Jelly Roll Struggling to Book International Tour Over Felon Past

Jelly Roll's felon past is coming back to haunt him -- at least according to him ... 'cause he says it can be hard getting around sometimes as a result of it.

The country singer spoke with Jon Bon Jovi for a new piece for Interview Magazine, where he admitted he's had trouble of late booking his international tour ... but not because of a lack of interest from fans overseas -- it all has to do with his rap sheet.

He explained ... "It’s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies. We're working on that."

Despite the hurdle, JR makes it clear he's optimistic the situation will work out. It also sounds like he's not losing sleep over not being able to leave the States right now ... revealing his own father didn't explore outside the southeastern region of the U.S. until he was in his 50s.

Jelly has been incredibly open about his past run-ins with the law. He's been to jail around 40 times for drug-related charges -- and was even arrested at age 16 for aggravated robbery. He was tried as an adult, ultimately serving over a year behind bars.

Jelly's since turned his life around ... even prioritizing his physical health in recent months.