Document checklist
Afghanistan → San Marino: Short-stay tourist
What you need before you submit, checked against official requirements, not guesswork.
Checked by our automated verification on 20 Oct 2026: every source on this page resolves and the data is structurally complete. This does not confirm a person re-read the source text for accuracy.
Required documents
8 itemsIdentity
Identity documents for the tourist stay permit
A copy of your ID and/or valid passport, plus 4 ICAO-format passport photos. Every document you submit must be in Italian, or come with a sworn Italian translation certified by a competent San Marino authority, or be in multilingual certified form.
Valid passport or equivalent travel document
RequiredSan Marino law requires a valid passport, or an equivalent document accepted by its authorities, to enter and remain in the territory.
Financial
Proof you can support yourself, or an invitation letter
Either documentation showing you have enough money to support your stay, or a copy of an invitation letter. A citizen, resident, or company in San Marino can request the invitation letter from the Gendarmeria, Foreigners' Office on your behalf (fee: EUR 50) if one is needed to obtain your Schengen visa, it needs your passport copy, proof of health cover, proof of your means of subsistence, and the inviter's declaration that they'll arrange your return home. Instead of all that, the inviter can sign a sworn hospitality declaration ('dichiarazione di ospitalità') taking on that paperwork themselves.
Tourist stay permit fee
EUR 50 in duty stamps (marche da bollo) when you submit the application, plus EUR 30 when you collect the permit. Buy the duty stamps before your appointment, and book ahead by emailing stranieri.gendarmeria@pa.sm or calling +378 0549 882650 (Monday to Friday, 8:30–12:00).
Purpose of travel
Tourist stay permit for a visit longer than 30 days
If you're staying for tourism or a visit for more than 30 days (up to 90 days in any 6 months), you must apply in person at the Gendarmeria, Foreigners' Office (Ufficio Stranieri) for a 'Permesso di soggiorno turistico' before the 30-day mark. It doesn't let you work, and it doesn't entitle you to free healthcare or welfare benefits.
Insurance
Health insurance for a stay over 30 days
Proof of health cover recognised by San Marino's social security institute (ISS) for illness, accident, and maternity, plus emergency hospital care and repatriation, a stamped form from the Benefits Office (Ufficio Prestazioni), or, if you live in Italy, your Italian health card, or a private insurance policy with at least EUR 30,000 of annual cover.
Travel
Whatever Schengen entry authorisation your nationality needs
RequiredSan Marino doesn't issue its own entry visa. It has no border control and can only be reached by crossing Italy, so San Marino's government tells visitors from outside the Schengen area to arrange, before departure, whatever authorisation (a Schengen visa, or visa-free entry) the Schengen area itself requires for their nationality, through the embassy or consulate of a Schengen state where they live, not through San Marino.
Source: Segreteria di Stato per gli Affari Esteri (San Marino), Informazioni per chi visita San Marino
Other
No San Marino permit for a visit of 30 days or less
San Marino's own stay permit or residence is only required for stays exceeding 30 days. If your visit is 30 days or shorter, San Marino itself doesn't ask for anything beyond the Schengen entry authorisation above.
Why applications on this route get refused
Arriving without valid Schengen entry authorisation
San Marino has no border control of its own and can only be reached by crossing Italy. If your nationality needs a Schengen visa or a valid Schengen-area entry stamp and you don't have one, you can't lawfully reach San Marino in the first place.
How to avoid it: Confirm and arrange whatever Schengen entry authorisation your nationality needs, well before travelling, through a Schengen state's embassy or consulate.
Working while holding a tourist stay permit
A tourist stay permit doesn't allow paid work. If the Gendarmeria or the Labour Office's inspectors find you working, the law requires them to revoke the permit immediately and remove you from the territory, on top of other penalties.
How to avoid it: Only use a tourist stay permit for tourism and visits, exactly as it's issued for, apply for the correct work-related permit instead if you intend to work.
Staying past 30 days without applying for a permit
The law requires foreigners who intend to stay more than 30 days to apply to the Gendarmeria, Foreigners' Office for a stay permit within that same 30-day window, not afterward.
How to avoid it: If your visit might run past 30 days, start the tourist stay permit application before day 30 rather than after you've already overstayed.
Sources
- Segreteria di Stato per gli Affari Esteri (San Marino), Informazioni per chi visita San Marino · checked 27 Sept 2026
- Segreteria di Stato per gli Affari Esteri (San Marino), Permessi di Soggiorno, Residenze e Cittadinanza · checked 27 Sept 2026
- Segreteria di Stato per gli Affari Esteri (San Marino), Legge 28 giugno 2010 n.118 (ingresso e permanenza degli stranieri), testo coordinato aggiornato al 9 aprile 2024, incl. Decreto Delegato 22 gennaio 2016 n.5/n.6 di attuazione · checked 27 Sept 2026
- Segreteria di Stato per gli Affari Esteri (San Marino), Permesso di soggiorno turistico (info sheet, dated 2021-12-13) · checked 27 Sept 2026
- Corpo della Gendarmeria della Repubblica di San Marino, Ufficio Stranieri · checked 27 Sept 2026
- Corpo della Gendarmeria della Repubblica di San Marino, Ufficio Stranieri, Contatti e ubicazione · checked 27 Sept 2026
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