Venturing yonder lands is one of humanity’s most important endeavors. Even then, people found themselves in trouble while interacting with the various components of those foreign lands. These components ranged from skirmishes with the local populace while bearing the flag of mercantilism, or a breach of cultural norm unknowingly.
Even today, while traveling abroad it is worthwhile to remember that we are not living in a cosmopolitan fantasy devoid of any modern national boundaries. Rather they pretty much do exist along with their country-specific laws which have the roots in the cultural conditioning thereof. Even tourists are not immune from such laws and whether they undermine them intentionally or unintentionally they are deemed to get into legal troubles. For instance, making a sign smacking of a clenched fist with your index finger and little finger raised outside of Vatican in Italy, halting on the German Autobahn or Federal controlled access highway systems, bad-mouthing the king in Thailand, chewing gum in Singapore, and so on.
To help you better navigate through the situation and deal with any legal trouble abroad, here are the possible ways through which you can legally evade the situation.
- Seek the United States State Department
The US State Department is the federal organization tasked with the responsibility to help the citizens overseas and regulate foreign travel.
Its consulates or embassies are located in the capitals of every country that they deem as sovereign nations. Therefore it becomes necessary for you to first register with them so that at the time of trouble they can actually know that you are in a country X and proffer their cardinal support.
Keep one thing in mind that US consulates or embassies observe the holiday of both US and the particular country they are located in.
- In case of lost or stolen passports
If you have lost your passport while traveling abroad then briskly contact the embassy and if you are planning to leave soon, provide them with the appropriate information of itinerary and travel arrangements.
In case of a passport replacement, you will need the following essentials
- A passport photo and identification proof such as driver’s license
- Evidence of you being a US citizen, such as a birth certificate or photocopy of the lost passport(It is essential to carry the photocopy of your passport, as it comes in handy under unfortunate circumstances)
- Travel history
- Application of DS 11 for passport
- DS 64 statement which mentions whether it has been lost or stolen
If your passport has only been stolen or lost and there’s no exigency demanded by any predicament as such then they will take the customary passport application fee and your passport will be good to go for 10 years (5 years in case of a child). However, if you are tormented by a serious crime or disaster then there won’t be any fee and you would be issued a limited passport allowing you to reach back home.
- Breach of local laws
Breaching local laws in a larger context of things is not the same as committing a crime which often involves moral considerations. However, they do hold a specific value for a particular country that they cherish and want it that way for everyone. For example, getting caught while drinking alcohol in Kuwait or clicking a picture of an edifice that you were not supposed to, etc.
If you don’t ever want to get stranded in such a quandary, then make sure to accustom yourself to the local laws. You can read them on country-specific information under subsection Local Laws and Specific Circumstances on US Department of State Travel.
If you ever get in such trouble then as per the Vienna Convention, the local consulate will be notified. Further, you can contact the local attorneys, take your eyes around the criminal justice system of that country in order to better assess the situation and be arranged funds.
- Make your case through media
While all of the above methods involve the American embassy as such, there is one method that can get you out of any trouble worth attracting the attention of the media. Let’s face it, media today is an inveterate source of getting your state of an ordeal to the other side of the tunnel. Therefore, you get swallowed up in trouble where there were misunderstandings or miscommunications then creating a media frenzy will surely help you get out of the trouble.
One such instance that can be adduced is the 2015 Amanda Knox murder verdict where the 20 years old US resident was charged for a murder case in Italy. The Italian media, however, showed her in the negative limelight which gave way for later investigations where it was found that the available evidence was incongruent with the media’s version of the story.
- Enroll in the STEP
STEP stands for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program which comes under the State Department and is mostly a free service that allows US citizens or nationals to register themselves to the nearest embassy or consulate while traveling or living abroad. The major benefits of enrolling in the program are that you will be provided with information about the specifics such as do’s and don’ts in a country, in the form of emails. It will also make the embassy aware of your existence and in case of any disaster they can help you secure contact with your family or friends.
It is worthwhile to note that the embassy will not pay for your evacuation in cases of events such as a terrorist attack or pay your medical fees, while they may endeavor to find such services for you.
