Laws in other countries differ from those in the United States across nearly every category a traveler or expatriate touches: what you can say, what you can carry, how you drive, what you can smoke or drink, whether you can own land, and what happens if you’re arrested. Some gaps are small. Others are the difference between a shrug and a death sentence. What follows is a practical tour of where the divergence is widest and where it matters most.
Everyday Conduct That’s Legal Here, Punished There
Start with chewing gum. Singapore banned the import and sale of chewing gum in 1992 after it interfered with the country’s new subway system, and trafficking in gum can bring a fine of up to S$100,000 (roughly US$74,000) and two years in prison on a first offense.1Singapore Statutes Online. Regulation of Imports and Exports (Chewing Gum) Regulations Littering in the same country can cost up to S$2,000 on a first offense, and repeat offenders face fines up to S$10,000 and community service cleaning streets in a green vest.
Public displays of affection sit in a legal gray zone in much of the world. Holding hands or kissing in public draws no attention in the U.S. or Western Europe. In parts of the Middle East, in Dubai, and in India, tourists have been fined or jailed for the same conduct, with penalties reaching up to three months in some jurisdictions.
Dress codes also carry legal weight abroad. Saudi Arabia and Iran require modest clothing in public, with women expected to cover their arms, legs, and hair. The UAE requires covered shoulders and knees near mosques and government buildings. Even in more relaxed destinations like Thailand, Turkey, and Vatican City, visitors have been denied entry to religious sites or fined for wearing shorts and sleeveless tops.
Driving and the Road
Roughly 75 countries and territories drive on the left, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and India. That’s the obvious difference. The subtler ones catch more Americans out.
Turning right on a red light is routine in the U.S. and unusual almost everywhere else. Most of Europe, Asia, and South America prohibit it unless a sign or signal specifically allows it. Drunk driving thresholds are also tighter abroad. The U.S. standard is 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration; many European countries set the limit at 0.05 percent. Croatia imposes zero tolerance on drivers under 25 and on professional drivers, and several Middle Eastern countries enforce a 0.00 percent BAC for everyone.
Your state license is valid in Canada and Mexico. Elsewhere, many countries require an International Driving Permit alongside it, and you should check the State Department’s country-specific guidance before you rent a car.2USAGov. International Drivers License for U.S. Citizens An IDP is a translated version of your license, not a replacement, so you carry both.
Several European countries also require safety equipment that no U.S. state mandates. In France, drivers must carry a high-visibility vest and a warning triangle; failing to produce them during a police check can result in a fine of up to €38, and failing to use them during a roadside emergency can cost up to €750.3Service Public. Compulsory Car Equipment: Safety Vest, Triangle Germany, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Austria have similar rules. France also mandates winter tires or snow chains between November and March in mountainous regions. Confirm the equipment is in your rental before you drive off the lot.
What You Can Bring Across a Border
U.S. law requires you to report any currency or monetary instruments exceeding $10,000 when entering or leaving the country. The threshold applies to the combined total for families or groups traveling together, not per person. Failing to declare can result in the money being seized, plus civil or criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment.4U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Money and Other Monetary Instruments The EU uses a similar €10,000 threshold. Other countries set their own limits, and some are considerably lower.
Food, plants, and animal products are tightly controlled at most borders. Australia and New Zealand are especially strict, with heavy fines for failing to declare even small quantities of fresh food.
The area where travelers stumble most often, though, is prescription medication. Drugs that are perfectly legal with a prescription in the U.S. can be classified as illegal narcotics elsewhere. Adderall and other amphetamine-based ADHD medications are banned in Japan; a U.S. citizen was arrested there after having her medication shipped to her. Many countries across the Middle East, Asia, and Southeast Asia ban or heavily restrict common stimulant medications. Some European countries require advance documentation. Check the rules of your destination for every prescription you carry, and bring a copy of the prescription along with the original pharmacy packaging.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
The U.S. drinking age of 21 is among the highest in the world. Most countries in Europe, South America, and Asia set the minimum at 18, and Cuba allows purchase at 16. A handful of countries prohibit alcohol entirely, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, and Pakistan, with varying exceptions for non-Muslim residents or religious ceremonies.
