Utopian Financial Infrastructure

Visas And International Travel

This chapter addresses key questions related to travel between Utopian societies. It explores: How can a citizen determine whether they are permitted to travel to a particular society? Will a passport be required? Is a visa required? Are there any additional requirements for international travel? What are a traveler's rights and responsibilities in a foreign Utopian society? How does the airport process compare with present-day procedures? How does a traveler pay for goods and services in the society they are visiting? What should a traveler do if they lose their phone?

Overview

International travel has become more prevalent today than it was a century ago. Sometimes, it is for business, and sometimes it is for pleasure. Sometimes, it is to meet friends or members of one's extended family. These desires will continue to exist. Thus, international travel will continue between Utopian societies.

When someone visits another country, three parties are involved: the visitor, the visitor's home country, and the host country that the visitor visits.

The ability to visit another society is a privilege, not a right. Visitors require either explicit permission (such as a visa) or implicit permission granted through agreements between societies.

Regardless of permission, international travelers currently require a passport and possibly a visa. Other requirements, such as vaccinations, may also apply.

How can citizens check their eligibility to travel to another society? They simply check the host society's website. This is discussed in the section "Travel Eligibility Check". Such a check may reveal that a citizen requires a travel visa, which is a form of explicit permission.

How can citizens obtain a travel visa for another society? This process is outlined in the section "Obtaining a Visa". The process is simple and requires minimal effort from the prospective visitor.

Once a citizen is eligible to travel, they may take a plane to the host society. We will outline a visitor's interactions at an airport in the section "Travel by Plane". The only item a visitor needs to carry is a phone. Paper-based documents, like a passport, are not needed.

During their visit to a host country, visitors gain certain rights there, while some rights from their home country are suspended. For example, an international visitor loses the ability to use the Utopian Payment Model. This is outlined in the section "Rights and Responsibilities of Visitors".

While in a foreign society, a visitor will incur expenses. These will be discussed in the section "Spending as a Visitor". This section has two specific goals. The first goal is to point out that all visitor spending in a host country is considered an import in their home country, which has consequences. The second goal is to outline a simple spending transaction a visitor may undertake in a host country. This illustration applies to all of the visitor's spending.

While visiting another society, a visitor may lose or damage their phone. If this happens to a visitor, it is obviously a bad situation since the visitor depends on their phone for identification and financial transactions. Naturally, visitors in such a situation will require assistance from the host society. The host society provides such help, which is outlined in the section "Losing our Phone in a Foreign Country".

In this chapter, we discussed the important aspects of international travel. Beyond what was discussed here, there are a few edge cases to consider, which we leave as a topic for readers' discussions during their social interactions.

Travel Eligibility Check

Visiting another society is not a right; it is a privilege. To visit another society, one must obtain permission. Just as in the present-day societies, some Utopian societies can have mutual agreements that eliminate the need for explicit travel permission for their citizens.

Citizens may not know whether they have implicit permission or require explicit permission. Utopian societies provide an easy way to determine whether we need explicit permission or we already have implicit permission. This is the "Travel Eligibility Check" feature available on each Utopian society's website.

Here are the steps outlining how the "Travel Eligibility Check" feature works:

We visit the host country's website, click on the "Check Travel Eligibility" button, provide our identification (using our phone), and authenticate ourselves (through our home society's UFI).

The website then asks us to confirm that we indeed want to check our travel eligibility to that society, and we also give them permission to access information from our society for the purpose of "Travel Eligibility Check".

Once we confirm our request using our phone, the host society's UFI retrieves information about us from our home society's UFI. This is a small subset of our data and may include details about our medical conditions, vaccinations, prior law violations, and basic financial information like current and typical wealth. This information helps assess our overall level of self-sufficiency and health for travel. What information to share for "Travel Eligibility Check" purposes is previously agreed upon by Utopian societies.

After obtaining this information, an algorithm determines whether we are eligible to travel. There are only two possible outcomes: either we are eligible or we are not. If we are not eligible, then there may be several reasons for that ineligibility. For each reason for ineligibility, there may or may not be a way to eliminate it. This information will be displayed after the algorithm completes the "Travel Eligibility Check".

