I stayed 5 months on my first visit as a tourist,

Yes, most country’s tourist visas (US, Canada and UK) allow visitors a maximum stay of up to 6 months in a single entry, but this does not translate to staying that stretch of time. It is not illegal to stay up to 6 months, but it can be inappropriate and counter-productive.

Of course, a tourist visa allows a visiting person entry into another country for business, medical treatment or pleasure, it is realistically expected that the length of duration guesstimated for such a trip is as promised during visa interview, or slightly more. Unfortunately, most tourist visa applicants present their visa application under the guise that they would be staying between two - three weeks. This short stay is believed to be substantiated by the applicant’s employment claim in their home country, and the visa officer’s assumption that the applicant would be returning to his job accordingly.

In most cases, after your first visa expires, especially if you cannot reasonably justify the unprecedented stretch of stay (5 months), subsequent applications for the same visa category will be denied. If you were the Consular, how would you feel to realize that the presumed tourist who told you that he would be staying 2 weeks actually went to spend 5 months...played? You satisfied yourself for only a short period, but have ultimately hurt yourself and your profile by leaving the embassy with an adverse impression that you might have the migration intentions. No Consular would give you a tourist (or any temporary) visa if they have an impression that you might not return.

It will be difficult to convince the Consular that you were not working illegally on the tourist visa class that you had, especially since you claimed that you had a job in your home country before the visa was granted at the first instance. When you get a tourist visa, you must ensure that you respect the claims for which reason you got the visa. If you must explore more in that country, let it be on a different visit if you have a multiple entry visa. If you are already experiencing this, you can speak with any of our consultants for available options for you.