Visa-Free Countries for US Citizens (and How Long You Can Stay)

A US passport opens dozens of countries without a visa, but the stays differ: 30 days in Thailand, 90 days across the Schengen area, a full year in Georgia. A few also want an online authorization before you fly. Below is how long you can stay in each, how the days are counted, the popular countries that are not visa-free for Americans, and a sample 10-month plan, all as of October 2026.

How long US citizens can stay in each visa-free country

Every country sets its own limit and its own way of counting it. Some count each visit separately, the Schengen area and Turkey count any 180-day period, and Colombia counts the calendar year. The table gives the limit for an ordinary US passport, with each country linked to the government page the rule comes from.

The rows apply to US citizens only. Green card holders and other US residents travel on their own passport’s rules, though a few countries let in holders of a US visa or residence permit: Montenegro, for one, admits them for up to 30 days.

Country	What to file before you fly	Longest stay	How the days count
Schengen area, 29 countries	No visa; check ETIAS status	90 days	Any 180-day period, all 29 countries combined
United Kingdom	ETA, £20	Up to 6 months per visit	Per visit; the ETA lasts 2 years
Turkey	Nothing	90 days	Any 180-day period
Montenegro	Nothing	90 days	Not stated on the official page
Mexico	Nothing	Up to 180 days	Set by the officer at entry
Canada	Nothing: no visa and no eTA	Not stated on the official page	Not stated on the official page
Colombia	No visa	Entry permit, plus an extension of up to 90 days	180 days per calendar year, extensions included
Georgia	Nothing	1 full year	Not stated beyond the 1-year term
Thailand	No visa for 30 days; US$40 e-visa for up to 60	30 days since 15 Sep 2026	Not stated; was 60 days before 15 Sep 2026
Taiwan	Confirmed return or onward ticket	90 days	From the day after arrival; not extendable
Australia	ETA (legally a visa), AUD20 app charge	Up to 3 months at a time	Per visit; the ETA lasts 12 months

“Up to” in the table is a ceiling, not an allowance: Mexico’s limit is up to 180 days, and the officer at entry sets the actual number. “Nothing” means nothing to arrange in advance, not a promise of entry, because the officer at the desk still decides.

ETAs and ETIAS: what to file before you fly

The UK and Australia want an electronic travel authorization from US citizens before they fly. The UK’s ETA costs £20, allows visits of up to 6 months and lasts 2 years or until your passport expires.

Australia’s immigration department classes its ETA as a temporary visa. You apply in the Australian ETA app for an AUD20 service charge, and the ETA allows stays of up to 3 months at a time, with as many entries as you like for 12 months or until your passport expires, whichever is shorter. The department advises against making travel arrangements until the ETA is granted.

Both work like the ESTA that visitors to the US file: one approval covers many trips, and each visit has its own cap, just as an ESTA valid for 2 years still allows 90 days per visit.

Europe is next in line. The European Commission says visa-exempt travelers, US citizens included, will need ETIAS, an online form with a small fee, and that it is not a visa. Check whether ETIAS has started before you book a trip to Europe; either way, it does not change how your 90 days are counted.

Canada asks the least. US nationals need neither a visa nor an eTA, and Canada’s immigration department recommends carrying a valid passport; other identification is only an option when you are not flying.

Europe on a US passport: Schengen, the UK, Turkey and Montenegro

The Schengen area counts as one place. Your 90 days cover all 29 countries combined, inside any 180-day period, so 60 days in Spain leaves 30 for France, Italy and the rest. Since 10 April 2026, the Entry/Exit System has replaced passport stamps at Schengen borders, recording each entry and exit so that overstays are detected automatically.

The UK, Turkey and Montenegro sit outside that count. A month in London or Istanbul uses none of your Schengen days, which lets a long European trip alternate between Schengen and non-Schengen countries. Turkey keeps its own 90 days in any 180-day period, and Montenegro allows stays of up to 90 days.

The longest visa-free stays: Georgia, Mexico and Colombia

Georgia gives US citizens the longest stay on this page: one full year without a visa, with nothing to arrange before you fly.

Mexico lets US citizens visit for tourism or unpaid activities for up to 180 days without a visa. The officer who admits you decides how many of those days you get, so say how long you plan to stay and check the stay you were given before you leave the booth.

Colombia counts the calendar year. You enter on an entry permit (PIP). To stay longer, you apply online to Migración Colombia for an extension (PTP) of up to 90 days for tourism.

