An Australian traveller has detailed the nerve-wracking moment they nearly missed their flight after being detained at an airport for looking nothing like their passport picture.
Tomi Grainger, who goes by they/their pronouns, was stopped by border officials at Sydney Airport on May 1 after the scanning machine was unable to match their facial features with their passport photo.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Traveller detained over passport dilemma.
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The 29-year-old drag queen – who was travelling from Sydney to Tokyo for a holiday – was held at passport control with no explanation.
As security examined their passport, Grainger realised they looked unrecognisable to their picture because of their major plastic surgery transformation.
“You’ll not believe what just happened to me and I’m low key freaking out, my heart is still pounding,” they said in an amusing TikTok video.
“So you go through the airport security and you gotta put your digital passport through so they can identify you through the machines.
“But it goes, ‘This is not the person’. And I’m like, ‘It’s me’.”
Grainger said they were then taken to a line where they waited for security to look over their passport.
“Anyway, I get ushered to see some security woman who then holds up my passport, looks at my face and she’s like frowning a lot, keeps doing it,” they recalled.
“It’s been a couple of minutes, I’m awkwardly standing there.
“Anyway, so she then walks off with my passport and goes to the head of security and the two of them just standing there talking about me, looking at this photo, shaking their head, frowning.
“And I’m like s***, they’re not gonna let me through.”
But they realised they looked nothing like their picture after spending $50,000 on cosmetic procedures over the past eight years.
“And that’s when it dawns on me – I realise I don’t look like the person in my passport photo anymore because I’ve had so much plastic surgery,” they said, laughing.
“So I end up having to say to them, ‘Look, I’ve had some plastic surgery, I had a facelift.
“And only then did they let me through… This is hilarious.”
Their passport picture was taken at the age of 22 but they said they haven’t had any major issue travelling around the world with it over the past eight years.
With a 10-year expiry date, Grainger’s passport is up for renewal soon.
7Life has contacted Australian Border Force and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.
Despite the stressful ordeal, Grainger laughed it off before showing viewers what their passport picture looked like.
“Well it’s their fault for not doing earlier renewals,” they joked.
‘Time for new passport’
Their video has been viewed more than 125,000 times, with many stunned over Grainger’s dramatic transformation.
“I was not expecting that to be the photo,” one said, laughing.
Another suggested: “They were not kidding.”
One revealed: “You’re lucky it’s Sydney. I barely made it out of Egypt for the same reason – just rhinoplasty. Lucky I had a new drivers licence photo.”
Another said: “Time for a new passport.”
One added while laughing: “They were doing their job because it’s not the same person.”
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