Originally Posted by
donotdespisethesnake
Yes, all citizens and especially non-citizens must "follow orders", it is for the national interest. Papers please...
I fly in and out of a couple dozen countries per year, 80+ overall, and when showing-up as crew or passenger I can't recall one where the attending agents/guards/security force personnel, soldiers etc. don't expect you follow instructions, orders, and abide by the particular and sometimes peculiar rules and regulations each country deems necessary if you hope to gain entry (including my admittance into my own). Until such time we live in a country-less global Utopia as Imagined by Lennon, when crossing borders and showing up at entry points, "Must follow" is a fact of life if one wants to be admitted. Producing the appropriate and valid papers they deem necessary (Passports, Visas, Declarations, etc) is usually part of that equation.
The closest I've come to it being otherwise was driving from the U.S. into Mexico, where the border guard leaning against the gate just waved vehicles through, looking at nothing. Of course, I didn't interpret his seeming disinterest and discretionary use of a wave-through as him being powerless to stop me to give instructions if or ask for paperwork if he had a mind to before allowing me to proceed.
Funny thing about driving into Mexico, Customs, and making assumptions like the Delta Apple-lady. A Mexican border guard waves you, your friends, and your car into Mexico. Your U.S. driver's license is valid for Mexico, but your U.S. insurance isn't. If you've done your research and purchased the car insurance that's required to be purchased from a Mexican insurance company, Mexican Customs will seize your car if you're caught driving outside a certain short distance from the border unless you've paid to obtain a Vehicle Import Permit. Yet, even with proper IDs, valid Driver's Licenses recognized by Mexico, Mexican car insurance, and a proper Vehicle Import Permit, if you let one of your buddies on the trip with a valid Driver's License drive your car without you inside the car and he's stopped, Mexican Customs will seize your vehicle and it's gone.
If that occurred, one could moan all day about how unfair and stupid that is. After all, the driver caught driving your car was allowed into Mexico at the border and also holds a Driver's license that's recognized by Mexico. Furthermore, the car had Mexican insurance papers and a Mexican Vehicle Import Permit so it could be driven anywhere in Mexico. Moreover, the Customs man at the border just waved everyone with their valid papers and licenses including those for the car. All good. So how can seizure by Customs be the penalty for merely allowing a Legal entry, valid-licensed friend use a Mexico-approved car for a short a beer run?
Well, the penalty is what Mexico decided it would be...your car. Of course, one could take their case to a Mexican court to appeal the penalty using a variation of the Delta Apple-lady Defense, telling the Judge the penalty is unfair because although the rules are written down for anyone who wants to bring a car into Mexico for driving around later to read, the Mexican border guard didn't stop them to point out that particular rule and emphasize that when driving in Mexico the owner of the car must be in the car at all times it's being driven or Mexican Customs will seize and keep it.
"Your Honor, I understand the rules but the border dude just waved us through and didn't say anything, which is the most important thing to me, so "common sense" says letting my friend Jake borrow the car to go buy a 12-pack of Pacifico is no big deal. He was totally sober and a real good driver. He has a license. It was just a short errand. The border dude waved us through making me think everything was okay. If he only would have said something, so it's sorta his fault...but now I'm the one being treated like a criminal!"
Ah, those funny Customs rules that can't be divined through "common sense" can seem like a sneaky, unfair trap to those that depend on it and/or timely spoon-fed info from others instead of using the kind of sense it takes to read and seek answers before it all goes pear-shaped..