If we are eligible, then this information is displayed. The result is not sent to us because this is merely an eligibility check.

If we are not eligible, then this information is also displayed. The reasons for ineligibility are also displayed. There are a few common reasons for ineligibility, and one of them is us not having an explicit permission; that is, we do not have a visa to travel to that society. This kind of ineligibility can be easily eliminated by obtaining explicit permission; that is, by obtaining the travel visa.

Even with a visa, other travel ineligibility reasons may still apply. One of them might be an emerging requirement, such as "visitor inoculation against a new virus". If this is indeed the case, this reason for ineligibility is also displayed. We could eliminate this ineligibility by getting vaccinated.

For each reason for ineligibility, there may be ways to eliminate the ineligibility. The host society's website will indicate whether the ineligibility can indeed be eliminated by taking action. Obtaining a travel visa and getting vaccinated are just two examples.

Some individuals may not be eligible to visit the host society because of reasons that cannot be resolved. In this case, the website will display the reason, and politely inform us that the ineligibility is based on the specific reasons.

How we use the results of the "Travel Eligibility Check" is entirely up to us.

Obtaining Visa

To obtain a visa, a citizen must first apply for one. In this section, we will use the term "applicant" to mean "a citizen who wishes to visit some other society and hence is applying for a visa". Here are the steps for applying for a visa:

  • The applicant visits the host country's website.
  • The applicant clicks the "Apply for Visa" button.
  • The applicant provides identification (using their phone) and authenticates themselves (through the home society's UFI).
  • The applicant chooses the reason for visit from the provided options. There will be sufficient options to choose from. "Other Reasons" will not be available as an option. Each reason may require additional information to completely communicate the reason.
  • The website will verify the applicant's identity with the applicant's home society's UFI.
  • The website will show the applicant their visa application details and ask for confirmation with a question like "Are you sure you want to apply for Visa?"
  • The applicant confirms by selecting "Yes" in response to the question.
  • The host country's website will send the applicant a "visa application reference number" which can be used to check up on the status of the application. This reference number is a certificate, as described in the Records and Accounting chapter.

When applying for a visa, the applicant provides only the reason for their visit. Why? This is because the two societies have agreed on a visa process that includes sharing the applicant's information. Any shared information must be a subset of data possessed by the society's UFI, which can be extensive. As a result of this kind of agreement, an applicant's visa application cannot be rejected due to insufficient or inaccurate data. Only the reason provided by the applicant for the visit may be subject to questioning.

The host country considers the reason category, the shared information, and any other information that it may possess about the applicant, and algorithmically determines whether to accept or reject the application.

If the algorithm approves the application, it sends an acceptance to the applicant, and the application process concludes successfully. The acceptance is issued as a certificate, which serves as the visa. The visa certificate will include its validity period and other relevant details.

If the algorithm rejects the application, then the application is handled by an officer specializing in such cases. These officers evaluate the information and the reasons why the algorithm rejected the application, then make the final decision. The final decision will be either a visa certificate or an application rejection certificate. The applicant will be informed of the decision.

In normal times, applications will be accepted for processing immediately. When applications are approved by the algorithm, it will take a few minutes for the outcome to be known. Only when the algorithm rejects the application, an officer gets involved, and then it may take a few days to complete the evaluation of the application.

Travel by Plane

Consider a simple scenario in which a citizen travels internationally by plane from their home country to a foreign country. Let us further assume that this citizen has met all the eligibility requirements for traveling to the foreign country. What would the citizen's experience be?

Having fulfilled all eligibility requirements, the citizen buys a plane ticket. Let us say that the citizen bought the ticket from a local airline company within the home country. The ticket is actually a certificate issued by the airline to the citizen, and it includes details about the travel schedule. This certificate resides in the citizen's database as a record in a table.

