Last week, Canadian snowbirds seeking to extend their stay in the U.S. beyond 182 days per year were given fresh hope.

On July 6, 2023, U.S Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) reintroduced legislation that, if passed, would extend the period of time Canadian citizens age 50 or over who own or rent a U.S. residence can spend in the United States from 182 days per year to 240 days per year.

Full text of the bill, officially named the Canadian Snowbird Visa Act can be found here.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the past

Stefanik has introduced similar Canadian snowbird legislation in the past. However, this time, 10 other members co-sponsored the current version of the bill.

“Providing Canadians who own homes and property in the United States with extra time to visit and boost our economy will help revive Canadian tourism to the United States after an unprecedented closure of the Northern Border,” Stefanik said in a press release.

Why does this legislation keep getting introduced?

The legislation, if passed would not only allow Canadians to stay longer in their winter homes - but it also would give Canadians the opportunity to visit the U.S. for whatever reason, beyond their annual winter stay – including for cross-border shopping and to attend events.

There have been multiple attempts to do this before both in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Similar bills have been introduced several times going back to 2011. However, so far, the bills have failed to be passed into law for a variety of reasons including elections or a change in government.

On June 17th, 2021, Florida senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott reintroduced the Canadian Snowbirds Act. They had previously introduced the bill in 2019.

Stay tuned

Snowbird Advisor is watching this situation closely and will keep our members advised of any material developments.