Laws of the land

LAWS OF THE LAND… 👩🏽‍⚖

….Customs and Borders.

As a footballer, understandably, you do a lot of travelling, be it for pleasure or for work. Travelling can be stressful at the best of times – booking taxis, lugging suitcases around, repacking/or paying excess luggage (Nigerians 🙋🏽‍♀️🇳🇬), going through security, etc. sooooo doing some research on the country you are visiting beforehand (moreso if you are going there for the first time) will certainly help reduce some of that pressure.

If you are travelling and crossing a border (legally) via air, sea or road you are most likely going to be processed and asked for your immigration documents (passports, visas, resident permits, etc.). In addition, border control (who are there to protect their borders) will want to know what you are taking into and out of their country, a.k.a. “Wetin you carry?”. You MUST read signs and listen to announcements at the airport/port to avoid breaking any laws and getting yourself into trouble.

A few months ago, a football player Mr X contacted me quite distressed. He had been paid his remaining salary in cash (approx. $30k), the day he was departing his North African club. He travelled through a couple of countries, including Tunisia, and the money was seized at the airport as he was leaving 🤦🏽‍♀️. He was only allowed to take $1,500 with him 😩.

I have been looking into the matter to see how best I can assist him recover the funds but it has been proving quite difficult. The language barrier doesn’t help either.

Anyway, upon doing some research I discovered a couple of interesting facts (for when I decide to go to Tunisia on holiday 😆):

1️⃣ You are not allowed to take Tunisian dinars out of the country.

2️⃣ You need to exchange any leftover dinar to another currency, GBP or dollar for instance.

3️⃣ Visitors must declare cash brought into Tunisia in excess of TND 10,000 (or foreign currency equivalent). You must also declare amounts above TND 5,000 if you wish to export that amount upon departure.

If Mr X had this information prior to his trip, this could have been avoided. As we stand, his hard earned, legally acquired cash is sitting somewhere in Tunisia because he was ignorant of the law…

… and as lawyers know, ignorance of the law is not a defence 🤷🏽‍♀️

Don’t be a victim… 😖

PS – Whilst in a foreign country, it’s always good to have details of your country’s embassy to hand in case you ever need it. However, please bear in mind that the embassy cannot override decisions made by another country, but they may be able to offer you some advice or assistance if you are in trouble.

You could potentially also contact the county’s embassy in your country (or your country or departure) to seek clarification before your trip.

Ref: https://lnkd.in/dv3n9ngX

https://lnkd.in/dmMmKSRi


To enjoy the full benefit of this post and some interesting comments, you can also view it on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eby-emenike-0726195_tbdfootballeducation-tunisia-customs-activity-7217072751776264194-HmuA?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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