Tobacco rules have diverged sharply as well. Many countries have implemented indoor smoking bans more comprehensive than any in the U.S., and a growing number extend them to outdoor public spaces. Over 20 countries require plain packaging on tobacco products, stripping away brand logos and colors and replacing them with health warnings.5World Health Organization. Tobacco Plain Packaging: Global Status 2021 Update Australia pioneered the approach, and the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have followed.
Drug penalties are where international law becomes genuinely life-threatening. A growing number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for personal use, but 34 countries still authorize the death penalty for drug offenses. Over 615 people were confirmed executed for drug crimes worldwide in 2024, with Iran responsible for roughly 79 percent of known drug-related executions. Singapore executed eight people for drug trafficking in a four-month span in late 2024 alone.6Harm Reduction International. The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2024 The distance between a country where cannabis is sold in licensed shops and one where carrying it triggers a capital charge is not academic.
Firearms and Self-Defense Tools
The United States has the highest civilian gun ownership rate on the planet, at roughly 121 firearms per 100 residents, and the Second Amendment creates a right that has no close equivalent elsewhere. Japan, by contrast, permits only shotguns and air guns under its Firearms and Swords Control Law. Obtaining one requires formal instruction, written and mental health exams, drug testing, a background check, and annual police inspections of how the weapon is stored. Most of Europe, East Asia, and Oceania treat gun ownership as a privilege that requires demonstrated need.
Self-defense items Americans take for granted face similar restrictions. The United Kingdom bans locking-blade knives and any knife with a blade over three inches in public. Germany prohibits automatic and spring-loaded knives. France bans blades longer than 20 centimeters. Japan prohibits blades longer than 15 centimeters. In Canada, carrying a concealed knife is generally not permitted, and automatic knives are banned outright. Pepper spray, stun guns, and similar tools that are legal in most U.S. states are illegal in many countries, including the UK, Japan, and much of the EU.
Speech, Religion, and Assembly
Freedom of speech receives broader legal protection in the U.S. than in almost any other country. The First Amendment shields expression that is criminal in dozens of nations.
Blasphemy
Blasphemy remains a criminal offense in many jurisdictions. Pakistan imposes penalties ranging from fines to death, with Section 295-C of its Penal Code prescribing death for defaming the Prophet Muhammad. India criminalizes deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings, with penalties of up to three years imprisonment. Singapore imposes up to five years for similar offenses. Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act of 2018 extended blasphemy-related penalties to online expression, with up to ten years in prison for repeat offenders.
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust denial is specifically criminalized across much of Europe. Germany punishes denial or minimization of Nazi crimes with up to five years in prison. France’s Gayssot Act carries up to one year in prison and fines up to €45,000. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, and several other European countries have their own criminal provisions, with maximum sentences ranging from one to six years.7European Parliament. Holocaust Denial in Criminal Law The same speech is protected in the U.S. under the First Amendment.
Religious Symbols in Public Life
Some countries restrict religious expression in public rather than protecting it. France banned ostentatious religious symbols in public schools through a 2004 law, explicitly naming the Islamic headscarf, the kippah, and oversized crucifixes. The principle of laïcité treats the public school system as a space free from religious expression.
LGBTQ+ Rights
The legal landscape for LGBTQ+ individuals runs from full equality to criminalization carrying the death penalty. Nearly 40 jurisdictions recognize same-sex marriage, with the Netherlands the first in 2001 and countries including Belgium, Canada, and Thailand joining later. On the other end, 65 jurisdictions still criminalize private, consensual same-sex activity. Penalties range from two years imprisonment in countries like Turkmenistan and Chad to life imprisonment in Tanzania and Zambia. Twelve countries retain the death penalty as a possible punishment, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Uganda enacted an Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023 that punishes attempting to contract a same-sex marriage with up to ten years imprisonment.
Protest
Peaceful protest is broadly protected in the U.S., subject to time, place, and manner restrictions. Many countries require advance government permits with substantial lead times, restrict protests to designated areas away from government buildings, limit participant numbers, or authorize police to disperse even peaceful gatherings quickly. Arrests for unsanctioned demonstrations are routine in countries with recent histories of political instability.
Defamation
Online defamation is a civil matter in the U.S.: you can be sued for damages, but not imprisoned. Many other countries treat it as a criminal offense. India criminalizes defamation with up to two years in jail. Canada’s criminal code includes defamatory libel with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, though charges are rare. Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act specifically extends criminal defamation to online speech, with penalties of up to five years for posts deemed defamatory toward individuals, companies, or government institutions.
