travelling internationally with a hard wallet

[Saint-loup]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

Cryptocurrencies are more convenient than fiat, precisely because they are virtual and can be used and stored without any physical manipulation. It allows you to travel all around the world if you want it without having to bring your funds with you neither to use a trusted third party. It let you being your "own bank". So yes you can use a BIP39 HD wallet generated from an hardware wallet to store your funds, then you will be able to recover them  "just" with your BIP39 seed(and eventually the derivation paths used)

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[yazher]

There's nothing wrong that unless you are caught doing funny things in the airport in any national airport in the world. once they suspected you of something they will go through your things and might ask you about your hard wallet. You just need to extra careful and act as if nothing is different because depends on the country you are going some have their own propaganda to detain you just by having 1 bullet in your bag.

[ReiMomo]

There's nothing wrong that unless you are caught doing funny things in the airport in any national airport in the world. once they suspected you of something they will go through your things and might ask you about your hard wallet. You just need to extra careful and act as if nothing is different because depends on the country you are going some have their own propaganda to detain you just by having 1 bullet in your bag.

If you're a normal person, why the government wanted to plant anything just to detain you? But that is a different story here.

There's nothing to worry about, but first, before you will go to on that country, just seek first if bitcoin is allowed in that place. If they allow, of course also having a hardware wallet is allowed. You can hide anywhere your hardware wallet that visible to them, that is a small thing that easy to hide and I guess that is not a problem here.

[jerry0]

Has there even been a case where a person couldn't enter a country or was asked hey what is this hardware wallet etc?  Only thing i could see is it getting stopped at customs when its shipped to a country... i read a thread on this.


But it looks like usb stick unless you get those trezors.


But again, what about your seed though?  I mean if you going to travel for a while, you going to leave your seed in your house/apartment if say you are gone for months?

[Asuspawer09]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

I don't think they are allowed to confiscate your property and I don't think that they are aware or they will know everything in your bag or something, I guess you could just hide it.

I mean if it is not allowed maybe they will look for it or something that is similar about it, just like for example a knife or a gun right?

Didn't see any cases similar to this one so I guess it is still safe, but I guess it is more like something that they could not stop like if it is illegal to buy bitcoin in a country or something, people can still buy bitcoin at that country you just need to do some work or I guess it is just a bit difficult than if it is not illegal.

[Ryker1]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

Well, I don't see any danger there --hardware wallet is just like a USB stick that no one will be suspected that it is a bitcoin wallet.
Okay, let say, the customs are aware of it and in the airport, they are going to confiscate it. But you can still recover your bitcoin from another wallet, just simply recover it from the seeds that you have saved. However, if in your country bitcoin is not strictly prohibited, perhaps the hardware wallet too. You can do your own research for this and make sure that you are buying from the official distributor's store of the hardware wallet.

[bL4nkcode]

Well, I don't see any danger there --hardware wallet is just like a USB stick that no one will be suspected that it is a bitcoin wallet.
Okay, let say, the customs are aware of it and in the airport, they are going to confiscate it. But you can still recover your bitcoin from another wallet, just simply recover it from the seeds that you have saved.

Why bringing it if you knew that the hw will be confiscated on the airport, though you can buy it only for +70$ as ledger nano s. I know I can still recover it but I would not waste my money for such reason, I'd better use mobile wallet with smaller amount just enough for what I need when I arrive on the particular place I want to travel.

[Yatsan]

I guess there will be no problem if you do so travel across different nations in the globe while bringing a hardware wallet passing through immigration for it have not been declared to be illegal by having one upon entering across border of other country for travel. The only thing you might get concern is that if you might lost it along the way while you travel which will make you aware that you might have waste money for having hardware wallet may cause you money to buy another one. Just be aware before taking travel to know policies of the country you are going to better assess if you must bring your hardware wallet with you or not.

[uray]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

The danger of traveling with the hard wallet is that you could loose the product and if you are leaving for another country all you need is get a locker from a reputable bank and make sure you have another back up as well. Never travel with it unless necessary and it is not about anyone confiscating because no one will notice until you say that to anyone else.

[Republikcoin.com]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet?

There is no dangerous threat when you have a hardware wallet and then take it to travel abroad for vacation. But it should be noted that every country has regulations related to the current existence of cryptocurrency, where in Indonesia, which is famous for its Bali Island, it prohibits the use of cryptocurrency to make buying and selling transactions in the jurisdiction of the country. You and the seller or cafe or shop will be subject to penalties that apply in accordance with the law.

