Try retiring overseas before you move: the winter away, the long stay and the trial year

Why try living overseas before moving for good?

Because a holiday shows you very little of everyday life. Smartraveller suggests a temporary move of 6 to 12 months before you commit to a longer move, so you can check you are comfortable, healthy and safe.

A trial keeps your options open, too. While your time away is still temporary, your house, your pension and your tax residency change the least.

What are the ways to try it first?

There are three steps short of moving for good. The longer you go, the more changes at home.

Way	How long	Your Age Pension	Your house
The winter away	6 to 12 weeks	Energy Supplement stops and your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled after 6 weeks. Home inside 12 weeks keeps the Pension Supplement.	No change.
The long stay	3 to 6 months	The Pension Supplement stops after 12 weeks. The rest of your pension usually carries on.	Still exempt from the assets test.
The trial year	Up to 12 months	After 26 weeks, your rate can be reduced if you lived in Australia less than 35 years between age 16 and pension age.	Exempt for the first 12 months. Rent counts as income.

You can check each step against the 6, 12 and 26-week rules. After a trial, you might settle on two bases, about half the year in each place, or go on to the move for good. Coming home with a clear “no” is a fair result as well.

What should I test while I am there?

Whatever a holiday wouldn’t show you. Smartraveller lists these:

• The day-to-day culture, and whether it suits how you live.
• Health care: its standard, and whether you can get it as a temporary resident.
• The climate right through the year. Some places have hard seasons, and heat can make health conditions worse.
• Your legal rights to live, rent, or buy property and cars.
• Daily life: utilities, transport, security at home, and the neighbours.

Add your own: what a month really costs against your estimate, how often you want to fly home, and how you both feel about the distance from family.

Which places let me stay long enough?

It depends on the step. A visitor stay covers a winter away in some places but not others.

Country	Visitor stay for Australians (October 2026)	Covers a 12-week winter?
Malaysia	90 days on arrival	Yes
Vietnam	eVisa before you go, up to 90 days	Yes
Portugal and Spain	90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area	Yes
Indonesia (Bali)	30 days, extendable once by 30 days	No
Thailand	30 days visa-free, for entries from 15 September 2026	No
Philippines	30 days, extendable with the Bureau of Immigration	With extensions

For a long stay or a trial year, you will usually need a longer visa, such as a retirement visa. Check with the embassy before you book.

What happens to my house during a trial?

For the Age Pension, your home stays exempt from the assets test for the first 12 months of a temporary absence, and becomes an assessable asset if you are still overseas after that. Any rent you get for it counts as income. Our guide to whether the house counts while you are away has the details.

A trial year with the house rented out can also raise tax questions, such as whether you are still an Australian resident for tax. That is one for a registered tax agent, before you leave.

The way back. A trial is easiest to undo while your time away is still temporary, and timing is what counts. Services Australia’s 12-month home rule and the 12-week Pension Supplement rule both run on the calendar.

An example, not real people

Jan and Rob are 68 and 70, on the Age Pension, and own their home. Jan is keen on Penang; Rob is not sure. They agree to try it in steps.

Step	What they do	What changes
Year 1: a winter away	11 weeks in Penang, home before the 12-week mark	They tell Services Australia before going. The Energy Supplement stops and their Pensioner Concession Cards are cancelled after 6 weeks. The Pension Supplement keeps paying.
Year 2: a long stay	5 months, split between Penang and Da Nang	The Pension Supplement stops after 12 weeks. The house stays exempt.
Year 3: a trial year	10 months in Penang, house rented out	Rent counts as income. Both have 35 years or more of Australian residence, so after 26 weeks their rate usually does not change.

By the end of year 3 they know far more than a holiday could have told them, and Rob has had three goes at deciding. What they do next is their call.

What this means for you depends on

• Whether you get the Age Pension, and how many years you lived in Australia.
• How long each step is, measured against the 6, 12 and 26-week rules and the 12-month home rule.
• The visa rules where you want to go, and how long a visitor stay lasts.
• Renting out your house, since the rent counts as income for the pension and raises tax questions.
• Travel insurance at your age for the full length of each trip.
• Whether you and your partner want the same thing at the end.