There's a show on Netflix that follows the Australian immigration cops. They go hard and frequently examine text messages, email, social, etc. for non resident entrants.

If you think this is just the US, you are mistaken.

> They go hard and frequently examine text messages, email, social, etc. for non resident entrants.

Interesting. Do they ever find anything that's actually incriminating?

Normally it's young people entering Australia to work "under the table" and only have a student/tourist visa. They denied entry for this reason very frequently.

You mean they actually find emails saying "good luck with your illegal work in Australia on a tourist visa, lol"?

I got a not-quite-as-bad grilling at the UK CBP, where they required me to log into my banking apps and show them my accounts & balances, as well as transaction histories to determine whether I was currently working remotely (and, therefore, would continue "illegally" working remotely while in the country).

Decade ago they were doing that in the UK. Showing proof of funds when you arrived.

Had one trip to the US where they asked how much money I was carrying. I said none, just a credit card. They asked if I were planning to work there. I said no, I'll pull money from the debit card as I go. They (presumably) acted puzzled about this.

Proof of funds is one of the three things they apparently still require. I had to show proof of funds (~$1000/month), proof of lodging (airbnb itinerary), and proof of leave (an already-booked plane ticket at the end of my stay).

Wait. So if I am a tourist in, let's say, the USA and I keep working remotely on Canadian projects and getting paid in Canadian dollars, do I need a work visa?

Depends on the country. The UK's particularly bad (in my experience and from what I've heard from the digital nomad community) in that they don't like you working remotely at all while visiting, especially if you're staying for any significant amount of time (I'm here for 3 months).

The general rule is "if you make money while in a country, you need a work visa while in that country", but obviously that may be a bit outdated and not take into account remote positions. Many countries can/will fine, blacklist, and deport you if they find out you worked while within the country without a work visa; and it's _those_ people that you need to be able to convince "I'm not taking your jobs away!" to.

I'm a US citizen so I haven't looked into it from your POV, but I do know that a trip to Canada, for example, allows working remotely as long as:

* you work for an American company with no Canadian offices or branches[1],

* you are paid in American dollars, and

* that payment is deposited into an American bank account.

Again, depends on the country you're visiting (and possibly the country you're a resident of), so I'd double check before working on a trip just to be safe.

[1] If your company has branches where you're going, the safest bet is to get them to help arrange the trip. A have a family member that travels a lot on business and has been denied entry to countries while on business trips specifically to train the local branch, because even then it's a delicate situation.

No, but a text saying "we'll see you at work 8am on Monday" as you are entering Australia is probably good enough reason to be denied entry if you have a tourist visa.

It probably is, yes. Does that actually happen on this TV show?

(Not sure why I get downvotes but no clear answers to simple yes/no questions.)

Yes, this exact scenario occurs quite frequently on this Netflix show. It's almost invariably a 20-something working as a server at a restaurant.

USA is a surveillance state. Here in UK we are much more progressive and respecting of peoples' privacy /s.

USA, Australia, UK, Canada (other comment branch). Sounds like the Five Eyes?

Canada requires this too. I'm sure other countries do as well.