They are having a bumper year. I asked if Brexit is hurting their tourist industry and the two guides burst out laughing. They see no difference, just more Belgium and Dutch.
Madrid was packed. We are now on our Christmas sit on the south coast and as many people here as usual.
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We arrived on 6th. Our passports got stamped and the only question we were asked was how much money we were carrying. It looks like they are more interested in money laundrying. I saw no one being questioned for any length of time.
If people own holiday properties they have to sign and get a piece of property stamped by the regional authorities before they come into the country? That is an interesting concept.
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I have just checked the entry requirements and the laws referenced by the Spanish ministry are EU regulations from 2016 and 2018 and a Spanish law from 2007. What changed from 2nd December is the requirements for accommodation companies and car rental companies to provide information about their customers, nothing that affects your entry in the country.
The invitation letter is just an alternative way of proving that you have accommodation. It is one of the documents that you may be required to provide if they stop you and question extensively, like a return ticket or enough financial means for the stay. The amount they consider enough in 2024 is 113 euros per person daily with a minimum of 1020 per stay.
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Speaking of the extended visas for the US, there is also extended scrutiny. And you are dead on that this is not something to goof around with. I know a couple who were residing in the US. One was working as a corporate transfer, another was quietly doing some remote work for his employer and taking occassional work trip home. I say quietly because technically remote work is illegal and I don’t believe they officialy got permission to work which spouses of L1 visas can get easily but it’s paperwork and takes a couple of months. They would regularly have nannies who were young women daughters of friends and came on tourists visas for 3 months. When they made the mistake of having one who was returning request a 6 months visa she got called for secondary questioning and deported. The couple didn’t get into trouble but could’ve lost their visa as well.
I’ve no doubt you could get a 6 month visa. But a younger person who is going to be remote working (we don’t have a digital nomad passport here) and housesitting (considered work for a visa) is breaking the rules two ways and asking for a 6-month visa is a sure way to get a secondary screening for a “targeted” person.
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Why the arricle in the observer had been deleted?
Could you give rhe date and title in order to find it on their website?
We needed a B1/B2 six month visa as we were entering on a private yacht. It’s the official way to enter on this mode of transport. Our interview was at the American Embassy in Barbados. It was granted three days later. The B1/B2 lasts for 10 years. I don’t know if we will get renew it as we are only in USA for a couple of a months at a time now.
It’s not hard to do/get but you do need a genuine reason and there are many forms to fill in. It states that the holder cannot work/ volunteer in USA. Very strict, so we visit friends.
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The truth is that THS has a problem with this. The tourist visa isn’t legit for the purpose in a number of countries. But any other possible visas – like the US J-1 for “cultural exchanges” would require a lot of paperwork for the sitter and sponsership by THS, making it absolutely not practical for the purpose of tourism – which is what most sitters woud consider this. There is some cultural exchange for sure, but the purpose is not the cultural change, it’s to stay cheaply and stretch your travel dollars.
It should be an allowed tourist activity but then again so should short volunteer stints and internships and lots of other things. Somewhere in this thread I remember someone giving the example of a relative in Europe who got stopped at a border because she admitted she was going to “volunteer” at a concert. If she had only said she was going to a concert, there wouldn’t have been a problem.
Border crossing are always risky and no business should be encouraging people to lie OR offering a “solution” like the letter that will only make things worse. THS should simply stay out of the fray and tell sitters to learn the rules for entry, warn that some countries consider housesitters work which might not be allowed on tourist visas, and to do their own research before accepting a sit that involves crossing a border.
I think many people would figure it out from there.
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Frankly as an older person (not 67 yet) this sounds awesome. My spouse and I are researchign other countries to “retire” to but we really aren’t ready to “retire” financially. We also aren’t read to be full time nomads either as we love to nest and love our cats too much to travel full time to take care of others people cats. (This would break our hearts as a lifestyle!) But many countries you are either retired or you’re not! So I love the idea of a bridge visa if it would allow a couple like us to at least earn money remotely if it didn’t come from the country we were staying in and wasn’t taking away anyone’s job.
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Just wanted to say in keeping this going, that I think regarding the US, I truly believe things will get much worse for both entry and pass throughs. Not only is sitting not allowed on a tourist visa, but there are no digital nomad visas and technically you aren’t supposed to be “working.” How checking in to the office and going to a few online meetings “counts” may be dependent on your border guard so best to keep your mouth shut and keep things simple. Frankly, if I were a nomadic sitter, I’d probably steer clear of the US for a while.
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I mean, I want to steer clear of the US and I live here 
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I don’t get why people don’t just say they’re on an adventure trip, exploring the country, or doing something touristy. Why is that so hard? Just say you’re visiting friends, staying at their place, or whatever.
That may work when you are a Boer from South Africa, but many others (Canadians, Panamanians, Danish) may risk getting selected for secondary interrogation. Getting refused entry and returned on the next available flight if they are lucky.
(Edited to meet posting guidelines)
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I think an important thing to remember about these limited number of incidents where people ran into problems is how the situation unfolded.
It is not like these people were purposely trying to hide the fact they were housesitting, were randomly selected for more extensive questioning and eventually felt like they had no choice but to reveal more specific details about the their trip.
They freely and very unnecessarily offered up this information immediately, obviously not knowing it could be viewed as a problem.
Anyone reading this thread is now aware that it could be a problem and would know not to do that.
People are housesitting as a means to reduce costs of leisure travel–regardless of how housesitting is viewed, that is always the true intention of the sitter. People aren’t using sites like THS for employment opportunities. So when people say they are there for touristic purposes, that is the truth.
I was sitting for many years before I became aware this was any sort of problem and I never once mentioned housesitting. So it wasn’t because I was trying to hide anything, it was because it did not seem relevant.
While this issue is discussed extensively on small corners of the internet like this forum and the Facebook group, in reality, it is an extremely rare occurrence. Obviously there is always a chance something could go wrong so it would depend on the sitter’s risk tolerance.
As for the US specifically and the average tourist entering here from areas like the UK and the EU, I don’t think the immigration issues in the US right now will lead to some crazy level of scrutiny for such people–the US processed over 60 million visitors during the most recent year for which there are stats. But again, this all depends on the comfort level of the person.
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As I remember it, some were selected for secondary questioning quite randomly. Or because of their travel history. Or their expected length of stay. Or because of the stuff in their car. Etc.
With the present erratic and unpredictable behavior of the US government, borders could be shut at any time.
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I think that might be a bit of an overstatement. Secondary questioning happens, yes, but the idea of borders being shut at any time seems unlikely. Even during unpredictable times, such actions are rare and usually not without prior warning.
How much warning was there for the tariffs last weekend? And I remember eight years ago Muslim colleagues that were on their way to scientific conferences in the US and got turned back.
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This doesn’t really have much to do with TrustedHousesitters itself, but rather with a general mindset. As we always say, it’s important to have a plan B. If someone doesn’t feel comfortable with the situation or finds it too risky, they can simply go somewhere else or do something different. The world is big – and inherently unpredictable. Flexibility and alternative options are key.
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It is not an overstatement. I am in the US. It is a terrifying situation. It will likely get much worse before it gets better and I am only saying it will get better because I need to hold on to some hope.
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Not sure why this is toward me in particular. But the issue is the question asked: Where are you staying? That question is asked routinely. It’s not the kind of “trip”. Usually, for a regular (not secondary) screening the first question is: Purpose of trip? The answer is tourism. They aren’t interested in details unless they ask. The next question is “Where are you staying?” This is the one that trips people up.
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Months. It was a huge part of the campaign