Western Archipelago Confederation

The **Western Archipelago Confederation** (abbreviated to **WAC**) is a federal entity of the Western Outer Union consisting of all eight members of the WOU. It is tasked with serving as the executive and legislative authority within the WOU and it is tasked with enforcing federal laws within the WOU, and it is the highest and final authority of the WOU, which all members of the union report to. Additionally, the country also functions as a single jurisdiction within the union. Unlike the Schengen Area of the European Union however, the WAC does not abolish border controls near member states and members must still carry their passport and ID before going to another nation, but allows anyone from any member state to live, work, and travel between any member state as long as they wish with virtually no restrictions.

In WOU law, federal law refers to laws and regulations at the entire union level, while state law refers to laws and regulations within a member state, whilst in provinces of federal states, provincial law refers to laws and regulations within that province.

Foreign citizens outside of the WOU (except Sorbet Island, Tangalu, and Sandy Island) may not live or work within the WAC under any circumstances except to work at an embassy, and there is a maximum amount of time one can stay in the WAC, which is 30 days per year, they can only visit two times during their lives, with their second one being 365 days after they last left. In the case of Sorbet Island, Tangalu, and Sandy Island, which form the Southwestern Island Free Trade Area (SWIFT), the maximum stay is 90 days per year, and they cannot return to the WAC until the 181st day, but there is no limit on how many times they can visit during their lives. The reason for these restrictions is to help preserve member state's cultural heritages and keep out foreign influences, as well as limit foreign contact and disease transmission.

Among the eight member states, some member states including Layers Island and Valentine generally go easy on foreigners who overstay after 30 days (90 days for SWIFT countries) if they stay a day late or two as long as they still leave. However, some like Lepps Island and Kelly Island do not mess around on overstaying and impose heavy handed penalties on overstayers. Lepps Island has the strictest immigration laws in the Yoshi Americas, while Kelly Island will impose very high fines (minimum K$550,000 for first offense, even overstaying by only thirty minutes). The WAC leaves enforcement of the overstaying policy to member states, but overstaying after five days is a federal offense in the WOU and tourists will be permanently banned from ever returning to the WOU again if they overstay five days even on first offense.

## Tourism

Both member states as well as the WOU itself severely limit foreigners from entering their borders and limits foreign influence to preserve their culture and traditions as well as to prevent foreign influence from taking over the islands. The maximum stay in the WAC is 30 days within a 365 day period and you can only travel within the member nation you visit. You can make only one more trip to the WOU on the 366th day after you first enter the country, and you will never be permitted back afterwards again for the rest of your life. Only embassy workers are permitted to stay over 30 days, but they cannot leave their embassy under any circumstances or risk hefty penalties from the WOU.

All foreigners must have a visa and union approved tour guide before travelling to any WOU nation for tourism except the Yoshi States, Desert Island, Kiwi Island, and the SWIFT region, which can enter independently and travel on their own (SWIFT area residents can even stay up to 90 days within a 180 day period and can go back again on the 181st day after their first day of their previous entry, and they can visit again as many times as they please).

Illegal entry into the WOU from any side is a severe offense punishable by serious fines, heavy prison time, deportation, and even a permanent ban from the WOU. WOU travel bans are permanent and nonnegotiable, and they cannot be removed under any circumstances except if it was issued incorrectly.

Anyone not from the Yoshi States, Desert Island, Kiwi Island, or SWIFT need to have a tour guide before going to their destination state and going anywhere outside of the capital requires very special authorization from both the WOU and the state any person enters, whilst those from the Yoshi States (including minor outlying islands and CFTA), Desert Island, Kiwi Island, and SWIFT can enter independently and without a visa (a visa is still required for those going outside of the capital of their destination state).

Travel restrictions also work the opposite as well. The WOU does not allow foreigners to leave the WAC without an exit visa and the only countries they can travel to are the Yoshi States, Desert Island, Kiwi Island, and SWIFT. They can only stay out of the union for 30 days within a 365-day period before they have to return, and they can only leave twice during their lifetimes. Going to any other country requires special permission from the WOU.

## Internal Borders

While WOU citizens are allowed to travel between internal borders with no restrictions, all member states still require them to have their passports and national ID card. This is enforced by the member states and not the WOU itself. They can still travel between each other without border checks, but they still must enter through a border checkpoint via WOU gate even though they will not be checked.

While they are open borders to all citizens, they are completely closed to all foreigners, and it is illegal for any foreign national outside of the WOU (with the exception of those from the YS, Desert Island, Kiwi Island, and the SWIFT area) to go between other countries for any reason due to security reasons. Even diplomats of other countries and aid workers need a permit to cross internal borders for security reasons.

## Approved Countries

When the WAC was founded with the WOU in 1995, the only countries that were exempt from the harsh restrictions were Sorbet Island, Sandy Island, Leland, and Lepps Island (the latter two joined the WOU in 1997 and 2002 respectively). Tangalu was also exempt but joined the WOU in 1999 and left in 2008.

Desert Island and Kiwi Island were later exempted from the strict requirements in 2003, and the Yoshi States didn't get exempted until 2018. Negotiations for Arizonia and Canada are still ongoing as of 2023.

### Conditions

With the exception of SWIFT, for any country to receive an exemption, there must not be a constant overflow of illegal immigrants in any country, and the country must be physically located in the western hemisphere. The WOU itself maintains very strict external border controls and illegal entry is grounds for criminal charges and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, as well as a mandatory $500,000 fine, even for the first offense. The detainee's country of origin must make negotiations and secure their release within 30 days before it is permanent, and no negotiations will be permitted after.

## Detention

WOU law prohibits all illegal immigrants from knowing of their criminal charges or where they are going and WOU officials are not permitted to discuss their charges until they attend court. Additionally, no illegal immigrant is allowed to have access to legal counselling or contact with family while being detained, and there is no trial or chance of release for those convicted of illegally entering, meaning that once a federal magistrate finalizes their sentence, it is permanent and cannot be appealed. Those who are detained are also required by law to confess to illegally entering and officials are permitted to use force to get them to confess as long as it is done orderly and safely.