Tourist Visas – Residency – Citizenship & You

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KEY POINTS

• Tourist visas offer temporary exploration

  While convenient for short-term visits, tourist visas only provide temporary access to a country, limiting long-term opportunities.

• Permanent residency ensures stability

  Opting for permanent residency provides stability and opportunities for work, study, and family reunification, unlike the transient nature of tourist visas.

• Citizenship grants full rights

  Citizenship grants extensive rights, including political participation and passport privileges, offering a deeper integration into the fabric of a nation beyond mere residency.

Tourist visa, permanent residency, or citizenship?

You may be considering moving to another country.

Do you know if you need a tourist visa or if you should be applying for permanent residency or citizenship?

You likely know someone that lives in a foreign country and relies on renewing their tourist visa to maintain long-term legal entry into their host country. Although this may be common in some countries, you must determine if it is your best option – as opposed to your least expensive and most convenient option.

Before we get to that, let’s take a quick look at the nature of tourist visas, permanent residency, and citizenship.

What exactly is a tourist visa?

Each country has its own unique requirements regarding your need, if any, for a tourist visa to enter their country. You can check with their consulate or embassy, your government website, or your travel agent, to determine if you need a tourist visa.

Tourist visas can be ideal for leisure, exploring foreign countries and cultures, visiting family and friends, and researching potential retirement or residency options.

Visas can be offered in various forms including:

• Single-entry

• Multiple-entry

• Electronic

• Transit

• Long-term tourist

• Group

• Visa-on-arrival

• Special purpose

Some visas cover more than one country. If you are travelling to Europe, we invite you to read our post Do I Need a Schengen Visa to Enter Europe? as an example of a multi-country visa.

What rights and limitations come with a tourist visa?

While tourist visas enable travel, they also impose limitations which may include:

• Duration of stay (typically a few weeks to months)

• Limited number of entries into the country

• Prohibition on employment

• No commercial activities

• Restrictions on volunteer work

• Ban on formal education

• Geographical constraints

• Reporting or registration requirements with local authorities

• Prohibition on engaging in political activities

• Restricted from renting or leasing property

• Limitation accessing certain public services

These limitations may make permanent residency a more attractive long-term option than a tourist visa.

Why seek a second residency abroad?

You may dream about living and retiring in a foreign country. It’s easy to be drawn to the weather, culture, and adventure. But have you considered there could be other reasons to live abroad like,

• Quality of life

• Domestic political instability

• Freedom to travel

• Economic opportunities

• Tax benefits

• Education

• Business expansion

• Healthcare

• Security and safety

• Asset protection

As mentioned, some people use a tourist visa to obtain entry into the host country. They may incorrectly assume such is like obtaining permanent residency.

Let’s compare.

Are tourist visas the same as permanent residency?

Answer: No

Tourist visas are easier, faster, and less expensive to obtain than permanent residency. They also provide some of the same benefits.

The following table highlights and compares some of the key attributes of each:

Aspect	Tourist Visa	Permanent Residency
Purpose	Temporary stay for tourism or short-term visits.	Long-term or indefinite stay for work, study, or family reunification.
Duration	Typically short-term, ranging from a few weeks to months.	Usually long-term, with options for renewal and potential for citizenship.
Work Authorization	Generally, not permitted and may have restrictions on volunteer work.	Typically allows for employment, with certain conditions or requirements.
Residency Requirement	Requires the individual to leave the country within a specified timeframe.	Allows the individual to reside in the country indefinitely, with periodic residency obligations.
Path to Citizenship	Does not offer a path to citizenship.	Can lead to citizenship through naturalization, after meeting eligibility criteria, or through country specific investment programs, business investment, or government contribution.

What is the difference between permanent residency and citizenship?

It is easy to confuse the concept of permanent residency and citizenship. This table will help clarify the difference between the two:

Aspect	Permanent Residency	Citizenship
Right to reside	Allows indefinite residence but may require periodic renewal.	Allows indefinite residence without renewal requirements.
Political Rights	Limited or no political rights, such as voting or running for office.	Full political rights, including voting and running for office.
Passport and Travel Freedom	Limited travel privileges.	Extensive travel privileges with a passport.
Employment opportunities	May have restrictions on certain jobs or industries.	Eligible for all jobs and industries within the country.
Education benefits	Education benefits often come with restrictions.	Full access to educational benefits, including scholarships and grants.
Social Security Benefits	Limited access to social welfare programs.	Full access to social welfare programs, including healthcare, unemployment benefits, and pensions.
Property Ownership	May have limited restricted ownership rights.	Full rights to own property without restrictions.
Political Participation	Limited, if any, participation in political processes.	Full participation in political processes.
Consular Assistance Abroad	Limited, if any, consular assistance.	Full consular assistance.
Inheritance Rights	Entitle to inherit property and assets within the country.	Full inheritance rights without restrictions.
Employment Mobility	May have limited employment within the country.	Offers enhanced employment mobility including promotion and career advancement.

How to strategically use a tourist visa?

The above illustrates that a tourist visa is not the equivalent of obtaining permanent residency or citizenship. However, we highlight the following three ways to use a tourist beyond just visiting your host country:

Tourist Visa Renewals

Some countries allow individuals to renew their tourist visa by simply leaving the country for a minimum number of days or hours and then re-entering and applying for a visa-on-arrival renewal.

This approach may work for months or even years. However, the host country may cancel your visa and terminate this option without notice. At such time, you would be considered and illegal immigrant.

Your visa could be cancelled for any number of reasons including the local governments desire to:

• Prevent immigration abuse

• Protect the local job market

• Prioritize national security concerns

• Prevent tax evasion

• Prevent informal labor

• Maintain social services

Research Destination Countries

You should always visit a country, if possible, before relocating to the country. A tourist visa can be a great way to gain firsthand experience while exploring and interacting with the locals.

You can learn a lot about the political landscape, policing and security, healthcare system, economy, cost of living, infrastructure, culture, traditions, lifestyle, and so much more.

It is an invaluable experience that can help you make one of your most important life decisions.

Build Networks and Connections

While visiting you can take the time to network with employers or entrepreneurs in your chosen field and the local community. Building connections can facilitate access to job opportunities, housing options, and support networks.

How to protect yourself while abroad?

We recommend you obtain travel insurance every time your venture beyond your state or provincial borders. Your non-refundable costs may or may not be significant, but your potential medical expenses can be astronomical and lead to personal bankruptcy in extreme circumstances.

Take the time to find a travel insurance policy that is tailored made to fit your needs and your budget.

The industry is very competitive and will have options for pre-existing conditions, medical emergencies and evacuations, repatriation, sickness and injury, trip cancellation and interruption, delays, and lost baggage. You can even find specialty coverage for adventure travel, extreme sports, and your pet.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A tourist visa is not a substitute for permanent residency or citizenship. However, it can be a great tool to obtain firsthand knowledge of your destination country.

We are confident that a tourist visa paired with tailored travel insurance will provide a solid foundation from which to launch your international plan.

Safe travels!