options, including:

A senior or specialist worker visa is designed for highly skilled individuals to move countries while working for the same international company. So if you have worked for the sponsor company for at least 12 months, you can apply to transfer to their UK facility on this visa. 

A graduate trainees visa is fairly self-explanatory and again applies to those working for a multinational, where a graduate employee needs to come to the UK to gain skills not available at any of their other locations. 

There are also health and care worker visas, graduate visas, high potential individual visas and global talent visas, to name a few.

UK Business Culture 

The UK is known to have a strong culture of politeness and courtesy within the business world. It is an arena of discipline, and things like timekeeping and punctuality are considered critical. The UK has a class structure, and the gap between high and low is vast. Workers at all levels tend to be welcoming and supportive of new colleagues, provided they are friendly and attempt to fit in. Etiquette is essential, and you should take time to watch and learn from native workers who will quickly demonstrate the correct behaviour for the UK business culture. 

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2 Visa Options 

The two easy ways to get your visa extended are a short-term extension and a long-term extension. Which of these suits you best depends on your circumstances, but if you have a tourist visa, it is likely that the short-term extension is the best option for you. If granted, the short visa gives you an additional 30-60 days stay in the country. Sometimes this can be negotiated to 90 days, depending on why you are seeking it. 

A long-term extension is for a minimum of 90 days and can be valid for up to a year, and this is more likely to be granted if your original visa was a non-immigration visa.  These visas are generally for people who have a work permit and valid employment in the country. 

Where to Apply for a Tourist Visa Extension 

The best way to apply is to go to Bangkok and visit the Office of the Thai Immigration Department and apply in person. Technically you can apply at local offices outside of Bangkok, but all they do is take the paperwork and send it to the head office in Bangkok. Not only does this increase the decision time; however, they are notorious for losing paperwork. It is better to go directly to the primary office. 

The office opens each morning and operates a queuing system. There is generally no quiet period, so you are better off turning up at a time that suits you and joining the line. The decision is not instant, but you need to make the application in person using the TM.7 form and have all your supporting documentation with you. Your application can be made within 30 days of your current visa expiring, and you should ensure that you do not leave it too late, as being on an expired visa and then trying to extend it can end badly. 

Re-Entry Permit

If you stay in Thailand for a while, you should also apply for a re-entry permit. Without this, you will not be granted permission to return if you leave the country for even a few days. If you do not have the permit, you start the whole visa application process again, and your current paperwork becomes invalid. If you are in the country for 90 days or more, you must submit a 90-day report each time you hit that key count – days 90, 180, 270, 360, etc. This involves reporting to your local office and reconfirming details such as your address. If you have a SMART visa, this becomes an annual commitment rather than every 90 days. If you stay in the country for three or more years, you become entitled to apply for residency. 

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Thai Work Visa

The first thing to do before booking flights or making any firm plans is to apply for a working visa in Thailand. This is done from your home country by heading to the Consulate or Embassy for Thailand. It is classed as a Category B Non-Immigrant Visa. To apply, your passport needs to be valid for at least six more months and have two blank visa pages. If you intend to apply for a more extended one-year visa, your passport must be valid for 18 months. You will need to complete the application form, which can be downloaded from the website or collected from the embassy. The other requirements are standard, including police clearance and proof of financial stability (20,000 to 40,000 Thai baht deepening on your circumstance). You also need a Letter of Approval from the Thailand Ministry of Labour – which your employer applies for on your behalf. 

Thailand Work Permit 

To qualify for a work permit, your employer has to meet certain conditions that can be found online, including already employing at least 50 Thai nationals. There are limits on how many non-citizens each company is allowed to employ, based on registered capital and the fact they may have one foreign employee per 50 local employees. The application process is long, and you must present evidence of your work visa, passport, and proof of things like accommodation, work contract, salary and qualifications. There are further requirements if your spouse is a Thai national, including your marriage certificate. Any documents you submit must have been legalised in your home country and translated into Thai. A work permit can be issued for 3, 6 or 12 months and can potentially be extended. 

Extension of Stay 

Once your work visa and permits are approved, you are then required to apply for an extension of stay, which is done via the Immigration Bureau. This has to be done within 90 days of entering the country. If approved, you will be given a further 12-month extension backdated to the date you initially entered the country. You will need to continue to complete the renewal process every year if you wish to remain in the country. Still, after the third year, you become eligible to apply for the permanent residence permit. Finally, if you want to go on holiday or return home during your time in Thailand, you need to obtain a re-entry permit, or you will not be allowed back in. 

