Currently, the right to travel internationally and outside the bounds of the U.S. is not a fundamental right. It is, however, a liberty protected within the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. What does this mean?

It means that the right to travel internationally is not a fundamental right, but it is a right that is protected from subjective interference by the federal government. This is measured by the rational basis test, a test that is a much lower level of scrutiny than the strict scrutiny test that applies to most fundamental rights.

Under the rational basis test, any law that touches upon the right to travel internationally must be rationally related to furthering a legitimate government interest. For example, the government can restrict international travel if it has reason to believe you are fleeing the country due to your criminal behavior. Furthermore, the government can (and does) require you to have a passport in order to travel across international borders. On the other hand, the government cannot prevent you from traveling across the ocean merely because you are of a certain sex or age. Here, there would be no legitimate government interest being furthered by such a restriction.

Finally, let’s wrap this article up by going over a few key points.