The Canadian Snowbird Visa Act is a proposed U.S. law that would let Canadian citizens aged 50 and older stay in the United States for up to 240 days in any 365-day period, replacing the current six-month cap. It has been introduced in three consecutive sessions of Congress and has never become law. The most recent versions, H.R. 3070 and S. 2406, were filed in 2025 and are sitting in committee. Until Congress passes it and the president signs it, the existing 180-day limit for Canadian visitors still governs every trip.
Where the Bill Stands Now
Versions of the bill went nowhere in the last two Congresses. H.R. 4856 died in the 117th Congress. H.R. 4448 followed in the 118th and also failed to clear committee.1Congress.gov. H.R.4448 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Canadian Snowbird Visa Act
In the current 119th Congress, Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida introduced H.R. 3070 on April 29, 2025. It was referred to the House Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees.2Congress.gov. H.R.3070 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Canadian Snowbird Act Sen. Rick Scott of Florida introduced a companion, S. 2406, on July 23, 2025; it went to the Senate Finance Committee.3Congress.gov. S.2406 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Canadian Snowbirds Act of 2025 Neither chamber has scheduled a vote. The bill’s supporters lean on an economic argument: Canadian retirees spend heavily in Sun Belt states, and the six-month cap sends them home before spring.
What the Bill Would Change
The core provision extends the maximum stay from 180 days to 240 days within any 365-day period.4BillTrack50. US HR4448 Sixty extra days sounds small until you map it onto a snowbird season. Under today’s rules, arriving in November means leaving by May. A 240-day window would let you land in mid-October and stay through mid-June.
The count is a rolling 365-day period, not a calendar year. Every day inside U.S. borders counts, no matter how many trips you split the time across. Blowing past 240 days would carry the same overstay consequences that apply under current rules.
Who Would Qualify
The extended stay is narrow by design. A visitor would have to satisfy the Secretary of Homeland Security on all of the following:4BillTrack50. US HR4448
- Be at least 50 years old at entry.
- Maintain a home in Canada.
- Own a U.S. residence or hold a signed rental agreement covering the full stay.
- Not work for any U.S.-based employer (with the remote-work exception below).
- Not seek federal means-tested public benefits.
The age floor is the clearest signal of the bill’s intent: this is a retiree pathway, not a general tourist expansion. The dual-housing requirement works on both ends, showing you have somewhere to live in the U.S. and that you intend to go back to Canada. The bill does not spell out documentation, so expect to show a deed, title, or executed lease if border officers ask.
The benefits restriction points to federal means-tested programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, and TANF. Nonimmigrant visitors are already ineligible for these programs, so the practical effect is to make eligibility an explicit condition of entry rather than only an administrative denial.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1613 – Five-Year Limited Eligibility of Qualified Aliens for Federal Means-Tested Public Benefit
The Remote Work Carve-Out
The bill blocks employment with U.S. employers, full stop. No full-time job, no part-time work, no freelance contracts for American clients. But it creates an explicit exception for work performed for a non-U.S. employer who already employed the visitor in Canada.4BillTrack50. US HR4448 In practice: if a Canadian company was paying you before you crossed the border, you can keep doing that job from your Florida condo.
Standard B-2 visitor status does not clearly permit that kind of remote work, so this piece would be a real change, not a relabeling of what people already do. The exception is limited to pre-existing relationships. You can’t pick up new Canadian clients while sitting in Arizona and claim the carve-out after the fact. Keep records of the Canadian employment or consulting relationship in case CBP asks.
Current Rules Still in Effect
Because the bill has not passed, Canadian visitors enter under the B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant classifications, with a maximum stay set by a CBP officer at entry, typically up to six months.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. B-1 Temporary Business Visitor Most Canadians are exempt from the I-94 arrival/departure record that other foreign nationals receive.7U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I-94 Official Website CBP tracks entry electronically, but without an I-94 you may not have a clear paper record of when your authorized stay ends. Keep your own log of entry and exit dates.
