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Fredrik Nilsson, Professor of Ethnology at the Lund University, has worked with the Institute of Öresund to formulate this definition of mental border obstacles: 

”Borders that are created, maintained and reproduced in everyday life, and which – consciously or unconsciously – stop people or businesses from moving between countries or regions. These borders can, but need not be, related to physical obstacles (like a wall), geographic obstacles (wide rivers, mountains, impenetrable forests or long distances), legal or political obstacles (like custom and tax policies). They are however always related to previously gained experiences (your own or those of others), they are often collective and they are carried forward through the telling of stories about the past and stereotypical images of The Others. Mental border obstacles are therefore cultural (they are shared and something which people learn), and performative (they are acted out).”