Travel experts have warned that a passport trend going viral on TikTok could lead to delays at airports.
As the peak travel season approaches, a new trend on TikTok is people applying makeup and posing in perfect lighting for passport photos.
In one viral video, content creator Amelia Marni shows off her modeling setup for taking the perfect ID photo, with friends holding up their phone lights to ensure the lighting is perfect.
“POV: You want a sexy passport photo,” she wrote in the video, which has been viewed more than 3.5 million times. “We will stop at nothing,” Amelia added in the caption.
But while this might give you peace of mind about the image on your ID, it could mean extra checks at passport control. TikTok user Beth Gould shared a video that shows exactly this.
She explained that she had to undergo additional identification checks by airport officials because the passport machine did not recognise her photo as matching her current appearance.
“I wonder how many people this has happened to because of the trend of wearing heavy make-up for passport and driving licence photos,” one viewer commented, while another added: “Same thing happened to me this week.”
While there are no specific rules about makeup for passport photos, Jemma Brown, head of product at Travel Republic, says “it’s important to remember that the purpose of a passport photo is to clearly and accurately visually identify you.”
“Most people find the image on their ID embarrassing, but it is a security measure to prevent fraud, keep borders safe and make travellers’ identities easily recognisable.”
Gemma warned that over-emphasising your appearance in photos “could slow down the identification process at the airport because your photo will look too different to what you actually look like”.
She noted that small changes to one’s appearance, like growing a beard or changing one’s hairstyle, usually don’t require a new passport, but bigger changes that alter fundamental features, such as extensive facial reconstruction or plastic surgery, require a new passport application.
It’s the latest trend to receive warning from experts, after beauty experts spoke out against the lemon juice hair lightening fad.