How long can I stay in each country as a tourist?

How long you can legally stay as a tourist depends on your passport, the destination country, and the purpose of your visit. The numbers below are for visa-exempt tourists from major Western passports (US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian) entering for tourism. Always verify with the destination’s official immigration source before traveling — rules change.

At a glance — tourist stay lengths

Destination	Maximum tourist stay	Window
Schengen Area (29 EU/EEA countries)	90 days	Rolling 180 days
United Kingdom	6 months	Per entry
United States (ESTA)	90 days	Per entry
Canada	6 months	Per entry (officer’s discretion)
Australia (eVisitor / ETA)	3 months	Per entry
Japan	90 days	Per entry
Mexico	Up to 180 days	Per entry (officer’s discretion)
Thailand (visa exemption)	60 days	Per entry, extendable 30 days
Indonesia (VOA / e-VOA)	30 days	Per entry, extendable 30 days
Vietnam (e-visa)	90 days	Per entry
Brazil	90 days	Per 12-month period
Argentina	90 days	Per entry
Colombia	90 days	Per calendar year (extendable to 180)
Costa Rica	90 days	Per entry
South Africa	90 days	Per entry
South Korea (K-ETA)	90 days	Per entry
UAE	30 days (US/EU passports auto-issued on arrival)	Per entry, extendable
Turkey	90 days	Per 180 days
Georgia	365 days	Per entry (one of the longest in the world)

The single most important distinction: “per entry” vs. “rolling window.”

• Per-entry systems reset every time you leave and re-enter. The UK, US ESTA, Canada, and most others use this. Visa-running (leave and immediately return) is technically allowed but border officials can refuse entry if it looks abusive.
• Rolling-window systems do not reset on exit. Schengen 90/180 is the classic example — your past 180 days follow you wherever you go.

The Schengen Area — 90 days in any 180

This is the rule that catches the most travelers because it covers 29 countries and uses a rolling window.

You can stay up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period total — across all Schengen member states combined. Both arrival and departure days count. The window slides forward every day; there is no January 1 reset.

Schengen countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

Not in Schengen: Ireland, the UK, Cyprus.

See the Schengen 90/180 rule explainer for the exact mechanics, or use the Schengen Calculator for a quick check.

United Kingdom — up to 6 months per entry

Most visa-exempt nationalities (US, EU, Canadian, Australian, etc.) can enter the UK as a Standard Visitor for up to 6 months per entry. There is no formal annual limit, but staying longer than ~6 months a year on visitor stamps will eventually prompt border-officer scrutiny.

From 2025, an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is required pre-arrival for visa-exempt visitors. Apply online before your trip.

United States — 90 days under ESTA, longer with B-1/B-2

Visa-waiver-program nationals (most Western Europeans, Japanese, Koreans, Australians, etc.) can enter the US for up to 90 days per entry under ESTA. Multiple entries are allowed but officers can refuse re-entry if visits look like de facto residence.

A B-1/B-2 visa (business / tourism) issued in advance allows entries of typically up to 6 months per entry, multi-entry, often valid 10 years. Each entry is officer-discretionary.

US tax residency under the Substantial Presence Test is a separate question from visa stay length — you can be a perfectly legal tourist and accidentally become a US tax resident at the same time.

Canada — up to 6 months at officer’s discretion

Visa-exempt nationals can stay up to 6 months per entry. The actual length granted is at the border officer’s discretion — they can grant less, or rarely, more. Canadian eTA is required pre-arrival for visa-exempt fliers (not required at land borders).

Mexico — the famous 180 days (now often less)

Mexico historically gave tourists an automatic 180-day FMM (tourist permit). In recent years, officers at major airports increasingly grant 30, 60, or 90 days instead — fully at their discretion. The 180 is a maximum, not an entitlement.

Border-running every 180 days as a de facto perpetual resident has become much harder. Mexico’s INM has visibly tightened.

Thailand — 60 days visa-exempt, extendable

Most Western passports get 60 days on arrival visa-exempt (increased from 30 in 2024), extendable once at an immigration office for an additional 30 days. Beyond that, a proper long-stay visa (DTV digital nomad visa, Education visa, LTR visa) is needed.

Patterns that catch travelers out

1. Counting “I left, so it resets.” True in per-entry systems. Not true in rolling-window systems like Schengen.
2. Confusing tourist stay with tax residency. Many countries let you stay 180 days as a tourist but consider you a tax resident at 183 — and the boundaries are 3 days apart.
3. Border-officer discretion. Even when the maximum is generous (Canada, Mexico), the officer can grant less, especially if your visits look like residence-in-disguise.
4. The “I’ll just visa-run” plan in places that have stopped tolerating it. Mexico, Bali, and several others actively shorten or refuse re-entries to perpetual visa-runners.
5. Forgetting that “days” almost always count both entry and exit. See what counts as a day.
6. Not having proof of onward travel. Many countries (Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, the UK) ask for it at check-in or border. A refundable refundable onward ticket usually does.

When you need a long-stay option instead

If you regularly hit the tourist-stay ceiling somewhere you want to spend more time, the right answer is usually a proper long-stay visa:

• Digital nomad visas — Portugal D8, Spain DNV, Italy DNV, Greece DNV, Croatia DNV, UAE virtual working program, Thailand DTV, Brazil DNV, Costa Rica Rentista, Mexico Temporary Resident.
• Retirement / income-based residency — Portugal D7, Spain Non-Lucrative, Mexico Temporary Resident.
• Student visas — most major destinations.
• Investment / golden visas — fewer than there used to be (Portugal and Ireland have closed theirs to property; Spain closed all routes).

A long-stay visa puts you on the immigration timeline of that country — which is separate from the tourist day-count and usually separate from the tax-residency timeline too.

Related reading

• Schengen 90/180 rule explained
• Schengen area explained
• What counts as a day for visa purposes
• 183-day rule by country — for when tourist stays start mattering for tax

Tracking tourist stays across multiple countries with different windows by hand is a recipe for an overstay you didn’t see coming. DaysAbroad keeps the count automatically per country, per window-type.