Where Can You Live More Than 3 Months on a Tourist Visa?

Fly here, stick around four months

As I was getting close to launching the book A Better Life for Half the Price, I wanted to get interested people on an e-mail list. So I started giving away a document with a rundown on all the places you could stay for four months or more after arrival, no border runs required.

I missed a few back then and as I noted in this getting easier to live in India article, that country has gotten even more attractive from a long-term stay perspective.

As best I can tell, there are now at least 23 countries around the world where Americans can stay for more than three months, and it’s pretty close for Canadians. UK citizens have it the best if they stay in the EU because in addition to all the commonwealth countries, they can stay in any EU nation long-term as well.

You can get the updated document here if you join the other 10,000 people now on that Cheap Living Abroad newsletter list. It usually goes out monthly, very rarely more than twice in a month.

Here are a few interesting tidbits  that came out of the new research.

Longest Tourist Stay Allowed for a Fee

India wins by a mile on this one, allowing Americans to get a 10-year multi-entry tourist visa with stays of 180 consecutive days allowed. You used to need to stay away for 60 days before returning, but not anymore.

In Cambodia you have to apply for a business visa and it’s not as easy as just fogging a mirror anymore. But if you get one you can freely live and work for a year. Otherwise though, they’re still pretty generous with the tourist visa extension, allowing you up to six months if it’s your first visit. See more in this post on living in Cambodia.

Longest Cheap Living Stay Allowed for No Cost

Multiple countries allow stays for up to 180 days on a tourist visa, but most of them are island nations like Barbados and Mauritius that are not exactly a bargain. And now Costa Rica. The best “better life for half the price” options that allow you to stay this long on a visa on arrival are Mexico, Panama, and Peru. You usually have to request the 180 days at the immigration counter though, so be awake and diligent when you step up to the counter and be clear about your intentions on your immigration forms.

Where We Can All Meet up for a Year

In the country of Georgia, for people from the USA, UK, Canada and Australia there’s no visa required for a stay of 360 days. Americans can stay in Albania (one of the cheapest places to live outside the USA) a whole year for the asking.

Where to Drive and Stay for Six Months

In addition to Mexico, Canadians and Americans can visit each others’ countries for 180 consecutive days. Get a T-Mobile North America plan and you can keep the same data and texts rolling even. Yea NAFTA!

If you’re British and you stay in the EU, you can take a car ferry then drive to any fellow member country and put down roots for six months. For now anyway. Other EU countries don’t have the nasty Brexit complications to worry about.

Your Island Paradise

I was just in Fiji for my wedding anniversary and if I had decided not to come home, I could have stayed for four months. In Jamaica it’s six months for those from the U.S., UK, and Canada.

Less Love for the Yanquis

The U.S. military may be stationed in South Korea, but when it comes to visas upon arrival, Americans (and Brits) get 90 days, Canadians get 180.

Costa Rica Up to 180 Days

In late 2023, Costa Rica changed its immigration rules to let people who could already come for 90 days come for 180 days instead. You’ve got to be a relatively well-off digital nomad or remote worker to afford to live in Costa Rica as it’s not much cheaper than the USA, but it’s a great country if you love beaches, jungles, and outdoor adventures. 

What About Those Digital Nomad Visas?

The pandemic put everything on hold for a while, but one great development that came out of that is the rise of digital nomad visas. More than 40 have been announced in some form and a notable few of those are in reasonably priced countries where it was tough to stay long-term before. There’s lots of fine print to digest, but these are available now in Hungary, Romania, Panama, and some other attractive destinations. 

I didn’t break those down here though because they don’t automatically let you stay more than three months without applying and filling out a lot of paperwork. So you’re not on a tourist visa with these; they are more like a streamlined residency visa. Then with many of them you get into tax implications if you stay for more than six months, so you really have to apply for real residency anyway to avoid that. 

Get the full report here: Four Months or More on a Tourist Visa