Canadian snowbirds could get more time in Florida
To qualify under the proposed Canadian Snowbirds Act, visitors would have to be older than 50 and would have to own or rent a home here.
Florida’s senators are introducing legislation that they say will give Florida’s tourism an extra boost.
U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott announced Thursday that they have introduced the Canadian Snowbirds Act.
The legislation would allow some Canadian citizens to spend up to eight months a year vacationing in the United States. This is two months longer than they are allowed to stay now.
If passed into law, the bill would allow Canadian citizens over the age of 50 who either own or rent a residence in the U.S. to remain in the country for up to 240 days each year.
Rubio’s office said Canadians visiting Florida contribute more than $6.5 billion a year to the state’s economy. An estimated 3.5 million of Florida’s 126 million visitors last year came from Canada.
The bill expressly prohibits such visitors from working for American employers or seeking public assistance while in the U.S.
According to VISIT Florida, approximately 3.5 million Canadians visited Florida in 2018.
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