Digital Privacy and Internet Access
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is the most consequential data privacy law in the world and applies to any company, American or otherwise, that handles the personal data of people in the EU. GDPR grants individuals the right to access their data, correct it, delete it (the “right to be forgotten”), and transfer it to another company. Companies must explain their data practices in plain language and obtain meaningful consent before collecting information. Non-compliance carries fines of up to €20 million or 4 percent of global annual revenue, whichever is higher.8Your Europe – European Union. Data Protection Under GDPR No U.S. federal law comes close.
Internet censorship also diverges sharply. China blocks most Western social media platforms and requires the use of domestic alternatives. North Korea effectively bars its citizens from the global internet. Iran restricts a wide range of foreign websites and social media. Iraq, Myanmar, and Pakistan have shut down social media access during protests and exam periods.
Virtual private networks, which Americans use freely, are illegal or heavily restricted in several countries. North Korea treats possessing VPN software as a serious crime. Belarus fines citizens caught using VPNs, with repeat offenders facing jail time. China allows only government-approved providers. Iran requires government permits for both providers and users, and using an unlicensed VPN can bring up to a year in prison. The UAE permits VPNs for legitimate business use but imposes fines up to $540,000 for using one to access blocked content.
Work and Termination
The U.S. is an outlier among wealthy nations on worker protections. There is no federal requirement for paid vacation days. Most developed countries mandate at least 20. France and Finland guarantee 25. Austria provides 25, rising to 30 after 25 years of service. The United Kingdom mandates 28 working days, often inclusive of public holidays. Japan guarantees 10 paid vacation days initially, scaling up to 20.
Firing an employee is also far more difficult in most of the world. In roughly three-quarters of the countries in a major international employment survey, employees are entitled to a formal notice period before termination, and in 42 of 64 countries studied, employers must provide both a notice period and a separate severance payment. In Brazil, both an indemnity in lieu of notice and a severance payment are legally required even when the employee is dismissed for cause. In Ecuador, terminating an employee requires prior government approval. The U.S. system of at-will employment is genuinely rare in global labor law.
Photography
Photographing buildings, bridges, and government facilities from public spaces is generally legal in the U.S. Many countries treat it very differently. Military bases, government buildings, airports, and sometimes even bridges or power plants are off-limits for photography in parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In South Korea, two tourists who photographed military aircraft at an air show were sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, under the Military Base and Military Facilities Protection Act. Signs prohibiting photography aren’t always posted, and pleading ignorance rarely helps.
Buying Property as a Foreigner
Americans accustomed to buying property freely may be surprised that many countries restrict or prohibit land ownership by foreign nationals. A Library of Congress review of major economies found that five do not allow foreigners to own land at all: China, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Thailand.9Library of Congress. Law Librarys New Report Reviews Foreign Ownership of Land Restriction in Major Economies In some of these countries, foreigners can lease property for long terms or buy condominiums but cannot hold title to the land itself. Mexico restricts foreign ownership in its “restricted zone” within 50 kilometers of the coast or 100 kilometers of a border, requiring purchases to go through a bank trust. These rules affect retirement plans, investment strategies, and vacation home purchases.
If You’re Arrested Abroad
The process will feel nothing like what American television depicts. Under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the arresting country must inform you of your right to contact your country’s embassy or consulate and must forward any communication you make to your consular representative without delay.10U.S. Department of State. Consular Notification and Access A consular officer can visit you, help you find a local attorney, and communicate with your family. They cannot get you out of jail or override local law.
Pretrial detention rules vary enormously. In the U.S., you’re generally entitled to a prompt hearing and the possibility of bail. Bolivia caps pretrial detention at 12 months without indictment and 24 months without a verdict. Mexico sets a one-year maximum. Some countries have no firm statutory cap, and detainees have spent years awaiting trial. The international standard requires that pretrial detention last only a “reasonable period,” but what counts as reasonable depends entirely on the jurisdiction.
Local norms also compound the stress. Many countries do not guarantee a right to remain silent during police questioning. Some require you to carry identification at all times, and failing to produce it can be a separate offense. If you’re arrested abroad, contacting your embassy is the single most important step you can take.