The Indonesian state implies that there is only one FIAT currency that can be used for transactions, namely only IDR. Apart from IDR or Rupiah, the transaction can be withdrawn to legal channels by the prosecutor.
It will be safer if you don't violate the regulations that apply in each country so that your assets are truly safe.

[Alucard1]

I don't have experience yet traveling in another country with my hardware wallet because even me I haven't seen in person a kind of hardware wallet, but I don't think that there would be a problem once you have your hardware wallet on you, I don't think as well if they're familiar with it just like me. Don't worry about that., just make sure that you will keep it safe as you travel.

[sheenshane]

Before you will move into other countries, have research first if they have Bitcoin legalities and this link might helpful for you.
Legality of bitcoin by country or territory

I suggest, don't travel bringing all your cryptocurrency, just only what you need, always separate your cold wallet and your hot wallet.  As much as possible,  remove all recoverable details or information in your hardware wallets such as contains with password or passphrase.  Once it will be lost, you can still recover using other wallets.

I don't see any problem bringing a hardware wallet while on travel but our safety while traveling ultimately depends on us, don't be stupid of being irresponsible of your asset.

Anyway, you might enjoy reading this from Ledger article, Traveling with Crypto.

[suzanne5223]

This issue has been discussed in the forum and the idea of traveling to a non-crypto friendly country with a hardware wallet is not advisable but instead buying another hardware wallet in the country you are going, I think it better to download a mobile wallet which you will load with some few coins you're going to make use in the country you're travelling to while you keep the hardware wallet safe back at home.

[Leviathan.007]

I don't think if they catch people in the airport and check their hardware wallets. They are not allowed to do such thing and they can't do such thing but to be more secure you can easily write the recovery seeds in a peace of paper and take it with you. However, I only travel once while I had lager nano with me and the officers didn't say anything about the hardware wallet. So, I guess it's alright if you do travel internationally with a hard wallet.

[Kakmakr]

I think you have reasons to be over cautious of traveling with your hardware wallet, because a lot of custom officials will confiscate it due to misinformation and a lack of knowledge on the use of these wallets. (be more cautious when you cross international borders)

On the other hand, some officials in some countries might think it is just a memory stick and they will let you go through customs without noticing it. (I put my Ledger Nano in my wallet and it goes through without any problems) 

[peter0425]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

This thread can be related to what you are looking / Asking ..

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5304632.msg56921244#msg56921244

Has there even been a case where a person couldn't enter a country or was asked hey what is this hardware wallet etc?  Only thing i could see is it getting stopped at customs when its shipped to a country... i read a thread on this.


But it looks like usb stick unless you get those trezors.


But again, what about your seed though?  I mean if you going to travel for a while, you going to leave your seed in your house/apartment if say you are gone for months?

Yeah and i find it exaggerated to Make it too much issue when you can just pretend to be having a Flash drive .

[AniviaBtc]

I doubt we're in a time where airport personnel are totally aware of what hardware wallets are, but as a paranoid person as I am, I wouldn't risk it. You'd 95% likely to be totally fine though.

Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

Yes of course. That's what the 12-24 word backup is for.

As long as other people have no access on your hardware wallet and your place is safe then you coins is also safe.

Just don't let other people have an idea on where you store your hardware wallet and also don't forget where you place it.

Maximize having multiple hardware wallet as long as you can afford them and you can manage them properly especially when you go in many places.

[xianbits]

Hardware wallets can only be detected as a normal electronic gadget, I guess. So, personnel won't really bother check it.

But, you refer it as an "evil cryptocurrency" inside your wallet. Did it come from an illegal activity? If yes, you might be under a surveillance.

[dihari]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

It's just like traveling internationally with a gadget. Nothing to worry. I think the countries that banned crypto isn't prohibited you from owning crypto, they just take a law action if you use crypto as a payment method in their country.

[Sanugarid]

Is there any danger in travelling internationally with a hard wallet? I am not afraid of confiscation, because it can be recovered with the passphrase, but what about the chance of them denying you entry into the country because you have an evil cryptocurrency hard wallet on you? Could I buy a hard wallet in my country, transfer crypto to it, then leave it behind in a safe place, then buy another same hard wallet in another country and using my passphrase get access to my crypto again?

I don't think there would be any problem carrying your hard wallet while travelling in another country and it's not like you possess dangerous tools or weapons in your wallet for them to view it as a threat. Moreover, not all countries are aware of the existence of cryptocurrency and hard wallet as well. It might be subjected to confiscation, but if they don't find any threats, it will be released as soon as possible.