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When I went to Turkey, I was warned that my beard would make police think I was a member of a group that is "not popular" with the authorities. So I removed it. I was glad I did, because in Amsterdam, they spent about three minutes comparing my face to the photo (the photo was taken before I let the beard grow, so it was actually a good match IMHO).

But two years later, the beard is back on the face but still not in the passport. I brush it out, but it still tends to look like the clowns on Duck Dynasty. Is that likely to cause a problem entering U.K. or Spain? I do have driver licenses (Oklahoma and international) that show the beard.

I'd reference a related question but I can't figure out how to do that in the IOS app. Someone has done it for me in the comments. The behavior he described is how the guy in Amsterdam behaved when I DID look like my picture. That's why I wonder if I should shave. It's the British Border Force and the Spanish people that I will have to deal with next week.

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marked as duplicate by JonathanReez♦, pnuts, Ali Awan, Rory Alsop, Giorgio Jan 8 '17 at 13:40

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  • Yep, not quite a duplicate but certainly related. – WGroleau Jan 8 '17 at 3:20
  • I guess I was overly optimistic that anyone would really know. Even if you had the actual experience in the countries of concern, I am not likely to meet the same person. I guess I'll hope the other pictures are sufficient to bail me out, and have the razor easy to get to just in case. :-) – WGroleau Jan 8 '17 at 4:18
  • I can provide an answer for the UK, but not Spain. The most helpful is to upload a scan of your passport photo page suitably redacted and the photo itself blurred. Then a selfie of your current visage, suitably blurred.The UK has five points for photo recognition, like the length of your septum and philtrum and blah blah blah... But I cannot answer for Spain except in the most general sense... – Gayot Fow Jan 8 '17 at 4:39
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    @pnuts we obviously need a [change-of-facial-looks] tag :) – JonathanReez♦ Jan 8 '17 at 12:45
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    ;Yes, I would agree I'm a duplicate, and in spite of one dissent, it persuades me to keep the beard. – WGroleau Jan 8 '17 at 13:33