SamoaShort stays and visits
Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.
Visitors to Samoa can apply for a 90-day Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card.
Visitors to Samoa can apply for a 90-day Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card.
Work is not permitted on a Visitor Permit. A Business Visitor Permit is for short visits by persons normally employed and paid offshore, while other business activity requires a Temporary Resident Permit.
Work is not permitted on a Visitor Permit. Visitors who are in Samoa and wish to apply for a further period of stay as a visitor should use the temporary residence form. A Business Visitor Permit is for persons normally employed and paid offshore who are visiting Samoa for a short visit, to visit a branch of their company, to conduct business negotiations with a Samoan company or to attend a business conference. For other business activity in Samoa, a Temporary Resident Permit is required.
Samoa Immigration’s current visitor page and border page describe a 90-day visitor permit on arrival. Section 12 of the Immigration Act sets a maximum stay of 90 days and permits one or more entries during the permit’s currency as the Minister determines. An additional visitor permit is discretionary under section 16; the initial 90 days do not automatically renew.
By legislation, we service four types of entry permits: Visitor, Temporary Resident, Permanent Resident, and Ministerial. Visitors Visitors to Samoa can apply for a 90-day Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card. Travelers must have: a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended stay confirmed onward tickets (Return Ticket) visas for the next country of destination sufficient funds to support themselves (while in Samoa) confirmed residential contact address Work is not permitted on a Visitor Permit. Visitors who are in Samoa and wish to apply for a further period of stay as a visitor should use the temporary residence form. A Business Visitor Permit is for persons normally employed and paid offshore who are visiting Samoa for a short visit, to visit a branch of their company, to conduct business negotiations with a Samoan company or to attend a business conference. For other business activity in Samoa, a Temporary Resident Permit is required.
Foreign nationals who do not hold a valid Temporary Resident Permit or Samoan Citizenship will be issued with a free 90 days Visitors Permit upon arrival. But grant of a Visitors permit is subject to our entry requirements, i.e the passenger must: Have a return or onward ticket Possess a passport valid for a minimum of 6 months after the intended date of departure from Samoa. Have a valid visa or permit for entry into the country to which they will travel from Samoa. State their accommodation arrangements, be it holiday accommodation such as a hotel or resort, or with family or friends (specifically the village and family name) Have documented evidence of sufficient funds for self-support (typically a copy of a bank statement) Have no record or deportation from other countries Have no health problems that would pose a risk to Samoa Have no history of criminal charges resulting in a minimum of one year of sentencing; and Not be on any alert or warning lists
12. Visitor permit – (1) For the purposes of this Act and subject to this Act, a visitor permit is a permit to enter Samoa once or more often (as determined by the Minister) during the currency of the permit and to remain in Samoa for a period up to a maximum of 90 days as determined by the Minister. (2) A visitor permit is granted only to a person entering Samoa: (a) as a tourist; or (b) for religious or cultural purposes; or (c) for family re-union or family support purposes; or (d) for business purposes; or (e) for the purpose of accompanying a person entering Samoa under this subsection. (3) Save where a person has been granted an entry permit to undertake employment in Samoa under the Labour and Employment Relations Act 2013, a person granted a visitor permit shall not undertake employment in Samoa during the period in which the person is in Samoa. (4) A visitor permit shall only be granted to a person who is able to establish to the satisfaction of the Minister that the person: 12 Immigration Act 2004 (a) is of good health and character; and (b) has met or will meet, as the case may require, any eligibility criteria determined by the Minister by notice.
16. Further grant of certain entry permits – (1) Subject to compliance with the terms of this Act, the Minister may grant further visitor permits or temporary resident permits or ministerial entry permits, as the case may require. (2) The Minister may require a person seeking an entry permit under subsection (1) to do so by application in a form approved by the Minister.
For a visitor permit on arrival, Samoa Immigration lists a return/onward ticket; passport valid at least six months after intended departure; visa or permit for the next destination; stated accommodation, including host village and family name when relevant; and documented means of self-support, typically a bank statement. Its border page also lists deportation, health-risk, serious-criminal-sentence and alert-list exclusions. The permit page asks for a confirmed residential contact address.
Foreign nationals who do not hold a valid Temporary Resident Permit or Samoan Citizenship will be issued with a free 90 days Visitors Permit upon arrival. But grant of a Visitors permit is subject to our entry requirements, i.e the passenger must: Have a return or onward ticket Possess a passport valid for a minimum of 6 months after the intended date of departure from Samoa. Have a valid visa or permit for entry into the country to which they will travel from Samoa. State their accommodation arrangements, be it holiday accommodation such as a hotel or resort, or with family or friends (specifically the village and family name) Have documented evidence of sufficient funds for self-support (typically a copy of a bank statement) Have no record or deportation from other countries Have no health problems that would pose a risk to Samoa Have no history of criminal charges resulting in a minimum of one year of sentencing; and Not be on any alert or warning lists
By legislation, we service four types of entry permits: Visitor, Temporary Resident, Permanent Resident, and Ministerial. Visitors Visitors to Samoa can apply for a 90-day Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card. Travelers must have: a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended stay confirmed onward tickets (Return Ticket) visas for the next country of destination sufficient funds to support themselves (while in Samoa) confirmed residential contact address Work is not permitted on a Visitor Permit. Visitors who are in Samoa and wish to apply for a further period of stay as a visitor should use the temporary residence form. A Business Visitor Permit is for persons normally employed and paid offshore who are visiting Samoa for a short visit, to visit a branch of their company, to conduct business negotiations with a Samoan company or to attend a business conference. For other business activity in Samoa, a Temporary Resident Permit is required.
Visitors to Samoa can apply for a Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card. To extend, the visitor completes the temporary residence application form (MPMC100), attaches a photocopy of an onward ticket out of Samoa, provides evidence of sufficient funds for the extended stay and gives accommodation details. The extension application can only be lodged while in Samoa. The Minister may grant further Visitor Permits. The official source does not state the length of an extension or the circumstances in which it is granted or refused.
To apply for this extension, you must: Complete the application form for temporary residence (MPMC100) Attach a photocopy of onward ticket out of Samoa Provide evidence of sufficient funds to support your extended stay Provide details of accommodation arrangements
SECTION 5. APPLICATION FOR AN EXTENSION OF A VISITOR PERMIT (CAN ONLY BE LODGED WHILE IN SAMOA)
16. Further grant of certain Entry Permits-(1) Subject to compliance with the terms of this Act, the Minister may grant further Visitor Permits or Temporary Resident Permits or Ministerial Entry Permits, as the case may require.
Visitors to Samoa can apply for a 90-day Visitor Permit on arrival using the arrival card.
These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.
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