If you need more than 180 days on a single trip today, you can file Form I-539 with USCIS before your current stay expires. USCIS recommends filing at least 45 days before expiration.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extend Your Stay Extensions come in increments of up to six months, and total time on one trip generally cannot exceed a year.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. B-1 Temporary Business Visitor Processing can take months, and you have to stay in the U.S. while it’s pending or risk abandoning the application. This process would remain available whether or not the Snowbird Act passes.
Overstaying carries real consequences. More than 180 days but less than a year of unlawful presence, followed by departure, triggers a three-year re-entry bar. A year or more triggers a ten-year bar.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility These bars kick in when you leave and try to come back, so a seven-month overstay followed by a drive home can shut you out for years.
The Tax Problem a 240-Day Stay Would Create
Spending 240 days in the U.S. would almost certainly trigger the IRS Substantial Presence Test. That test counts every day in the current year, one-third of days in the prior year, and one-sixth of days in the year before that. Hit 183 total, with at least 31 days in the current year, and the IRS treats you as a U.S. tax resident.10Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test
A 240-day stay clears 183 days in year one alone. Without the right paperwork, the IRS can tax your worldwide income at rates from 10% to 37%.11Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 That means Canadian pensions, investment income, rental income, and everything else. Many snowbirds don’t discover the problem until years later.
Form 8840 and the Closer Connection Exception
The fix is IRS Form 8840, the Closer Connection Exception Statement. You use it to establish that your tax home and main life connections stay in Canada.12Internal Revenue Service. Closer Connection Exception to the Substantial Presence Test The form asks about your permanent home, family location, personal belongings, voter registration, driver’s license, and banking. If those all point to Canada, the IRS treats you as a nonresident.
File it every year. If you’re also filing Form 1040-NR, attach Form 8840. If you don’t need to file a return, mail Form 8840 separately by the Form 1040-NR due date.13Internal Revenue Service. Form 8840 – Closer Connection Exception Statement for Aliens Miss the deadline and you have to prove by “clear and convincing evidence” that you took reasonable steps to comply, which is a much harder standard.12Internal Revenue Service. Closer Connection Exception to the Substantial Presence Test
The Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty provides a second layer. Article IV’s residency tie-breaker works through a hierarchy: where you have a permanent home, where your personal and economic ties are closest, where you spend most of your time, and finally citizenship. For most snowbirds with a Canadian home, Canadian family, and Canadian bank accounts, the treaty assigns residency to Canada. It operates independently of Form 8840, so it can bail you out if you miss a filing.
None of this is triggered by the Snowbird Act itself. Anyone spending significant time in the U.S. today faces the same test. But moving from 180 days to 240 makes the exposure certain rather than borderline.
The Health Insurance Gap
Neither the bill nor current immigration law requires Canadian visitors to carry health insurance, and provincial plans cover little to nothing for care in the U.S. Some provinces reimburse out-of-country care at a flat daily rate that wouldn’t cover a single blood test at an American hospital. Uninsured inpatient stays routinely run into the thousands per day.
Visitors on B-2 status generally cannot buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, so private travel medical insurance bought before leaving Canada is the practical option. Premiums vary with age, coverage limits, and pre-existing conditions; a comprehensive plan for a 70-year-old can run several hundred dollars a month.
A longer stay compounds the problem. Many travel medical policies cap trip length at 180 or 212 days. An eight-month stay under a 240-day law would need a policy that covers the whole period with no gap. A serious medical event on day 200 with an expired policy is the scenario that drains retirement savings.
How to Plan While the Bill Sits in Committee
The Canadian Snowbird Visa Act has stalled three times now, so don’t build a trip around it. Keep planning under the 180-day rule. If you need more time on a single trip, file Form I-539 early. Track your entry and exit dates yourself, because you probably won’t have an I-94 to fall back on. File Form 8840 every year if you’re spending substantial time in the U.S., regardless of whether the bill becomes law. Confirm your travel medical insurance actually covers the full length of the trip. Those steps are the real work of being a snowbird, and no single piece of legislation is going to replace them.