A single bag belonging to someone else or an expired stay can lead to legal trouble in a foreign country. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged citizens to prepare more carefully for trips abroad and offered several practical tips, infohub.kz reports.
According to the ministry, Kazakh citizens often find themselves in difficult situations abroad due to ignorance of local laws and regulations. These include overstaying permitted periods, violating visa and migration requirements, breaking transit rules, and attempting to transport prohibited or undeclared goods.
Before traveling, the ministry advises studying the requirements of the destination country and transit states. Diplomats recommend paying particular attention to the validity of passports, visas, residence permits, and other necessary documents.
Kazakh citizens are also advised not to hand over their documents to third parties and not to agree to carry other people's bags, parcels, or other items if their contents are unknown. Even if a person is unaware of what is inside the luggage, this does not always exempt them from possible consequences in another country.
The ministry recommends arranging medical insurance in advance and buying airline tickets only through official services. It is also necessary to comply with airline baggage requirements and transit rules.
Those traveling abroad for work, study, or treatment are advised to check all necessary documents in advance. In particular, they should verify the legality of invitations, employment contracts, residence permits, and other documents.
The ministry called for special attention to group trips: carefully checking agreements with organizers and planning ahead for unforeseen situations. As an example, the ministry cited a recent situation in the United States where about 200 Kazakh students were left without housing.
"Kazakhstan's diplomatic and consular missions provide citizens with necessary consular and legal assistance within their competence. At the same time, responsibility for complying with the laws of the host country and meeting established requirements rests directly with the citizen," said Zhambolat Usenov, official spokesperson for Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, at a briefing.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that on September 15, new entry and exit rules came into force in China. Foreigners who provide false information when applying for a visa or at border control face a ban on entering China for up to five years.