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Bangkok vs Chiang Mai vs Pattaya

Most retirees choose to move to one of the three main tourist hotspots. The lifestyle is different for each, so it’s essential to pick the place that suits you best. Pattaya is a beachside city with a vibrant and busy feel. It is not partilculoaltry chilled or laid back; for some, this helps them feel younger for longer. If you are looking for a quieter lifestyle, you may prefer Chiang Mai. It has a lovely heritage, old city streets, stunning temples, and fewer tourist attractions. Finally, Bangkok is also known for its bustling and loud nightlife, and you will find other ex-pats more spread out, so it could be harder to make friends. 

Cost of Living

Living costs in Thailand are estimated to be anywhere from 35% to 75% less than life in the USA. If you are looking to rent, not buy, you can save around 70% for a comparative property, making pension monies go a lot further. For example, a one-bed apartment in New York attracts a rent of about $3000 a month, whereas, in Bangkok, this would be about $550. You can potentially save even more if you are looking to live outside of the city, where you may snap up a great apartment for $300. When it comes to food, you can live a moderately frugal life if you eat like a local. You will find that imported international goods are significantly more expensive than local produce. 

Health and Safety 

Healthcare in Thailand is world-class, but you will need to pay for private health insurance unless you are an ex-pat with a private sector job. As a retiree, you will find that the plans for private health insurance are very reasonable. Thailand is also one of the safest countries in Southeast Asia, with very low crime rates. As a retiree, you would just need to guard against crimes of financial opportunity such as pickpocketing. Locals are generally welcoming, but if you live in any of the three main areas above, you will also find thriving ex-pat communities. The biggest challenge is the language barrier, so finding other English speakers will make things much more manageable. To fit in, you should make every effort to adopt the local dress code and embrace customs. Otherwise, you may find that you are labelled a rude outsider. 

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Oil Prices and Low Cost of Living

In an interview in June, he spoke about the benefits of Thailand as a tourist destination. It is not the most favourable situation economically, but the Thai Baht is currently weak, which means that a holiday to Thailand could see you spending even less on your break than you have done pre-Covid. The value of the Baht has fallen around 20% during the pandemic duration. Still, he believes things will now change for the better, especially with oil prices surging, creating more expensive travel costs in a lot of other destinations.

A Return to Normal

Another factor contributing to a surge in tourist visa applications is the fact that pre-pandemic conditions are returning as they scrap the mask mandate and drop the pre-travel requirement that visitors must have at least two vaccine doses before arriving. It is thought that the tourist industry creates 20% of all jobs and generates 12% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). 

Wellness Tourism 

The forecast that predicts the tourist visa surge is also down to Thailand’s cannabis legalisation is not focusing on an illegal trade but rather on the health and wellness sector of the tourism industry. The ability to harness the purported medical benefits of marijuana remains illegal in many countries. So, people are willing to travel as tourists to areas where it is no longer criminal to try the food and medicine that has been infused for medication. It is currently still not permissible purely for recreational purposes in Thailand, but the Minister did not rule that out, stating it will be considered in due course. 

A Prediction of Visitor Numbers 

In 2019 there were 40 million tourists flying into Thailand, and the minister is well aware of the challenges the country faces to recover the industry and attract these sorts of numbers in a post-pandemic world. However, the forecast is confident that in 2023 visitor numbers will hit 20 million and continue to grow into 2024, reaching 30 million. Initial signs are positive; in May, tourist visa arrivals were up by 78%, although overall, the government is only looking to attract around 7.5 million holidaymakers this year. However, this could be pushed to about 10 million if the war in Ukraine were to end or the Chinese travellers returned to normal as previously many of them would come to Thailand for their extended holidays in October time. It is looking positive as free travel has been reestablished between China and Thailand for business travellers and students. 

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In some cases, no visa is needed as countries have mutual agreements that citizens are free to travel. When a tourist visa is issued, it will have a time limit, often 30 or 90 days. For most people, this is plenty of time, and even if you overstay, the consequences are minimal. However, some governments are very strict and do not like people to overstay their welcome. The punishments can range from fines to prison sentences and restrictions on ever returning. The three countries below have some of the harshest penalties, so be sure to understand the validity of the visa and when you would need to apply for a tourist visa extension to avoid problems. 

1) Thailand

If you overstay your visa in Thailand, you are committing a serious crime. Staying even two or three days longer than allowed can see you sent to local prisons, which are unsanitary and cramped. The punishment does not end there; the mildest form of punishment sees offenders banned from returning for more than five years and immediate deportation. However, due to the perceived level of crime, it is much more likely that you will be fined up to $10,000, and the black marks on your passport will make it much harder to get visas for other countries as your records are checked on every application. You will also need to get a travel visa extension granted to cover the overstay, or you could make things a lot worse. 

