How to Start International House Sitting in 2025

Do you dream of becoming an international house sitter? You’re not alone—many people are turning to house-sitting to travel the world affordably while immersing themselves in local culture.

But it’s not just about seeing new places; it’s about experiencing them how they’re meant to be seen—like a local. International house-sitting allows you to stay in different locations, provide pet care, and truly connect with a community.

Even better, some house sits last for weeks or months, allowing you to explore the best restaurants, cafés, and hidden gems—often with insider tips from the homeowners, who love sharing their local knowledge.

We started our house-sitting journey while living abroad in the UK. At the time, we wished we had a guide to help us navigate the process. Getting started in a foreign country without references or resources wasn’t easy, but we made it work.

The good news? International house sitting isn’t difficult—as long as you’re well-prepared.

I am sitting in Wattay International Airport, Laos, while writing this article. I have just completed a house-sitting assignment in Chiang Mai, Thailand (one of my favorite places of all time).

I am waiting to board a flight to my next house-sitting assignment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (however, living on a boat in the Caribbean was one of my favorite assignments)

A few months ago, I locked in both of these house-sitting assignments by looking at the best house-sitting websites. I have been keeping track of the whole process to create this guide for you.

I hope this guide helps anyone looking to get into international house sitting or who wants to be a local housesitter in their town or country.

International House Sitting – An Overview

When we use the term ‘international house sitting,’ we mean a house-sitting assignment outside your home country. When we surveyed our community of over 70,000 house sitters and homeowners, we found that 46% of house sitters had house-sat internationally, and 52% of respondents said they plan to house-sit aboard.

Depending on the location, these assignments can be dreamy, intimidating, or even a little scary, partially if you have never been to that country before. Applying for a house sitting assignment overseas requires a lot of research and planning. However, in the end, all the hard work is well worth it.

Applying For An International House Sitting Assignment

The first step to locking in any house sitting assignment is applying for the house sit.

When applying for an international house sit, you need to keep a couple of things in mind:

1. Have you ever been to this country before? Do you want to travel to this country?
   
2. Do you know how to speak the local language? Will it be a problem?
   
3. Is this country safe? For your specific situation and politically etc
   
4. What is the cost of living there? Is it affordable for you?
   
5. Can you look after all the animals correctly? Do you have experience with these animals?
   
6. Can you travel to this country?
   
7. Would you prefer medium term or long term house sits.

Once you have gone through these questions in your head, you can confidently say you are happy with all of them and apply for the sit.

Nowadays, there can be a lot of competition for some house-sitting assignments. This does depend a lot on the location and the particular sit; however, in most cases, you will not be the only one applying.

Therefore you need to make your application stand out to the homeowner.

Don’t just send a generic message to the homeowner. Write a thoughtful, personalized, and truthful application letter. Tell the homeowner exactly why you want to look after their home and pets. It’s worth going that extra mile, remember you do get free rent in exchange for house sitting.

When you apply from the heart, you will be surprised at the responses you get. When you do get a reply, make sure you reply straight back. You don’t want to leave a reply for a day or two and miss your chance!

It is more than likely the homeowner is talking to more than one applicant!

Where to Find Housesitting Opportunities?

Are you looking for house sitting assignments now? Depending on what country we want to house sit, we have specific websites to look at to look. See our favorite house sitting sites and see if your travel plans are a perfect match for an assignment.

Committing to an International House Sitting Assignment

Finding Out The Homeowners’ Expectations

Before committing to any house sit, particularly international house sits, it is essential to talk to the homeowner about their expectations of the house sit. In my experience, I have learned it is best to try to get on a Skype conversation with the homeowner.

I find it much easier to talk to a homeowner ‘face-to-face over video chat.

You can also get much more information from the homeowner when talking conversationally compared to over email. Things that you should keep in mind to ask the homeowner:

• How often would they like to be contacted while you are on the site?
• All the necessary information regarding their home and what needs to be done while they are away (gardening, pool cleaning, plant watering, mail collection, general home upkeep).
• What are their expectations in regard to food, internet, tv, utility bills etc
• How far before the sit do they want you to arrive? How long after the sit do they want you to stay?

