# Things illegal for US Citizens to to abroad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548 "2011-09-25T13:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/1 "2011-09-25T13:51:13Z")
Are there any things that it is illegal for a US\* Citizen to do whilst visiting another first world countryɫ, even though the act they perform is legal inside that country, to the point they can be prosecuted when they get home even though they can demonstrate they never did it on US soil? - Or any other first world nation ɫ Or simply travelling between states ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/2 "2011-09-25T14:04:07Z")
Not quite what you were looking for, I expect, but the practice of taxing US citizens on income earned while living overseas is close, and quite unusual from what I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/3 "2011-09-25T14:08:31Z")
For Canadians, child sex. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/4 "2011-09-25T14:09:29Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > For Canadians, child sex. Same for the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/5 "2011-09-25T14:10:03Z")
It’s illegal for a U.S. citizen to buy a Cuban cigar (or other Cuban product) in another country where such a purchase is otherwise legal. [Cite](http://cigars.about.com/od/cubantradeembargo/qt/0062002a.htm). > [@](#): > > Technically, although an American citizen cannot even purchase or smoke a Cuban cigar while traveling abroad, there may not be any practical way to enforce the restriction. > > \ > > Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515, (Revised September 30, 2004) are administered and enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Criminal penalties for violation of the Regulations can go as high as $1 million for corporations, and $250,000 for individuals plus up to 10 years in prison. In addition, civil penalties of up to $65,000 per violation can be imposed by OFAC. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/6 "2011-09-25T14:11:48Z")
I’m wondering if this might be referring to having sex with a child who would be considered underage in the US but of the legal age of consent elsewhere. (Spain?) And I have no idea whether or how you could be prosecuted for it. ---
**Author:** ![nolonger\_lurking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/41988e/32.png) [@nolonger\_lurking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nolonger_lurking)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/7 "2011-09-25T14:15:16Z")
Having sex with someone under 18 is I think the big one. Interestingly enough, Americans can leaving a state with an age of consent of 16, travel to a foreign country where prostitution is legal, pay a 17 year old for sex, and get busted upon return under the PROTECT act of 2003. I don’t know if this has ever actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/8 "2011-09-25T14:26:40Z")
[The United States Department of Justice indicted Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, for committing torture in Liberia.](http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/08/26/first-prosecution-united-states-torture-committed-abroad)Taylor is an American citizen. [In United States v. Andrew Warren, a former official with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was sentenced in the District of Columbia to 65 months in prison for abusive sexual contact committed while on U.S. Embassy property in Algiers, Algeria.](http://www.justice.gov/criminal/pr/testimony/2011/crm-testimony-110525.html) However, the embassy is technically US soil so this may not count. This may not be exactly what you are asking but a diplomat, who would normally be protected by diplomatic immunity in a host country, could commit a crime in that country but be prosecuted in and under the laws of his home country ([example](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2002/03/09/knyazev_020309.html)). In general, though, you are subject to the laws of the country you are in. If a US citizen visits a country where an act is legal, but illegal in the US, they generally can’t be prosecuted on returning home. The other side of the coin is that if you break the law in another country you are subject to their laws and punishment. There are many countries with [drugs laws much more severe than those in the US](http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/tips_1232.html#drug_offenses) and your US citizenship doesn’t help you. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/9 "2011-09-25T14:42:20Z")
I believe that bribing local officials is illegal for American companies and individuals, even in countries where such practice is not only tolerated but expected. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/10 "2011-09-25T15:27:59Z")
It is a violation of British law for any person anywhere in the world to plan or conduct espionage against the United Kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/11 "2011-09-25T15:30:41Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Not quite what you were looking for, I expect, but the practice of taxing US citizens on income earned while living overseas is close, and quite unusual from what I’ve seen. Don’t know where you get the idea from that it’s in any way unusual: it’s common practice to tax both all people earning money inside country X regardless of citizenship and taxing all citizens of country X regardless of residence. It is in practice often difficult for country X to determine how much their citizens abroad are earning and so people get their money aside, but that doesn’t change the theory. To prevent double-taxing, most first-world countries therefore have so-called “double taxation agreements”: if you are a citizen of country A living in country B, the income tax you pay to country B will be credited to your income tax due in country A. Or you maybe exempt from paying income tax to country B, only to country A (the practicalities vary). ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/12 "2011-09-25T15:41:00Z")