2) Russia

Russia is another country you do not want to risk getting stuck in with an expired visa. You will be arrested, fined and deported. After being arrested, you will be placed in jail, and they will make you apply to the authorities for an exit visa. You may not leave on an expired tourist, and an exit visa can take up to 20 days. During this time, you will be a prisoner and have little to no contact with family and friends. Again you will then be restricted from reentering for a period – generally, at least three years and your records will be marked, making it harder to travel.

3) China

Overstaying your visa in China is also not an experience you want to risk. You will be arrested and unable to leave the country. In a move similar to Russia, you will have to apply for an exit visa which takes time to be approved. While you are waiting, you pay a daily fine that increases for each additional day it takes to approve the exit visa. The best advice for all countries with visa entry is to ensure you apply for a tourist visa extension well in advance if you know you will exceed the initially agreed length of stay. This way, you can avoid problems, and as with most things, ignorance of the rules is not a valid defence and will not get you out of the punishments. 

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US Citizens 

1. Kuwait: Often referred to as the Jewel of the Middle East, it comes as no surprise that this is a destination of choice for tourists heading out of the US. You can apply for a visa when you land, and it is currently a level one safe destination as ranked by the travel advisory service. 
2. Paraguay: The authorities in Paraguay are happy for travellers to obtain their visas on arrival. This South American country has a troubled past but currently is enjoying a more peaceful way of life and is also a level one safe destination. 
3. Zambia: One of the great appeals for tourists arriving in Zambia is the myriad of safari animals and wildlife that calls this magnificent country home. Visitors may also want to climb Kilimanjaro, and the visa-on-arrival system of this level 1 safe destination country makes that easy.
4. Zimbabwe: Another national park destination for animal lovers, US citizens can grab their tourist visas on arrival and head off to explore the wilds – level 1 safe destination.
5. Togo: Picturesque and beautiful; Togo is a level 2 destination, so be cautious, but it does enable you to get your visa sorted after you land. 

UK Citizens

1. Egypt: Visit the pyramids, see the Pharaoh’s tombs and enjoy the warmth with an on-arrival 30-day tourist visa if you are a UK citizen. 
2. Seychelles: If you are looking for a dream beach destination, then Seychelles is an excellent choice with long stretches of sand, a favourable climate and plenty of delicious local cuisine a stone’s throw from the sand. If you have UK citizenship, you can apply for your visa once you have landed here, and a tourist visa is valid for 90 days. 
3. Madagascar: Another dream destination for those wanting to see game animals in their natural environment. There are several national parks, and there is something truly magical about a sunset over the trees here. You can get a tourist visa when you arrive, valid for 90 days. 
4. UAE: The UAE has some pretty impressive city architecture, and this includes some fantastic sky-level restaurants. There is also a famous water park, Snoopy Island and the Dubai fountain ripe for exploration. You can apply to stay for 30 days on arrival, any longer, and you must apply for an extended tourist visa. 
5. Kuwait: UK citizens are also eligible for an on-arrival visa in Kuwait valid for up to 90 days. 

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Why is it Called a Visa?

Visa is a term taken from Latin, specifically ‘charta visa’, which translates to ‘paper that has to be seen’ or more directly verified paper. Simply put, it was a separate document that a traveller needed to have, alongside their passport, to confirm that the host country was happy for them to enter. In this modern age, it is now more common for the visa to be integrated into the passport, but failure to apply, obtain and comply with visa requirements can still land you in a lot of trouble. 

Travel Documentation BC and AD

The first historical reference suggesting the need for travel documentation is found in 420BC, with the Hebrew Bible stating that Nehemiah required safe travel passage into Judea while in the service of King Artaxerxes of Persia and there it mentions passport and visa. However, the first formal and confirmed account of the passport does not come until 1386, when King Henry V is said to have created them during his reign, which lasted until 1442. At that time the naming was unclear, and it is thought that the word passport actually comes from ‘passe port’, which was the signed travel documentation that King Louis XIV insisted on signing during his reign in 1643-1715.

The First World War

It was not until World War 1 that it became mandatory for any international travel to require a passport. This would very often include separate visa documentation, and this was in 1918. After the war, in 1922, there were so many refugees who lost their nationality that the League of Nations, which was located in Paris, developed the Nansen Passport. Things remained this way until 1945 when the second world war ended, and people began to migrate all over the world. From a security point of view, it was then felt that strict border control was needed. This led to both passports and visas becoming mandated travel documentation for most cases when someone wanted to travel internationally. 

Today 

Migration control has become a very strict business right across the globe, and now we expect to have passports and visas to enter any country. Leaving and returning to your home country requires a passport, and some countries do not want tourists, so they rarely grant permits. The penalties for non-complies include detainment and prison sentences and, in some countries, even the death penalty. 

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