Felons lose various rights upon being convicted, from their right to own a firearm to serving on a jury or voting — and former presidents aren't excluded from those restrictions.
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying records in his New York hush money trial, making him a convicted felon. Now he'll have to navigate what that status means for his rights as any other American felon — but also as one worldwide.
That's because traveling is another right affected by felonies, with 38 nations — including the U.S. — either denying felons entry upfront or denying them if their criminal record is discovered, according to World Population Review. And with the public stage that Trump is on, that latter scenario would probably occur few and far between.
This may affect the Republican presidential front-runner's ability to fulfill his foreign duties if he's reelected come November. And although worldly leaders could make an exception in their travel bans for Trump, it's unclear which countries would be willing to do so, particularly as some of them have been on rocky ground with the former president.
For example, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former President Trump clashed publicly, and Canada reserves the right to refuse entrance to felons upfront. Similarly, with Ukraine, felons are denied if discovered, and Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's tumultuous relationship escalated into the former's impeachment.
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It's also worth noting that four of the G-7 nations have felon travel bans: Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. The group meets regularly to discuss international topics, and the unannounced 2025 date is set to be hosted in Canada. That would mean Prime Minister Trudeau would have to make a decision on bending his felon-travel ban for a potential President Trump or he'd exclude the leader from physical attendance.
Other countries included in the list are some that Trump has touted on the campaign trail as policy-related focal points such as Mexico and border laws, Israel and its war in Gaza, and "stopping Chinese espionage," according to his website. Mexico denies felons if discovered, while Israel and China deny them upfront.
Again, World Population Review says it's unlikely border officials will ask about a person's criminal record upon their arrival, but with Trump's public status they won't necessarily need to. And some only deny entry to the felons who are deemed a security risk.
Come November, here's the full list of countries that may have to decide if and how they'll change their current rules now that a former president is affected by them for the first time, with data from World Population Review.
Countries that don't allow convicted felons to enter:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Canada
- China
- Cuba
- India
- Iran
- Israel
- Japan
- Kenya
- Macau
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
- United States
Countries that will deny entry to felons if discovered:
- Brazil
- Cambodia
- Chile
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Peru
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
