International Sitting Advice Wanted

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Hello fellow sitters!

As a recently adjusted digital nomad, I’m planning to travel and see the world whilst I can, working remotely online and saving up for a place to settle down into in 2-3 years time.

Would anyone with experience sitting internationally, be willing to share advice on where in the world you would recommend applying to sit, and what the visa implications were like for you to do short or long sits there?

For context, I’m 38yrs, travelling solo and hold a British Passport and NZ PR.

Given the current ICE situation in the US, and seeing posts/news with people being taken off the streets - I’m not planning to visit the US anytime soon.

Any other insights, thoughts or stories anyone would want to share would be much appreciated.

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@globalpetsitter, kudos on becoming a digital nomad. The housesit community is surprisingly diverse in terms of situation, objectives, preferences. There seems a hearty niche of full-time sitters and/or international travelers.

UK/Canada passports. Over last 2+ years, we’ve completed approximately 50 housesesits (majority THS). Sits broadly one-third each in Schengen zone, UK and North America. Several of our sits have exceeded one month duration (longest three months). We are fortunate to housesit with an experiential objective - so destination/journey is a key decision criteria.

Re where to sit, we’d encourage that you become familiar with the ballpark profile of THS listings (thread below has data - easy to update via Search function on THS app). This may reinforce opportunity via THS but also limitations. For example, we’ve been exploring idea of using THS to spend months in South America or NZ/Australia but listings are alas few (and some listings have more pets than a zoo!). To aid some future life planning, we have partly used THS to visit some places of specific personal interest.

We’d encourage that you experiment and gain experience with THS Saved Search tool. We find it fabulous. We set searches for specific destinations and, once in a while, opportunity presents itself.

Re visa implications, there’s a whole lot of content on this topic. Various countries consider housesitting as employment with in-kind compensation. But few countries enforce. We’re not going to give related advice as each person determines their own risk appetite. We are currently comfortable to visit anywhere other than the US.

Finally, we try to balance responsibilities. We do love dogs - woof! But they can be demanding. So we try to actively switch between dogs, cats and no pets.

Good luck on your adventures. Our journey has evolved as we gained housesitting and perhaps a better personal insight.

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We have been travelling for one year as of today! Australian passport. We travelled first three months in Europe paying for accommodation, then into Morrocco also paying. A 5 week stay in the UK with combined hotels and our first sit. Back into the Schengen, all paid accommodation. Now in the UK with a mix of sits and paid accommodation. Retired so no need to work, but not rich, budget travelling. My reflections are this; even easy dogs need regular walking, someday that can be tough if you are ill. Something to consider on your own. We are travelling reasonably fast, mostly a week in one place and that gets exhausting. The reason we first chose to sit was for a rest and it was a great idea. Also very ethical way in that we are staying in someone’s home, not inflating local rents as Airbnb’s do. However I am finding continually living in other people’s spaces gets draining, particularly when there is clutter. We do this primarily to travel so only sit in places of interest to us. And so far no longer than 3 weeks in one spot. I can see longer sits might be more relaxing, but currently our time frame does not allow for it. Do not fall for the marketing of “free accommodation” there will be work required with every sit so choose wisely. And make sure you have enough money to pay for accommodation when/if you need to. Give it a try, nothing to lose.

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We’re almost full time sitters & part time digital nomads. Four years into the life, 23 countries and about 50ish sits (most on THS). It’s brilliant & great fun but you need some tools in place to make it work. Longer sits, cats or low maintenance dogs if possible, not full hours working as you’ll need to factor in the sitting duties to your work day. We work about 20 hours a week for ourselves not a company which helps, our ideal sits are 2/3 weeks (although we’re on a 3 month one now) not less generally, make sure you have money for gaps & some fall back. We’ve used the cancellation insurance on international sits so consider premium. We always buy non refundable flights as there’s such a big difference & then go to the destination anyway if a sit doesn’t happen. Think about your time zone too for work hours. Either sit in new parts of the UK first to build reviews and test the system and your pace, there are loads of sits so easy to fill the diary. Then head to say SEA or the Balkans where cost of living is cheap so gaps don’t hurt and your passport is good. Feel free to DM me if you’d like any other info. #itsagreatlife

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If your goal is to house sit full time with little gaps in between I suggest joining more than one platform. When I was in Canada I joined a platform similar to this one but exclusively for sits in Canada. Other countries have house and pet sit platforms you can join as well. So if you are planning in staying in one country for a few months before you move on this may be worth it to you. I was not interested in sits longer than two weeks in Canada but on the Canadian one there are many for 6 months that I saw. Like others have suggested, start with local sits and maybe one after another to see if you want this lifestyle full time. I was a nomad twice in my life, Both times were 9 months each but 12 years apart. I went to many countries. I didn’t do it to save money but to travel in a way that I would really immerse in the culture. I lived with the families in the countries I visited except in Canada where I did pet and house sits. Best experience ever! Both times I had sold my house so was free to travel without responsibilities. I didn’t sell my house to travel, I was retiring after owning a 30 year business and was moving to a retirement area after first house sold and a different State after house 2. Thought it would be the perfect time to travel. This type of travel was not available when I was younger or at least that I knew of. Good luck to you! Drop back in on the forum and let us know how it is doing for you.

