E-Paper
Netflix star's pre-surgery passport photo shocks airport officials: ‘I was barred from entering’
Brazilian influencer Gessica Kayane faced immigration issues due to her passport photo not matching her post-surgery appearance.
Social media influencer and Netflix star Gessica Kayane from Brazil looked too good to be true. With nearly 20 million Instagram followers, the model's beauty has won hearts on the internet but it was her good looks that landed her in trouble with immigration officials after her passport photo looked starkly different from her appearance, the New York Post said.
Kayane was returning home to Brazil when she was interrogated because she looked nothing like her passport photo, she claimed. The 32-year-old YouTuber and TikToker who has also appeared in many Netflix films, however, is not known for her natural beauty.
Kayane has had a breast enlargement and lift surgery along with nose reshaping, jawline fat removal as well as cheeks and lip fillers. Her passport which was not updated since she had the multiple procedures done confused airport officials who stopped her as they didn’t recognise her.
‘Barred from entering country’
“I was almost barred from entering the country because the photos on all my documents are different from my face now,” she wrote on Instagram, according to the New York Post.
In contrast with her long bright red hair, a slender nose, a chiseled chin, plump cheeks and full lips, her passport photo shows a natural-looking woman with dark hair roots and wider features.
However, she was able to prove her transformation using photos she took before and after the surgery."I’m glad I had my Instagram and several ‘before and after’ to prove it. First things to do back to Brazil: update all the photos of my documents,” she said.
Glow-up passport photos
The social media star isn’t the first person to be stopped by officials for not matching her passport photo. Several people especially women have been stopped by airport officials as their passport photos, usually taken after they give themselves a glamorous makeover, do not match their appearance in real life.
Experts have warned travelers not to rely on heavily edited or “glow-up” photos when passing through immigration checkpoints.
According to the US Department of State, there's no need to get a new passport for minor changes like growing a beard, changing your hairstyle or hair color, or simply aging.
However, a new passport is required if you’ve undergone major facial changes like as significant surgery or trauma, added or removed large facial tattoos or piercings, or undergone a gender transition.
