3 Travel Mistakes That Could Get You Banned From Your Favorite Country - Nomad Notes | EP 37

Get Your Free Guide: 7 Ways to Become a Digital Nomad
https://www.thedigitalnomadcoach.com/

Could one simple mistake ruin your dream trip abroad?

Ryan shares a gripping travel tale that every digital nomad needs to hear. If you’ve ever planned a trip overseas, you might think you’ve dotted all your i’s and crossed all your t’s. But what if something small, like a late-night arrival or an overlooked passport detail, could throw your entire adventure off track?

From visa misunderstandings to being denied boarding at the airport, Ryan reveals how easy it is to get caught in immigration red tape and how to avoid it without stress or panic.

You’ll walk away with simple, practical tips that could save you hundreds (even thousands) of dollars and a lot of frustration. Plus, you’ll learn about one cheap trick that can keep you flying without buying expensive fake itineraries or guessing your next destination. 

Listen now to find out the three most common mistakes nomads make and how you can stay ahead of them without ever breaking a sweat.

MORE FROM RYAN MELLON

One-on-One 1 Hour Strategy Session with Ryan: Tap Here

Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedigitalnomadcoach/

Learn how to be a Digital Nomad: https://www.thedigitalnomadcoach.com/

Please Support the Show

• Share this episode with a friend or family member
• Give a Review on Spotify
• Give a Review on Apple

DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ryan Mellon: Welcome back to Digital Nomad Nation, nomad Notes edition where we dive into bite-size insights to help you build a life of freedom, purpose, and remote work from anywhere on earth. Today I wanted to share some of the pitfalls of digital nomad life that's happened to me and that I've seen to happen to other digital nomads.

[00:00:19] Ryan Mellon: So rewinding back to 2019, I had just. Spent an entire month in Bali. It was my very, very first trip to Bali, and I just had the most amazing time. I'm coming off this high of, volcanoes and ATVs through rice fields and, amazing beaches and just the most amazing people and friendliest.

[00:00:43] Ryan Mellon: Locals I've ever met, some of the best food and great prices, and just really enjoyed my time. And I was heading out of the country and I got stopped at immigration. and they looked at my passport and he's not looking happy. And [00:01:00] I'm like, oh boy, what's happening? And he is like, you've overstayed.

[00:01:03] Ryan Mellon: And I'm like, no, I did not. I definitely did not. I. Counted my days, my 30 days, and used all of 'em, like every single one of 'em. But I counted it up multiple times before deciding to leave Bali. And so he, we get into a big argument and I end up in immigration office, where I am now talking to the immigration boss and we're arguing about.

[00:01:28] Ryan Mellon: Counting up the days and how the way I count counts to 30 and the way they count counts to 31. And there was another girl there, that was just, showed up the same day that I did, who was there for the same exact problem. She was there 31 days. So me and her are comparing our passports and looking at the calendar and counting the days, trying to convince these guys that we were only in the country for 30 days.

[00:01:55] Ryan Mellon: But here's the catch. my arrival at 11:00 PM on my [00:02:00] very first day is I guess that one hour counted as a day to them. Long story short, we were escorted by immigration to, like actual criminals to the ATM to pay our fine, which was up to almost 70 US dollars, which was pretty steep for over staying one day.

[00:02:22] Ryan Mellon: And the moral of that story is, you know, just make double check. Your days triple check your dates, but also if you're not really sure, you can, call immigrations. Office or at the airport when they give you your stamp or when you come in, ask them for the exact day you need to leave so you don't get in trouble.

[00:02:41] Ryan Mellon: One of the things that I've seen happen to other people is if you overstay and they're really not happy with you, not only could you get fined or jailed, but you could also get. banned from the country forever. So that's another really good, thing to just make sure that you're good to go on because [00:03:00] that's something that you don't wanna fall in love with the country and then get banned from it.

[00:03:05] Ryan Mellon: And here's another one that I've seen. Other nomads, it's just as sneaky if your passport has less than six months on it. Let's say you're gonna go to Mexico from the states just one week on a vacation. you don't realize your passport has. Less than six months on it before it expires. They will not let you on the plane to Mexico.

[00:03:26] Ryan Mellon: and it's because the country has a rule that they don't allow people to come in that have less than six months left on their passport. a lot of countries have this rule and this trips up a lot of people. I had a friend who spent thousands of dollars on a plane ticket. All the way on to the other side of the world.

[00:03:44] Ryan Mellon: A very expensive trip, had accommodations lined up, had everything ready to go, and his trip was less than six months. But he only had six months left on his passport and could not get on the plane, and the whole [00:04:00] thing just lost all the money for everything. Trip was ruined, had to renew the passport, took weeks, and then start all over.

[00:04:07] Ryan Mellon: So just make sure you guys keep an eye out for those type of things. It can happen. And the last one that happened to me was when I was flying into Thailand from Australia. I'm about to get on my flight on a one-way ticket, and they asked me for my flight out of Thailand and I said, well, I don't have my flight out of Thailand yet.

[00:04:31] Ryan Mellon: I don't know what my schedule looks like. I don't know where I'm gonna go next. I don't know when I'm gonna leave. Of course I'm gonna leave before the end of my 30 days or my 60 days when whatever they give me. But they would not accept that answer. And that's when I realized there's another, pitfall that is quite common that happens to a lot of people that if you don't know about.

[00:04:52] Ryan Mellon: Will really hem you up. And that is if you fly into a country on a one-way ticket, they want to see that you [00:05:00] have transportation, usually a flight out of that country in less than the amount of time that the tourist visa is gonna give you. So what I ended up doing that day was getting on my laptop, getting on the airport wifi and booking a ticket out of Thailand, out of an airport that I had not planned on even being in or near to a country I didn't even plan on going to, and paying like over a hundred dollars for it, just 'cause it was the cheapest flight I possibly could find.

[00:05:31] Ryan Mellon: and I showed it to him and that worked and I was able to get. on my plane. But um, after that, talking to other people and other travelers, I realized there's, uh, there is a much better solution for this. And it's called onward ticket.com. I am not sponsored by them, but I do use them all the time.

[00:05:49] Ryan Mellon: And I believe the last time I used it's 14 US dollars. You can book a refundable ticket that is a available, and legitimately, [00:06:00] Book for you, for 48 hours, and you can use that to show both, the airline carrier and immigration that you do have a plan to leave before you, your time is up in that country.

[00:06:12] Ryan Mellon: And so I think it's important, it's a really good tool to use because it only costs $14 and of course you're not actually gonna use it and you're gonna follow the rules and you're going to, Leave your country when you're supposed to and not get in trouble with immigration, and have to, get escorted to the ATM.

[00:06:31] Ryan Mellon: So just a little bit of advice for you guys, as you, are out there, and I hope you guys have a great week, and I'll see you on the next one. 

[00:06:40] Ryan Mellon: Thanks for listening to another episode of Digital Nomad Nation. I hope today's stories have inspired you to take the next step towards location independence. If you've enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. Your support fuels our mission to [00:07:00] inspire the digital nomad lifestyle.

[00:07:02] Ryan Mellon: Before you go, don't forget to grab your free copy of my guide, Seven Ways to Become a Digital Nomad. It's packed with practical tips to kickstart your nomadic journey. You can find the link in the episode description. And remember, the life you've always dreamed of is just one bold decision away. Until next time, this is the Digital Nomad Coach, Ryan Mellon, signing off.

[00:07:30] ​