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Amsterdam, where we live now after relocating from many years in Los Angeles, has a ton of wonderful sits. I would include that on your saved searches. now that we are without animals of our own for the first time in many many years, we really only sit when the itch gets too strong, or when there’s a particularly marvelous sit in a European city. I would possibly build up a lot of good reviews by sitting locally, and then just look where you’d like to go.

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Here’s the TL;DR of my long response:

  • Dream first: Map out where you’d love to spend the next two years (e.g., 3 months Thailand, 2 months Sweden).

  • Check the rules: Research work visas, tax obligations, and housesitting rules using official sources (embassies, gov’t sites).

  • Adjust the plan: Tweak your itinerary based on visa limits (e.g., Schengen 90/180 rule).

  • Budget realistically: Make sure the trip is affordable without housesits, since sits can fall through.

  • Set saved searches: Once your plan is solid, create THS alerts for your chosen places and dates.

  • Be patient & disciplined: Wait for sits that fit your plan—don’t derail your year chasing tempting off-route listings.

  • Stay flexible: If a sit doesn’t work out, fall back on your budgeted backup (hotel, rental, etc.).Welcome to this exciting world!

:writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand: :writing_hand:

And now - for the very lengthy version that goes into detail about the above, should you be so inclined: Though this isn’t precisely what you asked, I think my best advice is to plan your next two years as though housesitting is not an option. Dream a little dream and think: Where would I love to go? What would I enjoy experiencing? Map it out, plan it out. Maybe three months in Thailand? Two in Sweden? And so on.

Then and only then - after you’ve dreamed your dream - go back and start mapping out the practicalities. Since you are working remotely, you need to understand work visas as well as housesitting rules. Not to mention taxes! Taxes generally follow the work , not the company. One year I had to file taxes in five different countries (really!) because I was in each one just long enough to have to file there (luckily my company, whose fault it was that I was in those countries, paid an accounting firm to do it for me). So many people think, incorrectly, that if they work for a UK company they only have to file in the UK. NOPE. I personally know two people who learned this the very hard way, one of whom ended up in bankruptcy (and a divorce) as a result.

Use an official channel, like an embassy or a country’s government website, to find out “what’s what” for digital nomads. For example, I was able to work in one country for 30 days with no work visa, so I left on day 30, but in another I needed one on my day of arrival. Ignore the advice from scofflaws who recommend trying to skate by on a tourist visa or lie to authorities. You are in your mid-thirties, and having a black mark on your immigration record will do you zero favors in your long and vibrant future.

So: Now that you know the practicalities, adjust your dream accordingly. Maybe you wanted to spend two months in Sweden, two in Germany, and two in Spain, all back-to-back, and now you’ve discovered that as a UK passport holder you can’t do that without exceeding the 90-day-in-180 Schengen rule. Plus you’ve learned you’ll need a digital nomad work visa for Germany but not for Spain. Possibly you can modify your plan to go from Spain to Thailand to Australia and then back to Germany, giving you time to get a work visa for Germany (they have freelance ones if you’re a freelancer).

Now. Now that you’ve mapped out your two years, and you understand the visa implications, and you’re getting excited and you’re confident that you can afford to do this even without housesitting: NOW is the time to set up “saved searches” for sits in those locations and at the times you plan to be there. This has worked a treat for me. 90% of the time I have found the perfect sit in the perfect place at the perfect time. I had to learn to be patient - so patient. I’d plan to be in Dallas but a juicy sit would come up in Chicago. Switching to Chicago would throw my entire year off track (I once gave in to the temptation and it ended up costing me far more than it saved, both in stress and in money) So I’d hold my breath, wait for my alert from my saved search, and pray. It almost feels like the Universe must be a THS member because so many times I’d get a sit for exactly the dates I needed. And the few times I didn’t, I’d just get a hotel - remember, always pick places that you can afford without THS, as sits sometimes fall through at the last minute.

THS has been an absolute dream life for me. But I plan my life first, and see where THS fits in with that - not the other way around. Having a plan in advance helps in other ways, too. Often hosts ask if they can use my services again, and by having a plan I can say, “Well I’ll be back in the area for two weeks in October of 2027”. Multiple hosts have scheduled their vacations around me, which is not only gratifying but also simplifies trying to secure sits in the future.

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While a lot of the information on this thread deals with the US and Canada, there is also information in general on border challenges and on the “letters” issued by THS to travellers: https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/challenges-with-border-guards-re-the-laws/

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Unfortunately, the truth is that being a scofflaw over THS pet sitting visa issues has been standard procedure for anyone wanting to mix in far ranging travel. Petsitting in exchange for housing is considered work in most countries requiring a work rather than tourist visa. So revealing a pet/house sit at the borders of the UK, Canada, Australia, the EU, … and the US will most likely get you turned away. This has long been true. Of course, the deteriorating US reputation courtesy of our border officials has fewer people willing to risk today what was SOP yesterday.