In Utopian societies, for international travel, we will replace the passport with just our phone, as that device is fully capable of helping us to identify and authenticate ourselves. Further, with this identification and authentication completed, various enforcement authorities can check that we possess the required eligibility criteria and permissions. Permissions and eligibility criteria are encoded as certificates. These certificates are records within our account in our society's UFI's database. The travel visa, vaccination status, and ticket are all examples of certificates. We do not need to carry paper documents as evidence of what we possess.

Thus, in order to travel to another country, a citizen requires nothing other than their phone. There is no need to carry any other document.

Here are the interactions a citizen goes through at the departure airport:

The citizen shows up at the airport and reaches the check-in counter. An attendant is present at the check-in counter, along with a computer. The citizen shows their identification using their phone to the attendant's computer at the check-in counter. The attendant's computer prompts the citizen to authenticate, thereby completing the mutual authentication. All of this is a standard mutual authentication process.

The attendant's computer asks for the citizen's ticket. The citizen browses through the current airline tickets that they may have, which are accessible through their phone, selects the right ticket, and presses "Show Ticket", and that sends the ticket information to the attendant's computer. The "ticket selection" is a choice made by the citizen in order to establish the context of travel.

The attendant's computer verifies the ticket and citizen's permissions to leave their own country and the permissions to enter the host country. This is done by both countries UFIs. The UFIs check their databases and may exchange previously agreed-upon information with each other to search for any new reason to deny permission for this travel.

If no reason to deny the travel is detected by both the home country and the host country, then the host country requests the citizen's biometric information from the home country. This allows the host country to independently identify the citizen if the need ever arises. This will be useful if the visitor loses their phone while in the host country.

If no reason to deny the travel is found, both countries grant the traveler their departure permission, which are just certificates with a short expiry time sufficient for the traveler to board the plane. These certificates are sent to the traveler's account, which are automatically accessed at any travel related check-points.

From now on, and during travel, any checks requiring such travel related certificates are presented automatically to the right authority once identification and authentication completes.

The attendant's computer verifies that the traveler's account contains the required permission certificates, and issues a boarding pass. This boarding pass is also a certificate that gets added to traveler's possessions.

The traveler proceeds to the security check-point and identifies and authenticates themselves to the computer there. The computer checks the traveler's immediate travel certificates. Once that is complete, the security guards do their physical check, and give the traveler one more certificate of security clearance.

The traveler proceeds to their boarding gate and waits for boarding to begin. Once boarding begins, all travelers proceed to the boarding gate entrance. Again, there is a computer to which the traveler identifies and authenticates themselves, and the computer at the boarding gate checks all travel certificates for that traveler and confirms that the traveler is allowed to enter that specific gate as per the boarding pass and the security clearance certificate.

After that, the traveler boards the plane, takes their seat, relaxes, and enjoys the flight.

Here are the interactions a visitor experiences at the arrival airport:

The plane lands in the host country and eventually docks at the terminal at some gate. All travelers, including visitors, disembark and proceed to the immigration counter.

The visitors identify themselves to the host country's computer at the immigration counter, then authenticate themselves (using their phone). The immigration computer communicates with the visitor's home country and verifies the authentication. It confirms the visitor's identification and associated privileges and also any visa certificates and any other information it has.

If all checks indicate that the visitor is indeed allowed to visit the country, then the computer indicates that to the immigration officer. The immigration officer will, as a matter of routine, ask the visitor some questions. This conversation is intended as an opportunity for an immigration officer to raise "red flags" if deemed necessary. After that exchange the immigration officer also gives their permission. That results in the visitor receiving a final permission to enter. This permission is also a certificate that indicates how long the visitor can stay.

Visitors should check this final certificate on their phone and proceed to pick up their checked-in luggage. After picking up their luggage, visitors exit the airport and proceed with their activities.

In all this, there was never a mention of showing anyone a passport or any other paper document (like ticket, boarding pass, vaccination certificates, etc.) In fact, visitors did not have to take any effort other than carrying their phone. The phone provides the identification number and assists in authentication and thereafter all relevant information is accessed directly from the UFI's database. Note that the phone has no information stored on it except for the identification number of its owner.

