You can't cURL a Border

Complex cross‑border rules and taxation

• Commenters describe exponential complexity when multiple countries’ tax, visa, and residency rules interact (citizenship in A, residence/work in B, property in A, travel to C, etc.).
• Double taxation treaties usually prevent double income tax but not duplicate paperwork or taxes on property/wealth; some report being taxed twice on possessions when moving.
• US worldwide taxation is singled out as uniquely burdensome: filing is hard even when no extra tax is due, and expats must still handle huge, complex returns.
• People with weaker passports or non‑EU citizenship describe constant bureaucracy, day‑counting spreadsheets, and incompatible tax authorities.

The residency‑tracking app and how to build it

• Many are impressed that the author turned this rule maze into a working app at all; several say the real difficulty is modeling nuanced rules and edge cases.
• Discussion of implementation focuses on heavy use of unit tests, sometimes DSLs or clear rule functions, and skepticism about LLMs reliably encoding math‑like legal rules.
• Some argue AI can handle “boring boilerplate”; others have found LLMs unreliable for precise calculations and prefer hand‑written logic plus tests.
• A few note the app appears to require users to encode their own rule “goals” rather than ship with authoritative law baked in.

Visas, citizenship, and bureaucratic anecdotes

• The UK’s citizenship rule requiring presence on the exact date 5 years earlier is widely mocked as arbitrary; some say it’s actually based on when the form is received, adding randomness.
• Several note the UK government’s border data is incomplete and inaccurate, yet is still used to make serious benefit and immigration decisions.
• Examples from Norway, Japan, and other EU states illustrate confusing requirements, limbo periods, odd document dances, and long delays; sometimes companies or lawyers can “unstick” cases.

Rules vs. enforcement: strict, fuzzy, and “vibes‑based”

• One camp says systems are too fuzzy to treat like code: most officials can’t or won’t apply rules with second‑level precision, and minor mistakes may slide.
• Others counter with stories of single‑day overstays (US, Schengen) causing visa refusals for years; they argue you must avoid going near formal limits.
• There’s consensus that enforcement is partly arbitrary: “vibes” and discretion matter, but solid documentation and being clearly within thresholds are valuable if disputes arise.

Digital nomads, EU freedom, and politics

• Many EU citizens only now recognize how exceptional Schengen freedom is, compared to outsiders dealing with 90/180 rules and visas.
• Some older Europeans recall pre‑Schengen borders as intimidating and corrupt, and fear a rollback if far‑right anti‑immigration politics keep rising.
• Digital nomads are debated: some say most are technically working illegally and distorting housing markets; others argue they inject foreign money, pay local consumption taxes, and are effectively tolerated or even courted via “nomad visas.”

Legality, morality, and “irregular” paths

• Several admit relatives or acquaintances overstayed tourist visas in Europe, then later regularized and became citizens; law‑abiding peers feel punished for following the rules.
• Some argue border laws are more like parking rules (administrative, not moral); others insist uncontrolled migration can strain societies and that borders define states.
• There’s discussion of guest‑worker schemes versus permanent immigration, and whether current systems deliberately favor low‑wage irregular labor over high‑skilled legal migrants.

Data, security, and local‑only design

• The app’s “local only” stance is praised for avoiding server subpoenas, but others warn that border officials in some countries can demand access to personal devices; client‑side storage doesn’t eliminate user risk.
• A few say they’d rather memorize a password to remote encrypted data than carry a detailed immigration log across borders.

Miscellaneous reactions

• Some see the article as content marketing with possibly dramatized pain points; others say the described spreadsheets and anxiety mirror their reality.
• Strong‑passport holders who only take short holidays express surprise at the complexity—and note that most casual travelers never encounter these issues.
• There’s discussion of why many countries require months of passport validity (risk mitigation for emergencies and deportation), and light commentary on the title pun (“you can’t cURL a border”) and “curl” becoming shorthand for “hit an API.”