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If you try and get a work visa to do unpaid house sitting in most of those countries @globalpetsitter not only are you unlikely to get them in most places, it also adds cost and faff to a life many THS members don’t want and the mutual exchange model doesn’t warrant. The dreaded THS border letter is NOT recommended as it will cause you issues. If you really want to apply for work visas as you travel then you might as well do paid house sits instead. As @OnTheRoadAgain says, being a scofflaw is standard practice for tonnes of global sitters also travelling & being tourists. #yourjourneyyourchoice

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Thanks @GotYourBack,
It’s interesting to see those stats of how listings looked in May 2025.
After reading a lot of the advice here, have gone and setup a few alerts for countries where I can stay longer term without visa issues and those where it’s not costing a silly amount. Also good point about the specifically looking at sits that may be cats only. Whilst I love sitting dogs, and find the frequent walks great for catching up on audio books, sitting cats has been great for being able to go exploring for longer periods of time where dogs aren’t allowed.

Thanks again, for the shared experience on your travels. Much appreciated :sparkles:

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Congratulations on your year long travel adventures @Cathie ! :sparkles:
Love the concept that sits are not pushing up costs of living and is a community based on ethical trust and not capital gains.
The savings for emergencies is down, but a good reminder to have in the back of the mind on staying on top of topping it up.
Have had a mix of sits so far, and that certainly resonates in some home environments of sits can feel draining. For most part, I’ve been lucky in finding locations that have been filling the cup in terms of the animals, and spaces to explore.
In terms of the work, yes! Clarifying roles and responsibilities is something I’ll continue to ask of the bat and get in writing, as well as expectations.
Great tips, thank you!
Here’s to many more years of happy, smooth travels and sitting adventures :clinking_glasses:

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Four years and covering 23 countries and 50ish sits :eyes:
That’s epic @Cuttlefish!
Going premium certainly feels like the way forward with full-time sits and overseas travels. Great tip on the non-refundable flights and going anyway if the sits don’t happen. I feel half of me want to go places for experiences either way of there being a sit there or not.
The time zones are a huge factor indeed, as working with clients internationally and things could change significantly with client preferences for calls when moving around.
Lovely to hear it’s been a great life travelling and sitting for you. It fills me with exciting, seeing how others have made it possible :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Thank you for those tips and sharing your experience @Seniorsitter :sparkles:
Love that you dived into that immersive experience of the nomad life and integrated into families of other cultures. This would be something I’d love to try in-between sits, whilst taking breaks from online private practice.
Will certain be back in touch in a years time to share how it went on this post if it’s still up - notification coming (12 months) soon :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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That’s lovely you found a base in Amsterdam to call home @ClovesC :sparkles:
It’s one of my favourite cities in Europe. Before leaving the UK to move to NZ, considered moving there myself. It’s certainly one I’m going to add to the Schengen saved listings.
Planning travels around Europe feels like an adventure to be planned. Will have a go seeing where interconnection trains can take me between cities where stays are likely to be :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
But yes, building up reviews in the NZ might help to gain more reputation on this side of the world. Have 8 so far across UK, Aus and NZ when sitting as a way to change up the environment during holidays. Currently on a long 5 month sit in NZ which was jammy doing full-time nomading, and will have another coming up at the end of the year here as well. So will keep it local whilst building up those reviews and getting savvy with planning ahead for Europe next summer.

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@KittySitter - This line made me giggle :laughing:
Love this advice! Plan for travel and trust the universe will deliver (through conscious planning). Or that’s my take away at least.
It’s certainly provided a lot of food for thought, and certainly don’t want to risk it for a biscuit, in terms of breaking any immigration or tax laws. Had an insightful chat with my NZ accountant, as a freelancer, working for an international platform that pays into the UK account but allowed to work anyway in the world. Will do a bit more digging to cover myself for any worst case and great point to check embassy websites.

Going to take time in planning all of this 2 year dream travel and what I’d want to take away form each place. Thinking of it that way helps to brainstorm more opportunities, that the stress of “what if I don’t get a sit where I want, when I want”.

So many lovely reframes to take away from your post @KittySitter. Thank you for taking the time for the thoughtful considerations. :sparkles:

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Thanks @Marion - I didn’t know about these letters until you shared this link. Really good to know they’re there to show if there’s any implications.

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Also good to know. I’ll probably book some cooking classes at each location (feeling inspired that this is something I want to try on travels now), but also being from the UK, on a British passport and also have friends I can stay with in AUS, should make these countries less troublesome to move through.
Canada feels like a far away option right now, so might be sticking to AU, NZ, UK, Asia and Shengen for these reasons.

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The advice from many forum members is DON’T show them they will get you in more trouble than NOT having them .

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@globalpetsitter DO NOT use those THS letters unless you want to be booted out of the country you are trying to get in to! There is a load of commentary on these on other threads if you search via the spy glass.

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