Rights and Responsibilities of Visitors

When we visit other societies as tourists, we temporarily reside in that other society. This residence is most likely to be in a hotel, motel, hostel, or a friend's guest room.

One could visit another society for an extended period and even live in a rented apartment or house. As long as the host society permits, a person could potentially live there indefinitely while remaining officially classified as a tourist or a visitor.

What distinguishes a visitor from a citizen? The distinction is in terms of the visitor's rights and responsibilities in the society that the visitor visits and in the visitor's home country.

The key right that a visitor has in the host country is the "right to live for a moderate amount of time". Since this is a conceptual discussion, we will leave the exact amount of time indicated by the word "moderate" undefined.

Visitors are responsible for abiding by all laws of the host society.

Within the host society, visitors do not have the following rights:

  • seeking regular employment,
  • seeking social employment,
  • seeking help from the host society's Utopian Payment Model,
  • participating in the decision-making of the society,
  • receiving wealth by means of wealth redistribution,
  • receiving wealth by means of the implementation of monetary policy,
  • owning a proprietary or private organization.

Visitors are not responsible for paying any types of taxes in the host society.

When citizens visit other societies, they remain citizens of their home society. They continue to enjoy almost all the rights, and must fulfill all the responsibilities associated with their home society.

Visitors are responsible for all kinds of taxes in their home society, which are automatically fulfilled by the UFI.

The home society does not view the citizen's foreign travel as an essential because it is not a need. This implies that the home society's Utopian Payment Model cannot be used to help in paying for any expenses that a citizen of the home society incurs during a foreign visit.

While a citizen is visiting another society, the citizen cannot have social employment in the home society.

The core idea behind setting up the rights and responsibilities as mentioned above is that a visitor cannot take any money from the host society, and the visitor is not responsible for paying for the common good of the society.

A Utopian society collects taxes to pay for the common good of the society. These taxes are the responsibility of the citizens and citizens alone; visitors are not given any part of this responsibility. When citizens take on the responsibility of supporting their own common good, they get rights as well; some of the rights give citizens money directly; other rights allow them to earn money free from any competition from visitors.

Thus, visitors do not have the right to "earn" or "gain" money from the host society and, in return, are not required to pay taxes there.

It is useful to keep in mind this distinction between a citizen and a visitor when reading the "Dual Citizenship" chapter, because that chapter clarifies the distinction between the rights and responsibilities of citizens in their primary home society and other home societies.

Visitors, while in a host society, will have to live, and to do so, they will have to spend money there. A visitor could live in a host country and sustain themselves using the wealth they have in their home country. If a visitor is immensely rich, they can afford anything they desire or need. For anyone who is poor, being a visitor of some other society is not sustainable for a long time, and they would return to their home society.

Since visiting another society is not an essential need, visitors do not have the assistance of the Utopian Payment Model from their home society. This could become difficult for some visitors if they face a medical emergency or merely need medical assistance for a particular medical condition. While normal living expenses remain reasonable in another Utopian society, medical costs can be high.

Utopian societies are not interested in letting a medical condition or medical emergency turn into a case for "humanitarian assistance". Therefore, host countries would require that all their visitors must have something in lieu of their society's Utopian Payment Model. So, it would be some kind of "Travel Insurance" that the visitor buys from some organization, and then that organization takes on the responsibility of unexpected and exceptionally high expenses. While there is plenty to discuss in this subject area, in this version of this book, we will not discuss "Travel Insurance" any further.

Spending as a Visitor

This section has two main goals. The first goal is to explain that all spending by visitors in a host country is treated as an import in the home country, and this has consequences. The second goal is to provide an outline illustration of a simple spending transaction that a visitor may undertake in a host country.

We have already discussed that individuals cannot buy commodities, so visitors cannot purchase them either.

When visitors invest in any foreign country, the investment is treated as if it were made while they were still in their home country. Investment transactions are handled according to the guidelines outlined in the "International Investments" chapter.

