Will you *not* visit or transit a place because of its laws?
 

Just wondering if anyone takes a very strong stand on this. Example things / reasons that come to my mind can range among:

-- Reports of Middle East countries detaining people for things they were unaware of, preventing departure of "indentured servants", lack of due process. (example in the extreme: the "1 poppyseed" story)

-- Disagreeing with a country's law on same sex marriage or relations

-- Florida's stand your ground law that you might get mistakenly shot under

-- A country economically or politically oppressing a group of people

I'm sure that any person might have a list of countries they are less interested in, because of things like this. I'm curious, does anyone here more actively avoid, or refuse to be sent for business to any such place because of reasons like this?

Just curious to know whether people do this, and how they think through it.


(I myself, in more FT fashion, only ever swore to myself that I'd never transit through the UK again because of the incredible ticket taxes starting when I was a student, but had to give that one up pretty quickly for business reasons).

Sounds to me that you just may want to stay home.

Seriously, if you dig hard enough you can find some issue with most any location.

Maryland
 

Peoples Republic of Maryland. My carry permit is valid in most states, but not MD. I won't even stop for gas in that state.

A lot of people refuse to transfer in the USA because of the certainty of being molested or at least peeped at by the TSA.

Add to that CSBA idiocy, and the USA should most certainly top any avioid in transit lists.

Expensive or cumbersome visa laws usually convince me to give a country a pass. There are too many other countries that actually want visitors to waste my time with those that don't.

Any country that treats guests like criminals (fingerprinting) or denies air travel to those unwilling to enter the nudeoscope is on my personal no-fly list. I'd avoid the USA if I could; unfortunately I currently cannot.

As long as the UK has its "no opt out" rule we won't be spending our vacation dollars there.

There are other countries that I would like to visit, but because of their current state of (relative) lawlessness I won't.

It's a personal choice, of course. However, refusing to travel to, or transit through, a particular country is not going to change a thing in that country.

Beat me to it! Yes, cumbersome, expensive visa laws are a serious deterrent, particularly ones that want an upfront plane ticket as part of the application (hello? Who buys fully refundable tickets? Or wants to go through the hassle of buying one and then cashing it in and buying a cheaper one if and when the visa is granted?)

Also visas that take weeks to acquire (Algeria!). I don't like having my passport tied up for that long.

I will not visit Saudi Arabia because of its state policy of anti-semitism. I will not visit Dubai because I have prescription medication that would get me arrested there. Otherwise, I can't really think of any other place that I wouldn't visit.

What's the UK's "no opt out" rule?

If you are ordered to go through a whole body scanner (Nude-o-Scope), you are not allowed to opt out, as you can elsewhere.

?? What meds in Dubai (if you don't mind)?

I was shocked when I went to Japan and learned (while I was there) that the Sudafed I had with me was illegal.

You've obviously never had to acquire a US visa :p

One of the very few countries in the world (Canada is another actually) - that just transiting and not leaving the airport requires an expensive visa.

Percodan for migraines.

I didn't know that. Interesting.

We should probably start a stickied thread: "Prescriptions that are legal at home but not in another country."