As a nomad, you’ll likely be moving around every couple months or so. This is normal and required under the tourist visa (aka, you can’t just stay in one country without some type of residency or work visa).

But some countries have digital nomad visas. So this would be the most legit way to go nomadic.

It’s not always an option for everyone though because of things like income requirements (or if you’re like me: spontaneous, moves around a lot and just feels generally allergic to the whole bureaucratic process of visa applications).

Keep in mind that I AM NOT A VISA EXPERT. So if you’re worried, have specific circumstances or nuanced questions, consult with a lawyer or immigration professional.

As an American with an American passport, I get long-stay visas on arrival for the countries I visit most often (up to 90 days). So I don’t generally need to plan for my visas.

I do limit how many times I enter a single country as a tourist though. For example, I often do visa runs out of Japan (leaving and then reentering for a fresh visa stamp), but I never do it more than twice in a given year because technically, that’s the limit.

I’m not sure how strict they are, but I’m not willing to find out either.

So if you plan on staying in a single country for over 6 months in a year, then you might want to consider a more permanent solution, like a digital nomad visa or working abroad.