The Dutchman qualified for Scotland in 2012 under residency grounds during a six-year spell with Edinburgh.

The former Newcastle player told the Scottish Rugby Union website: "Playing for Scotland has been the biggest honour of my life. I feel it has been even more special by not being my country of birth but where I had grown to call home.

"Being asked to play for a top nation in world rugby and being accepted by my team-mates as one of their own has been incredible.

"I can still remember my home debut against the All Blacks at BT Murrayfield as if it were yesterday and the emotions that it brought me. However international rugby brings many challenges and, with a young family, the time away from home has been hard.

"I also feel that Scotland is in a fantastic place with some great young talent coming through and now is my time to free up the space for them to develop.

"I want to thank everyone associated with Scottish rugby and of course my family and my wife Laura for supporting me through it all.

"Six incredible years with Edinburgh has led me down to Harlequins and I feel now is the time to say goodbye to international rugby and concentrate on my club career."

Visser played twice in the 2015 World Cup but did not feature in this year's NatWest Six Nations after missing out on the squad for the November Test series.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, said: "I'd like to pay tribute to Tim who made an excellent impact on Scotland and did very well at an international level for his adopted country.

"Obviously it's disappointing that we won't be able to call on his services for the next couple of seasons, but we have a number of players that are competing hard and have come through in that position over the past 12 months who now have an opportunity now that Tim is no longer available to Scotland.

"We wish him all the best with his club career."

- PA