Here is what to ask what to ask home owners in house sitting interview, this will ensure you sound prepared and professional .

Once you have all these questions answered it’s time to move onto the pets.

Pet Sitters – Finding Out All The Information About The Pets

For the house owner, the most essential part of the house-sitting assignment is their animals. Most homeowners treat their little fur babies like their children (sometimes even better than their children). They want to ensure that they care for them correctly while they are gone.

When talking to the homeowner about their animals, some questions to ask can include:

• The age of the animal/s.
• If the animal/s have any medical conditions and if they take any medication.
• If they do take medication, does the animal make it difficult, or are they okay with tablets or injections?
• A breakdown of what the animal’s usual day-to-day schedule is. Ask for the walking schedule, feeding schedule, and what the animal usually does throughout the day. It is also important that you make it clear to the house owner to tell you all of this information truthfully. 
• Where the animal sleeps (will you be okay if the animal sleeps in your bed at night?).
• Any off-limits areas for the animals.

Once you have answered all these questions, you can then consider whether this house-sitting assignment is for you and whether you can exceed the homeowners’ expectations while looking after their home and animals.

House Sitting Without Animals

There are many opportunities to house-sit without animals. Many people have second homes, and they might feel more comfortable with someone in the house for the following reasons.

Garden maintenance

Pool maintenance

Ensuring pipes don’t freeze

Package Delivery

Here, you’ll learn how to apply filters to find assignments without pets.

What Are The Visa Requirements?

Before committing to or, for that matter, even applying for an international house sit, make sure you know the visa situation for that country for the entire duration of your sit.

What type of visa you will need will differ from country to country, depending on the length of your stay and the passport you are traveling on. Be sure to do the proper research into this.

Make sure you get your information from a government website. Your country’s embassy will have all the information you need about the country you plan on house sitting in.

Keep in mind the duration of your potential house sit. Will it last longer than you can stay in the country on your visa?

Working Holiday or Student Visa

Will you need to work while house-sitting? Will you be a student studying while sitting? Either of these things will change what kind of visa you need and the visa application process.

Generally, a working holiday visa or a student visa will take much more time to obtain than a tourist visa or a visa on arrival.

When finding information regarding visas, always make sure you use government websites. The last thing you want to do is take advice from someone online who doesn’t really know what they are talking about.

Tourist Visa

Will you be completing the sit as a tourist? If so, you will need to find out how the tourist visa process works for the country you will be sitting in.

Some countries offer visas on arrival, which means you don’t have to apply for anything before arriving at immigration. However, for other countries, you will need to apply for a tourist visa in advance.

Again, I can not stress enough that you should get your visa information from a trustworthy (government) source.

Unfortunately, advising immigration that someone told you on Facebook that you don’t need to complete your visa in advance does not cut it!

Do You Need To Plan Your Visa Before You Leave Home?

Find out if you need to apply for your visa before landing in the country. You don’t want to be that house sitter who doesn’t show up for their assignment because you were turned around at the border.

I will reiterate this (it is that important).

Make sure you know what visa you need and what other documents you need to accompany your application. These can include anything from proof of funds to ongoing travel documents.

Also, remember that some countries require you to have 6 months (sometimes 1 year) left on your passport before it expires to be let into the country. Again, make sure you do your research into this before it’s too late.

If you have to get an emergency passport a week before you sit, it will cost you a lot!

The Costs Involved With International House Sitting

There are some costs involved with international house sitting. Once you leave your home country, things start to add up.

A lot of the time, there is no way around these costs, and it is just something that goes with this lifestyle—some of the more essential costs to think about before international house-sitting are below.

Looking to Save Some Money on Travel?
We have put together the cheapest airports to fly into Europe so that way you can spend your money on what really matters..more travel!

Does The Homeowner Pay For My Travel?

