The 183 day rule by country is not one rule - it is fifty variations wearing the same number. Some countries count 183 days in a calendar year, some in a rolling 12-month window, some use 182, 180, 90 or even 60 days, and several use no day count at all. This reference table maps the thresholds for 45+ countries as they stand in 2026, with the counting quirk that matters for each - so you can see every line you are tracking on one page.
Read this first: the three questions per country
For every country you spend real time in, you need three answers, and the table below compresses all three:
- The threshold - 183 is common, but Thailand uses 180, Malaysia 182, Cyprus offers 60, and the UK slides from 16 to 183 depending on your ties.
- The period - calendar year, the country's own tax year, or a rolling 12-month window that never resets.
- What counts as a day - any part of a day (the most common), midnight presence (the UK), or special add-back rules like Spain's and Costa Rica's sporadic absences. The full comparison lives in how to count days.
And remember the universal footnote: many countries can also make you resident with fewer days through a home, family, or economic ties - the day test is the floor, not the whole building.
Europe
| Country | Threshold | Period and counting notes |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 16-183 | Tax year (6 Apr); slides with ties; midnight rule |
| Spain | 183 | Calendar year; sporadic absences count unless resident elsewhere |
| Portugal | 183 | Any 12-month window; or a habitual home on any day |
| France | ~183 | Principal-sojourn test; household or work ties can decide alone |
| Germany | 6 months | Continuous stay spanning years; any dwelling triggers with zero days |
| Italy | 183 | Calendar year; fractions of a day count since 2024 |
| Cyprus | 183 or 60 | Calendar year; 60-day route with ties and no residence elsewhere |
| Ireland | 183 or 280 | 183 in the year, or 280 across two years (min 30 each) |
| Netherlands, Belgium | facts-based | No fixed count; home, family and economic centre decide |
| Switzerland | 30 / 90 | 30 days with gainful activity, 90 without - far below 183 |
| Austria, Denmark, Sweden | 6 months | Continuous-stay tests; Sweden adds habitual-stay history |
| Norway | 183 or 270 | 183 in 12 months, or 270 in any 36 months |
| Finland | 6 months | Continuous presence; short absences ignored |
| Greece, Croatia, Malta | 183 | Calendar year; Malta also uses ordinary-residence facts |
| Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria | 183 | Calendar year; centre-of-interests tests alongside |
| Georgia | 183 | Any rolling 12-month window |
Americas
| Country | Threshold | Period and counting notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 183 weighted | 3-year formula: this year + 1/3 + 1/6; 31-day minimum |
| US states | mostly 183 | Statutory residency with an abode; any part of a day |
| Canada | 183 | Calendar year sojourning = deemed resident; ties decide otherwise |
| Mexico | none | No day test - home and centre of vital interests decide |
| Costa Rica | 183 | Calendar fiscal year; sporadic absences added back |
| Panama | 183 | Calendar year; territorial system softens the blow |
| Brazil | 184 | Within any 12 months; or immediately with a resident visa |
| Colombia | 183 | Any rolling 365-day window, split across years |
| Chile | 183 | Within any 12-month window |
| Argentina | 12 months | Residence permits or 12 months of presence |
| Uruguay | 183 | Calendar year; investment routes can shortcut |
Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa
| Country | Threshold | Period and counting notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 180 | Calendar year - note: not 183 |
| Singapore | 183 | Preceding calendar year; 2-year and 3-year concessions |
| Malaysia | 182 | Calendar year; linked-period rule bridges years |
| Indonesia | >183 | Any rolling 12-month period; intent can trigger earlier |
| China | 183 | Calendar year; six-year rule shields foreign income initially |
| Japan | 1 year / facts | Domicile-based; no simple 183 test |
| South Korea | 183 | Within the tax year; occupation/family ties too |
| India | 182 | Fiscal year (Apr-Mar); a 60-day trap for returners with history |
| Vietnam | 183 | Calendar year or first 12 months; a long lease can substitute |
| Philippines | 180 | Foreigners over 180 days become resident aliens (local income only) |
| Hong Kong | 180 / 300 | Territorial; 180 in a year or 300 over two for certificates |
| UAE | 183 or 90 | Rolling 12 months; 90-day route needs residence + ties |
| Saudi Arabia | 183 or 30 | 183 days, or 30 with a permanent home there |
| Israel | 183 or 30/425 | Tax year, or 30 days plus 425 across three years |
| Australia | 183 | July-June income year; abode-and-intention overlay |
| New Zealand | 183 | Any 12 months; permanent-place-of-abode overrides; 325 days away to leave |
| South Africa | 91/915 | Physical-presence formula over six years, or ordinary residence |
The patterns worth memorising
- 183 is the mode, not the rule. Thailand's 180, Malaysia's 182, India's 182 and Brazil's 184 all punish copy-paste planning.
- Continental Europe loves facts over days. Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium can claim you through a dwelling or family with almost no days at all.
- Low-day routes exist on purpose. Cyprus at 60 and the UAE at 90 are designed to hand mobile people a residency they can actually reach - useful anchors against being resident nowhere.
- Any part of a day usually counts. Arrival and departure days are full days almost everywhere outside the UK's midnight system.
Track every line on this page at once
Nobody can hold 45 thresholds and three window types in their head - and nobody has to. Tax Residency Tracker runs the table for you: automatic GPS stays feed per-country totals for any period including rolling windows, four counting modes match the local day definition, custom thresholds mirror whichever line applies to you (60, 90, 180, 182, 183), and alerts fire before you cross any of them. The dated history with documents and CSV export is the proof when a tax office asks - all on your device, offline.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 183-day rule the same everywhere?
No. The number varies (60 to 184), the window varies (calendar year, tax year, rolling 12 months), and the day definition varies (any part, midnight, add-back rules). Each country needs its own line in your tracking.
Which countries have no day-count test at all?
Mexico is the famous one - homes and the centre of vital interests decide. The Netherlands and Belgium are similarly facts-based, and Germany's dwelling rule can trigger with zero days.
What is the lowest threshold on the list?
The UK can capture a heavily-tied leaver from just 16 days, Switzerland's working threshold is 30, and Saudi Arabia's home-plus-30-days route is similar. On the friendly side, Cyprus offers residency from 60 days.
Do arrival and departure days count?
In most countries yes - any part of a day is a day. The UK counts midnights instead, which is why the same trip can produce different totals in different systems.
Deep-dive the fundamentals in the 183-day rule and how days are counted, plan a base with the tax-free countries guide, or browse all guides.