Visitors traveling in foreign countries typically purchase goods locally and take possession of them immediately. Additionally, visitors often use local services. Since the goods and services were purchased from a foreign country, these purchases are treated as imports by the visitors' home countries.

Since visitors' spending is treated as imports, it must be paid using fiat currency.

If visitors' home countries impose tariffs on imports, any local spending they do in a foreign country will also be subject to those tariffs.

Treating a visitor's spending as imports aligns with a Utopian society's goal of discouraging its citizens from purchasing from foreign countries when their society has an export deficit compared to imports. Thus, Utopian societies treat international in-person purchases on par with international online purchases.

Now, let us examine a simplified example of a visitor's transaction in a host country.

Imagine visiting a foreign country and going to a restaurant. We enter the restaurant, where a server seats us and asks for our ID.

We show our phone, and the server presents a device representing the restaurant (and themselves). We both authenticate. Our phone communicates with our UFI while the server's device communicates with the host country's UFI. Since both UFIs recognize the IDs as foreign, they interact to exchange identification details. This identification information is conveyed to us using our respective devices. Thus, we both know each other's identity, and we also know the restaurant's identity.

We then place our food order, which is served. After enjoying our meal, the server presents us with the bill using the same electronic device.

We scan the bill with our phone and review it. If our country imposes import tariffs, those charges will be added to our transaction as those charges are to be paid to our society. After reviewing the bill, we approve the payment.

Then, the two UFIs communicate to confirm the transaction's completion. Money is withdrawn from our account, deposited in the restaurant's account after appropriate currency conversion, and, if a tariff has been collected, it is deposited into the home society's account designated for such tariffs.

When our UFI deals with our payments for our spending as a visitor in some host country, it allows these payments only through the money account or through collective credit. Utopian Payment Model or social credit is not involved.

Even when we are in another country, we can still conduct business in our own country as though we were there. This is no different from our present-day situation. Thus, visitors can maintain sufficient funds in their money account or ensure they have enough unused collective credit.

Every expense made by a visitor follows a similar transaction process.

Losing our Phone in a Foreign Country

In Utopian societies, losing our phone while visiting a foreign country is as serious as losing our wallet and passport. If we had brought a backup phone, we would have used it instead, and it would have been as if we still had our wallet and passport.

If we did not have a backup phone, how could we deal with this situation?

When we departed for the host country, our country forwarded our biometric information to the host country. This helps our host country assist us in such situations.

To handle this situation, we would go to the nearest branch of the host country's UFI. We would explain our situation to the UFI's employee. The employee would direct us to the biometric scanning equipment at the local branch. This biometric equipment will scan us and identify us even if we do not disclose our identity. This is because the host country's UFI stores our biometric information.

The branch employee would also recognize that we are a visitor to their country. Thus, the employee would begin the process of providing us with a new phone. The employee would set up the phone as it is normally set up for any local citizen. During this setup, because the setup is being done for a foreigner, the host UFI informs our home UFI that it has setup a new phone for us using the host country's cryptographic security. Our home UFI marks our account as using cryptographic assistance from a foreign country, temporarily limits our in-person spending, and restricts (not blocks) all our actions that we can take with our wealth using our new phone.

Such phones have all the necessary features for identifying us and establishing secure connections with the host country's UFI. This new phone communicates with our home country's UFI exclusively through the host country's UFI. With this phone, we can continue our visit, though with some limitations.

These limitations can be removed if we visit our country's embassy, where officials can reset this phone, and secure it with our home country's cryptography, or provide us a new phone that is cryptographically secured by our UFI.

Even if we do not visit an embassy, the new phone should be acceptable as long as we can continue the visit with our temporary restrictions and limitations.

Once we return to our home country, we must take this phone to a local UFI branch so that our country's UFI can reset it with our home country's cryptography. Alternatively, after resetting this phone, we could use this phone as our backup phone, and get a new phone that is cryptographically secured by our UFI as our primary phone. Regardless, we will need to review all transactions we made with the phone given to us by the host country.

When we receive the phone from the host country, we are charged some amount by the host country. Should this expense be considered essential spending?