This is, without a doubt, the number one question I get asked. Unfortunately, the answer is no 99% of the time. I’m sure there are cases where the homeowner has covered the cost of travel, but unfortunately, that is not common practice.

All travel costs will come down to you. Costs to keep in mind:

1. Your visa (taxes, application fees, entry fees).
2. Passport (new passport, passport renewal).
3. Airline costs (taxes, ticket, luggage, and food).
4. Transportation to and from airports (from your home to the airport, transfers at airports, transportation from the airport to the house sitting assignment.
5. Return or ongoing flights.
6. Travel insurance. 

Travel can be expensive. Before you commit to the house sit, think about how much you will be spending. Can you afford flights to the house sit? 

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Travel Insurance For House Sitters

Travel insurance is generally overlooked when thinking about house-sitting internationally. Travel insurance can be expensive depending on the country, the duration, and exactly what policy you require. However, traveling abroad is necessary, particularly when looking after someone else’s home and animals.

Looking into and purchasing travel insurance before you leave on your trip is always cheaper. Make sure your policy covers you for everything you will be doing while you are on your house-sitting assignment.

Will you be riding scooters, driving, surfing, bike riding, snowboarding, horse riding, or skydiving while you are away? Make sure your policy covers these things if you are. They will generally make your policy more expensive. However, it is still much cheaper than a hospital trip to a foreign country.

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Need To Find The Cost of Living?

We use Nomadlist to find out the general living costs of a new city. Nomadlist gets its information from real people on the ground and is really accurate! You can find out everything from the price of a coffee to a cell phone data plan!

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Emergency Funds

It’s never fun to think about what might go wrong, but you must consider what might happen if everything goes pear-shaped and I have to go home ASAP.

Anytime you are traveling abroad, it is wise to have an emergency fund. Make sure you have enough to get home that day. The last thing you want to be doing is putting an emergency flight home on your credit card.

How Will You Get to the House Sitting Assignment?

When arriving in a new country, especially a partially foreign country, it can be not easy to get your bearings and find your way anywhere.

The key here is to do your proper research before you leave. The homeowner should be able to help you out with your best transportation options or, in the best case, pick you up from somewhere. However, it is best not to rely on that.

When planning your route to the house sit, Google Maps or an offline map application like Maps.me can be your best friend when finding your way to a new house sitting assignment.

You must decide whether to take a taxi, Uber, Grab, public transport, or shuttle from the airport. In some places, public transport is a cheaper (and faster) option than Uber, especially if you have more than one person with you.

The best thing to do is do your research on your specific location.

Payment For House Sitting

How Much Do I Get Paid For House Sitting?

This is the second most asked question we get. Unfortunately, you are not paid for your house-sitting assignment unless you are sitting in the USA. I have never sat in the US before, so I don’t know how it works there. In late 2026, we should be house-sitting in Mexico and the United States, so I will update this post as soon as I know! 

But to be honest, I would feel very weird charging someone to look after their home and pets. House sitting is a neutral agreement between the homeowner and the house sitter, and both parties benefit from it.

The homeowner has someone who can look after their home and pets in a way that a kennel/cattery and someone coming to check on their house just can’t provide. Homeowners also save a lot of money on expensive kennel/cattery fees.

For the house sitter, you get free accommodation; in my eyes, there is no need for money ever to change hands. Like many full-time housesitters, I have a day job from which I work remotely. So, when I am house-sitting, I am earning a living wage.

I am happy to house-sit for free accommodation and the joy of hanging out with animals all day. I have worked hard to upskill myself to work from anywhere, anytime, on my terms.

If you are looking to house sit internationally long term or medium term, upskilling yourself to work this way is potentially something that you should look into.

For me, housesitting is not about making money. It is about traveling and enjoying pets’ company as I see the world.

Do I Pay For Bills While House Sitting?

This will differ from house to house. You will need to speak with each homeowner about this. Sometimes, homeowners are happy to cover all bills while you are looking after their home but will ask you to ‘go easy’ on the air conditioning or the water.

This is understandable and something that I am very cautious about, regardless.

