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Individuals are increasingly taking glamor shots for their passport photos, staging the lighting to enhance their appearance. This trend, however, is causing complications at immigration checkpoints. TikToker Beth Gould shared her experience upon landing in Taiwan: “The machine said my passport photo didn’t look like me, so I had to go to the desk and get my identification verified.”
Despite common embarrassment over passport or driver's license photos, some argue that attempting to impress officials with one's looks is unnecessary. Concerns arise when travelers present a photo that significantly differs from their real-time appearance after long flights.
On social media platforms like TikTok, users share stories of being detained due to discrepancies between their current appearance and their passport photos. One woman recounted being interrogated by six law enforcement officers in Turkey after undergoing Botox treatments.
