In this video, I discuss how to prepare for changes to visa rules.
Let me tell you about a guy I met.
I was traveling in Cambodia in 2019. I met an American in Cambodia who said he had lived in Thailand for five years, but had to move to Cambodia because of a change in Thailand’s visa rules.
He said he had to leave Thailand because the US Embassy stopped notarizing the sworn income affidavit required by Thailand. He told me that he and other Americans had to leave Thailand because they could no longer provide the income proof required by the Thai government.
And then one morning, he woke up, checked his phone, and found out he had to leave.
Not because he did anything wrong. Not because he missed a deadline. Because the government changed the rules. Overnight. Without warning. Other Americans were able to overcome this problem by keeping money in a Thai bank.
That’s not a horror story I made up. That happened. And if you’re living overseas right now — or planning to — it could happen to you.
When I first went to Vietnam in 2017, they were issuing one-year visas to Americans. That meant I only needed to do a visa run once a year, instead of every 90 days. The point is, countries change their rules, and you have to adapt.
My name is Dan. I’ve lived in 78 countries over 19 years. I don’t maintain a home anywhere in the world.
I’m not telling you this to impress you. I’m telling you because I’ve seen this happen. I’ve watched expats get blindsided by visa rule changes in Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, and Vietnam. Countries roll out the welcome mat and then — quietly, suddenly — pull it back.
I’ve been in those countries when it happened. I’ve talked to the people it happened to.
And I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you, or if it does, you’re not surprised; you’re prepared.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you’re dreaming about moving overseas.
You are a guest. Always. Unless you get citizenship and a passport, you should always be prepared for things to change in your life, and without much warning.
I don’t say that to be harsh. I say it because it’s true, and understanding it is the difference between building a life abroad and building a house of cards.
Most expats pick a country, fall in love with it, and start putting down roots. They sign a lease. They join a community. They stop thinking about their visa status because things have been fine for years. Some even buy a house or a condo.
And that’s exactly when they get caught.
Rules that were fine last year suddenly have some new requirements or documentation that you don’t have. Renewal processes that used to be simple become impossible. And the new rules don’t always come with a grace period.
Mexico. Same story. For twenty-plus years, Mexico allowed people to stay indefinitely just by doing visa runs every six months. Things are mostly back to normal now, but there was a period when Mexico just started giving people random entry times: 1 week, 3 weeks, or one month.
The digital nomad scene exploded there, and so did government scrutiny of foreigners working or living outside official visa categories. The remote worker wave brought a lot of attention — and a lot of crackdowns on people who’d been quietly living there on tourist visas for years.
This isn’t paranoia. This is pattern recognition.
I want you to sit with this for a second.
Imagine you’ve been living in a place for four years. You know your neighborhood. You know where to get good coffee. You know the people at the market by name.
And then someone tells you that you have 30 days to leave — or become a criminal.
Not 30 days to sort out paperwork. Thirty days to dismantle your life.
Your apartment. Your stuff. Your routines. Your friends. The doctor you finally found who actually understands your situation.
Gone.
A few years ago, we were in Iloilo City in the Philippines. One of our subscribers walked up to us and explained that he’d been asked to leave the Philippines. Historically, people could enter the Philippines and do visa extensions for up to 36 months before they had to do a visa run.
But after six months, they told him he could no longer extend his visa. He had to leave within thirty days. Luckily, things have gotten back to normal, mostly in the Philippines, since then. Most of the people we talk to are able to get their 36-month extensions.
Now, if you don’t have a backup plan in place, things could get much worse. What if you can’t just go home? Because home — for a lot of expats — isn’t affordable anymore. That’s why you left in the first place. The cost of living in the US, the UK, Canada — it’s not what it was when you made this decision.
So you’re not just suddenly illegal. You’re suddenly homeless. Financially. Emotionally. You’re adrift in a way that people back home can’t fully understand. So you need a backup plan.
Here’s the good news. This is survivable — if you prepare.
I’ve spent 19 years learning how to stay ahead of this. And I’m going to give you the framework I use.
Rule 1: Never build your life around one country’s goodwill.
This is the single biggest mistake expats make. They find their paradise and they stop looking. I understand it. I’ve done it. But the smart move is to always have a Plan B country — a place you’ve researched, that you could move to if the carpet gets pulled out from under you.
And here’s the best way to do that.
Rule 3: Don’t marry the first country that you date.
When you fly halfway around the world on a $1500 ticket, explore the other countries in that region before you pick your favorite. In Southeast Asia and Europe, flights between these countries are usually around $100, round trip. I call these exploratory visits.
And after you pick your favorite, you’ll know your surrounding favorite countries. Then you won’t be so worried if something goes wrong in your first country. Most of us already do this in our home countries.
We live in one city, but we also know a few other favorite cities we would move to if things get weird in our existing city. If you have never done these exploratory visits before moving overseas, go visit these other interesting places on your next few vacations.
Rule 3: Keep an eye on the visa rules in your existing country and your backup countries.
Most expats know their visa status. But set a Google Alert for visa news in your existing country and your backup country. Also, Join the expat Facebook groups in your existing and backup countries. Read any of the news that comes out in those two forums so you’re aware of any changes.
Rule 4: Build relationships with people who know.
A good immigration lawyer in your host country is worth every penny. Not for emergencies — for intelligence. They hear about rule changes before the general public does. One good contact like this can buy you weeks of lead time.
Also there’s usually one or two geeks in every host country that follow all this, so develop a relationship with them so you can ask questions about what they’ve heard lately.
Rule 5: Never let your roots go so deep you can’t pull them up.
This sounds hard. But it’s actually liberating once you internalize it. The expat who suffers most when visa rules change are the ones who convinced themselves they were permanent. Stay light. Stay mobile. Fall in love with the journey, not just one stop on it.
This is another reason to rent instead of buy. This is another reason to rent furnished apartments rather than ones you have to furnish. This is another reason to live a minimalist life. This is another reason not to open up a bank account in every country you live in.
I’ve been doing this for 19 years. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve been in countries where things got complicated. And I’ve watched people who didn’t prepare get hurt in ways that took the wind out of them for a few months.
But I’ve also watched people who were ready — who had their Plan B, who kept shallow roots, who stayed mobile — walk through situations like this with barely a missed step.
The difference wasn’t luck. It was preparation.
If you want to go deeper on this — if you want the full picture of what it actually costs to live overseas, what countries are the most visa-stable right now, and how to build a life abroad that can survive surprises — that’s exactly what my reports at VagabondBuddha.com are for.
But let’s just put one foot in front of the other. Start with my free ebook, “How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 19 Years.” That will teach you the 10 things you need to think about before retiring overseas.
Or watch this video to see all the resources we have to help you find a soft landing overseas.