Immigration law in San Marino

San Marino does not issue entry visas. A person entering from outside the Schengen area may need a valid Schengen visa and an entry stamp, as well as a valid passport or equivalent travel document. Tourist stays are generally limited to 90 days within a six-month period. Tourist status does not authorize employment and does not provide free access to health or social benefits. A stay exceeding 30 days generally requires a permesso di soggiorno, meaning a San Marino residence permit, or residenza, meaning registered residence in the country. The applicant normally applies in person within 30 days. The Gendarmeria's Ufficio Stranieri handles applications, identity checks, permits and monitoring. The application can require a description of the stay, photographs and fingerprints. Where Italian-language access is a problem, information or assistance may be available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Arabic. People staying for more than 30 days generally need health, accident, maternity, emergency and repatriation insurance. Special-purpose permits cover activities such as education, sport, medical care, assistance, rehabilitation, rest, worship, international volunteering, working holidays and humanitarian reasons. An education permit normally lasts up to one year and may be renewed. A sports permit generally lasts up to 11 months per year, while professional athletes may receive a permit for up to one year. Secondary employment is generally prohibited for these permits and can lead to revocation and removal. Employment requires a nulla-osta from the Ufficio del Lavoro. Seasonal or temporary authorization can last up to 12 months and can be renewed annually within 30 days. After three consecutive renewals, the worker generally has to submit a new application. Quotas and eligible sectors can change through a Decreto Delegato. The employer must provide adequate accommodation, report the duties and cover return travel costs. Cross-border workers do not need a San Marino residence permit. A permit holder who loses employment can generally remain on a special list for up to three months and may receive priority for re-employment. Employees holding a permit receive equal treatment from the ISS, San Marino's health and social security institution, within the applicable system. Family residence can cover a spouse and, subject to dependency rules, unmarried children up to age 25 who do not live with a partner. Disabled or studying children may also qualify. The application is generally filed within 12 months after the sponsoring family member's immigration. The applicant must show adequate accommodation and sufficient annual income. The ordinary family permit normally lasts one year and can be renewed. Separate permits can address cohabitation, parental responsibility and the protection of minors. Minors can access education and vocational training. Residenza anagrafica is registration in the civil register, while residenza effettiva means actual residence. Dimora abituale refers to the person's habitual home or regular place of living. San Marino has no separate general permanent-residence title equivalent to systems in many other countries. For ordinary residence, a person may become eligible to apply for residenza after five consecutive years of actual permanent stay. Some minors can qualify earlier. Residence can be available to a spouse or child of a Sammarinese citizen, family members, people establishing a company and people holding management or key functions. Elective residence can be based on an investment of at least EUR 500,000 in real estate or a ten-year interest-free deposit of at least EUR 600,000 in state securities or funds. This financial option also requires a non-refundable EUR 10,000 payment and health insurance. It does not permit work in the Settore Pubblico Allargato or access to state contributions. The annual quota is 50, and the initial permit can last no more than six months before the residence is consolidated after ten years. Tax-based atypical residence is available only under specific conditions, including no existing tax residence in San Marino and foreign-source income. It uses a 7% substitute tax on net frontier income, subject to a minimum of EUR 10,000 and a maximum of EUR 100,000 per year, plus a EUR 1,000 practice fee and insurance. It excludes work in the public sector and state contributions. The annual quota is 100, and consolidation takes place after ten years. The pensioner form generally concerns nationals of the EU, Switzerland or other covered states and requires gross annual income of at least EUR 50,000 or movable assets of at least EUR 300,000. The substitute tax is 6%, or 3% for qualifying directors or officials of international organizations with income of at least EUR 100,000. It also has a EUR 1,000 practice fee, insurance and a conditional housing purchase or rental agreement. A 2025 delegated decree ratified by Delegated Decree 77/2025 sets a quota of 249 applications for the relevant category, subject to statutory exceptions. Residenza fiscale non domiciliata, or RFND, is a temporary tax-residence arrangement lasting from 30 to 150 days per calendar year. It requires accommodation in quality hotels and does not create permanent residence. Other evidence can include a passport, birth or descent records, citizenship and residence certificates, family-status documents, criminal-record information, a curriculum vitae, proof of income or funds, housing evidence, insurance and, where relevant, a business plan, employment evidence or investment proof. Foreign documents generally need Italian translations and apostille or legalization. Certificates are usually expected to be less than six months old, and the authority may request additional documents. San Marino has no general formal asylum or refugee-status procedure equivalent to the system established by the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, to which it is not a party. A functional alternative is the permesso di soggiorno straordinario per esigenze umanitarie di protezione sociale, an extraordinary permit for humanitarian or social-protection reasons. It can be renewed annually while the reasons continue and can provide access to work, ISS health services and temporary financial support. Victims of trafficking or violence may require a positive opinion from the Authority for Equal Opportunities. A special permit issued for people from Ukraine in 2022 was an exceptional measure and does not create a general protection procedure. Naturalization generally requires at least 20 years of continuous registered and actual residence. The period can be 10 years for a spouse or civil partner of a Sammarinese citizen, a person with adoptio semiplena or a surviving spouse or partner. A person resident in San Marino from birth can apply from age 18. Law 27/2026 allows multiple citizenship and does not require renunciation of another nationality. Applicants generally need Italian at least at B1 level through a recognized certificate or Italian schooling, including at least five years of school attendance, and must pass a test on Sammarinese history, institutions and values. The test costs EUR 30, the result is issued within 30 days, remains valid without a time limit and can be retaken. Passing the test does not itself grant citizenship; the applicant must then apply to the Ufficio Stato Civile, which carries out the legal review and final procedure. The naturalization fee is EUR 300. Exceptions to language or test requirements can apply to people aged 80 or more, minors and people with certified physical or psychological inability. Applications and residence can be refused or revoked because of a pending intentional criminal case, a conviction exceeding one year, threats to public order or security, expulsion within the previous ten years, an allontanamento order, a previous revocation for irregularity within the previous ten years, a Schengen obstacle, lack of habitual residence or loss of the activity or family conditions supporting residence. False documents can lead to refusal, revocation and criminal liability. A removal report must be sent to the Law Commissioner within 48 hours and validated within 96 hours. The person may remain until validation and can appeal to the Administrative Judge of Appeal within ten days, although the appeal does not automatically suspend the measure. Expulsion normally creates a ten-year re-entry prohibition, while allontanamento normally creates a five-year prohibition. Return during that period requires authorization from the Congresso di Stato. Judicial protection and basic rights apply equally, and translation or an interpreter must be provided during relevant measures.