> [@nolonger\_lurking](#): > > Having sex with someone under 18 is I think the big one. Interestingly enough, Americans can leaving a state with an age of consent of 16, travel to a foreign country where prostitution is legal, pay a 17 year old for sex, and get busted upon return under the PROTECT act of 2003. I don’t know if this has ever actually happened. Paying a 17 year old prostitute for sex is a crime, _not_ simply having sex with a 17 year old. Consensual, noncommercial sex with a 16 year old is legal just about everywhere, even in accordance with the PROTECT ACT. Also, one can have sex with a 15 year old if there is less than a 4 year age difference. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/13 "2011-09-25T15:46:22Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > It is a violation of British law for any person anywhere in the world to plan or conduct espionage against the United Kingdom. Even non-citizens of the UK? ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/14 "2011-09-25T15:59:37Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Don’t know where you get the idea from that it’s in any way unusual: it’s common practice to tax both all people earning money inside country X regardless of citizenship and taxing all citizens of country X regardless of residence. Are you sure it’s common practice? I only have knowledge of the Irish case, where Irish citizens living abroad are not liable for tax in Ireland on income earned overseas. I don’t know how many countries follow the Irish model and how many the US model, but I always thought the US model was the unusual one. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/15 "2011-09-25T16:06:09Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Don’t know where you get the idea from that it’s in any way unusual: it’s common practice to tax both all people earning money inside country X regardless of citizenship and taxing all citizens of country X regardless of residence. Not true for Germany, for example. A German citizen who resides abroad and earns all her money abroad does not owe any taxes to the German government. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/16 "2011-09-25T16:12:28Z")
How about piracy? I seem to recall there was a pirate captured off the coast of Somalia who is being tried in U.S. courts. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/17 "2011-09-25T16:22:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s illegal for a U.S. citizen to buy a Cuban cigar (or other Cuban product) in another country where such a purchase is otherwise legal. [Cite](http://cigars.about.com/od/cubantradeembargo/qt/0062002a.htm). I had no idea! I’ve seen several of my American friends buying Cuban cigars in Canada, because they were available. I don’t think any of them knew that they were still breaking the law. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/18 "2011-09-25T16:25:09Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > How about piracy? I seem to recall there was a pirate captured off the coast of Somalia who is being tried in U.S. courts. Are you sure that piracy is illegal in Somalia, though? If it’s badly enforced in real life doesn’t mean it’s legal, which was the OPs condition. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/19 "2011-09-25T16:26:18Z")
Piracy on the high seas is a special case, as pirates are considered “[hostis humani generis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostis_humani_generis)”, enemies of all mankind, and any state may arrest, try and punish pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548/20 "2011-09-25T16:40:41Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I had no idea! I’ve seen several of my American friends buying Cuban cigars in Canada, because they were available. I don’t think any of them knew that they were still breaking the law. The ‘law’ technically exists as an amendment by the Bush administration in 2004 to the Cuba embargo. As noted in this [piece](http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2007/06/no_cuban_cigars_abroad_too_1.php), how it became a law and the constitutionality of that law are questionable. I’m in a part of Mexico very popular with tourists from the US and Canada, they sell Cuban cigars here at almost every little corner store, and one of the first questions many tourists ask when they get off the plane is where they can find them. I haven’t heard of any cases of this being prosecuted but it would be interesting to see if it stood up in court once challenged. > [@](#): > > It does say that this is a change that was made in September 2004, but it does not say whether that change was made by an act of Congress, by executive order or by administrative rule. Regardless, I don’t see any possible constitutional basis for any Federal authority to make it illegal for an American to buy a product and use it in another country where that product is legal. They have the authority to prevent it from being imported, but there is no authority in the Constitution for regulating what Americans can purchase in another country. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-illegal-for-us-citizens-to-to-abroad/597548.md?page=2)