Technical article

How Long Can You Be Away? Absence Rules That Cancel Residency

How long could they be out of the country before the permit is cancelled?

By Neil Solomon · 6 min read

Picture a couple named Dale and Ruth. They are 66 and 64. They plan to live in one country for most of the year, but Ruth's mother is ill in Ohio, and they may be away for many months at a time. They ask a simple question. How long could they be out of the country before the permit is cancelled?

I read the official text for each country below. The answers differ a lot, and the number often depends on which permit you hold.

What each government says

Quoted from the pages: Portugal's article says "seis meses consecutivos ou oito meses interpolados" for temporary permits and "24 meses seguidos ou, num período de três anos, 30 meses interpolados" for permanent ones. Panama's text says "ausentarse del territorio nacional por más de dos años", with the exception "salvo que tal ausencia sea justificada y autorizada". Colombia's page says the visa "terminará si el extranjero se ausenta del país por más de dos (2) años continuos."

A few things worth noticing

Portugal counts months two ways. A long single trip and many shorter trips both add up. A temporary permit holder who is away four months twice has used the whole eight.

Panama's rule gives the office a choice. The article says the director general "podrá cancelar", meaning could cancel. The two-year absence is a reason the office may act on, and a justified, authorized absence is an exception.

Spain's rule is about the EU, not only Spain. The information sheet says the long-term permit is lost after 12 consecutive months outside EU territory. It also describes a way to recover the permit, using form EX-11, with a decision due in three months. The sheet covers the national long-term permit. For temporary residence permits the 2024 regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024) lists, among the causes for ending the permit, being outside Spain for more than six months in a period of one year (BOE, read 11 October 2026).

Mexico had no limit in the text I read. Article 64 lists causes for cancelling resident status, including when the foreigner states the departure is final. Article 52 gives residents the right to enter and leave as often as they wish. My copy of the text ended at article 85, so other rules may exist elsewhere in the law or its regulations.

Costa Rica sets two limits. Article 129 gives cancellation when permanent residents are away "de manera consecutiva, por un lapso superior a cuatro años", and when temporary residents are away "por un lapso superior a dos años consecutivos". The text exempts absences justified by duly proven reasons such as health, study or family. Article 132 lets a person who must stay away longer ask to suspend legal residence, which stops the count. I read this on a copy of Title VI of the law hosted by the national ombudsman's office, with no date shown.

Colombia treats visa types differently. The resident visa allows two years. The student visa ends after 90 days away.

What is left open

• Costa Rica: the copy of article 129 I read is on the ombudsman's site, with no date shown. The national legal database lists the same two limits. Laws change, so check the version in force before you plan around it.
• Portugal: the copy of the law I read comes from a government legal office site, with no date shown. The immigration agency's own pages are the place to see the current wording.
• Spain, temporary permits: the 2024 regulation names six months in a year as a cause for ending the permit. The text does not appear in the pages I read in full, so ask whether exceptions apply to your case.
• Only Panama's and Costa Rica's texts name a justified absence. Costa Rica's text lists health and family as examples. Portugal, Spain and Colombia pages say nothing on reasons.
• Spain's information sheet on the national long-term permit also says continuity is not broken by absences of up to six continuous months, as long as they total no more than ten months in five years. That is a rule for earning the permit, not for losing it.

An accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad could confirm which rule applies to a specific permit, and whether a tax residence also depends on days spent in the country.