Passport photos aren’t always the best representation of the way you look, and if you’ve taken a decent one, you’re likely to hold onto it for the full 10 years until it expires.
Over time, as you carry your passport, changes in your appearance are inevitable. You might slim down, dye your hair, or even opt for cosmetic procedures like fillers and Botox that completely transform your look. But if you look totally unrecognisable, keeping the same photo can lead to complications.
Model Janaína Prazeres, hailed as ‘the world’s most beautiful woman,’ experienced this firsthand when she was stopped at the airport because she looked nothing like her passport photo after undergoing the knife 20 times.
The 35-year-old beauty was reportedly “questioned” by immigration officials who were “confused” upon seeing her drastically changed appearance following a spend of over £758,000 on cosmetic alterations.
She was detained for about 40 minutes while they verified her identity. The model has had extensive work done, including full facial ‘harmonisation’, several nose jobs, and a body lift which cost around £66,000.
In her old passport photo, she appears with noticeably darker hair, a wider nose, fuller cheeks, and less makeup. Despite the stark difference, she confessed she anticipated such an incident might occur eventually.
She recounted: “I always knew this could happen at some point because my appearance has changed a lot over the years. But at that moment, it was a shock – you never expect to be stopped at an airport without doing anything wrong.
“Officers asked several questions and even compared my photo with other images before granting me entry into the country.”
The incident is said to have occurred recently at São Paulo International Airport where the influencer, who boasts an impressive 725,000 followers on Instagram and was just named the ‘perfect woman’ by Playboy, was travelling from Brazil to the US.
Following the stressful encounter, Janaína felt compelled to update her passport immediately after getting back from her overseas trip, determined to dodge such an event in the future.
She confessed she “didn’t want to go through that kind of embarrassment again,” highlighting that despite being innocent, she was forced to authenticate her identity due to mismatched photographs.
“As soon as I arrived at my destination, I started looking into what I needed to get a new document with a more current picture,” she elaborated.
Nevertheless, the model is dealing with the situation gracefully, accepting that “perfection has its price,” which in her case means simply updating her passport photograph.
Both the São Paulo International Airport and the Federal Police of Brazil have been requested to provide their comments.