For longer sits, more often than not, the homeowner might ask you to chip in for the bills, mainly things like Wifi, heating, air conditioning, or water, which is understandable too. To avoid awkward situations when the bills come, the best thing to do is talk to the homeowner about this before committing to the lease.

Safety While House Sitting

Safety is a big concern for many travelers, and this can be broken down into the following:

• Personal safety – Are you going alone? Is the location safe for someone who is going to be traveling alone?
• Location safety – Is the location safe? Think weather-wise, political climate wise and general area safety of the home.
• Animal safety – Is the area you are going to be house sitting animal safe? Take Australia for example. When house sitting in summer and you are walking dogs you have to be very aware that Australia has poisonous snakes (among other poisonous animals). You need to be very careful if you are walking the dog off lead and stay vigilant at all times.

Pet Safety

Do you know what to do if your animals get in trouble? It is highly recommended that you complete an animal first aid course before you head out on your first house it. You never know when it might just save an animal’s life.

Find out about the local area. Are there any dangers? Is the animal allergic to anything? When house-sitting somewhere like Australia, it is a must that you know how to deal with snake bites. Knowing what to do can save an animal’s life in minutes. 

The Language Barrier

Can you communicate with the locals in an emergency situation or get by in day-to-day life where the house sit will be? When travelling, it is always important to learn the basics of the local language.

This has many benefits and is something that you should seriously consider before applying for an international house sit.

What Happens in An Emergency Situation on an International House Sitting Assignment

Sometimes, bad things happen, and you can do nothing about it. There are two different scenarios where this can happen.

An on Sit House Emergency

What happens if something happens to the home while the homeowner is away?

You need to discuss this with the homeowner and ensure that the home and its contents are covered while you are looking after it.

Make sure you have all the local emergency numbers (and can converse to get help!). This includes fire, police, and ambulance.

What happens if something happens to the pet while the homeowner is away? Make sure that you discuss this with homeowners. Every homeowner will tackle this issue differently. You must ensure you are prepared with the local vet’s details at the very least.

An Animal Emergency

What happens if something happens to the animal while sitting?

Sometimes, you are looking after older or sick animals, and something serious can potentially happen. You must talk to the homeowner about this and what they want to be done if something happens to the animal.

It’s not nice to talk about it, but it is much better to talk about it beforehand rather than after it has happened.  Find out the local vets, numbers, and all other relevant information about the pet.

Is International House Sitting For You?

I think (hope) I have covered everything I can think of regarding what you need to know when considering international house sitting.

Depending on the location you are going to, it can take a lot of planning. This post contains a lot of information and things to think about. It was not designed to scare away anyone from house-sitting internationally but to make you aware of the planning involved.

House sitting is a great lifestyle that is very rewarding and exciting. You get to see the world differently from traditional travel. With the proper planning, anyone can start house sitting in any country, whether for a full-time lifestyle, a holiday getaway, or a cheap retirement option.

How To Find Your First International House Sitting Assignment

We would recommend several different places to find an international house sit.

The platforms below are where we find most of our house-sitting assignments. If you would like a more in-depth breakdown of each site you can check out our guide to the best house sitting sites to see which one might be right for you.

• Trusted House Sitters – Want 25% off your membership? Click here and it will automatically applied at checkout
• Aussie House Sitters
• Mind A Home
• House Carers

Although you can not apply for sits when you are not a member of a platform, you can browse around first—this is a great way of seeing what is available on each platform before purchasing a membership.

We Want To Encourage Help You!

As you can probably tell from this post, we love house-sitting. It has allowed us to travel and live in different destinations worldwide.

We intend to keep on house-sitting for the foreseeable future and love spreading the word and helping others start their own journey. We hope this post inspires, helps, and encourages people to get out there and start house-sitting, whether locally or internationally.

Need Help Getting Started With House Sitting

Have we got you excited about house-sitting? We love sharing our experiences and teaching others how to become house-sitters and start their journeys. 

So, if you need help starting your house-sitting journey, see my resources here, and don’t hesitate to contact me and ask me any questions.