The 2026 fee is COP 150,000, and the deadline to apply is 5 business days before your PIP expires. However you combine the permits, your total stay cannot pass 180 calendar days in the same calendar year.

Thailand and Taiwan: visa-free stays in Asia

Thailand changed its rule on 15 September 2026. Ordinary US passports now get 30 days visa-free for tourism and short visits, down from 60. For a longer stay, the single-entry tourist e-visa costs US$40 and covers up to 60 days, and you apply for it through Thailand’s official portal, thaievisa.go.th, before you travel.

This is a sample case. Jordan holds a US passport and plans 45 days in Chiang Mai and the islands, landing in Bangkok on 1 December 2026.

Option	Days covered	Cost	Fits 45 days?
Visa-free entry	30, from 1 to 30 December	Nothing	No, 15 days short
Single-entry tourist e-visa	Up to 60	US$40	Yes

Result: Jordan applies for the tourist e-visa before flying and books a flight out on 14 January 2027, day 45 of the stay. Under the rule before 15 September 2026, visa-free entry alone would have covered the trip.

Taiwan gives US nationals 90 days without a visa and asks for an onward ticket at entry: a confirmed return or onward booking with a seat reservation. Your passport, an emergency passport included, has to be valid for the length of the stay.

Popular countries that are not visa-free for US citizens

A strong passport still needs paperwork in some popular places. These 4 are not visa-free for US citizens as of October 2026:

Country	What a US passport needs	Cost	Stay
Indonesia, including Bali	Visa on arrival	Rp 500,000	30 days, extendable once to 60 in total
Nepal	Tourist visa on arrival	US$30, US$50 or US$125	15, 30 or 90 days
Tanzania	Multiple-entry visa	US$100	Visa valid 1 year
China	A visa, or 240-hour visa-free transit	No visa fee for transit	Up to 240 hours in transit

Indonesia and Nepal sell visas on arrival: you can pay at the airport and get a fixed stay, but it is still a visa, not visa-free entry. China runs a 30-day visa exemption for a list of 50 countries, and as of 17 February 2026 the US is not on it. US passports can use the 240-hour visa-free transit instead, which covers a stop on the way to a third country, not a holiday in its own right.

Planning a long trip on visa-free stays

Chaining visa-free stays works when each leg fits its own country’s limit and you add up shared limits, like Schengen’s, across legs. A plan with a few days of margin on every leg survives a delayed flight; one that lands on the last legal day does not.

This is a sample case. Sam holds a US passport and wants 10 months away without applying for a visa. The Mexico officer grants the full 180 days.

Leg	Dates	Days	Limit that applies	Room left after the leg
Mexico	1 Nov 2026 to 30 Mar 2027	150	Up to 180, set at entry	30 Mexico days unused
Portugal and Spain	31 Mar to 29 May 2027	60	90 in any 180 days	30 Schengen days
United Kingdom	29 May to 29 Jun 2027	32	Up to 6 months, £20 ETA	Well inside 6 months
France and Italy	29 Jun to 28 Jul 2027	30	90 in any 180 days	0 Schengen days
Georgia	28 Jul to 31 Aug 2027	35	1 full year	Over 10 months unused

On 28 July 2027 the 180-day period runs back to 30 January 2027 and holds all 90 Schengen days, so 29 July in Rome would be day 91 and an overstay. Sam’s days only start coming back on 27 September 2027, when the 31 March arrival day drops out of the 180-day period.

Result: every leg fits, with the Schengen legs at exactly 90 days and no margin. Ending the France and Italy leg 3 days earlier, on 25 July, would leave room for a cancelled flight. If ETIAS has started by spring 2027, Sam also files it before the first Schengen leg.

How to check a country’s entry rules before you book

Stay limits for US passports move, so check each country on the route when you book and again before you leave.

Checking a visa-free stay before you book

1. Find the rule on the destination’s own government site: its immigration authority, foreign ministry or an embassy page for US citizens.
2. Note what you must arrange before flying: nothing, an ETA, an e-visa or a visa on arrival.
3. Read how the days are counted: per visit, per 180-day period or per calendar year, and whether the figure is fixed or “up to”.
4. Add up any shared limits across your route, such as the 29 Schengen countries counted together.
5. Check the entry conditions beyond the stay, such as passport validity and Taiwan’s confirmed onward booking.
6. Get any ETA or e-visa approved before you pay for flights, as Australia advises for its ETA.
7. Recheck every rule in the week before you leave, and again if your dates slip.