Samoa tourist visa and visitor permit

Foreign nationals who do not hold a temporary resident permit or Samoan citizenship are given a free 90-day visitor permit on arrival, using the arrival card. The permit is granted only if you have a return or onward ticket, a passport valid for at least six months after your intended departure from Samoa, and a valid visa or permit for the country you travel to next.

You must also state where you will stay, either a hotel or resort or the village and family name of the people hosting you, and carry documented evidence of sufficient funds, typically a copy of a bank statement. The border rules exclude anyone with a record of deportation, a health problem posing a risk to Samoa, a criminal history that led to a sentence of one year or more, or an entry on an alert or warning list.

Immigration officers attend every aircraft and vessel arriving at a regulated port and screen travel documents on a first-come, first-served basis, with signs above the counters. Arrival and declaration cards are handed out by the airline or shipping agent, or by officers at the arrival booths. Elderly passengers, mothers with babies, people with medical needs or disabilities and members of diplomatic missions receive priority assistance.

Operators of every arriving ship or aircraft must send the duty officer a passenger list before arrival, including each traveller's full name, date of birth, nationality and passport number, so your details reach Immigration before you land.

A visitor who wants a further period of stay applies from inside Samoa on the temporary residence application form MPMC100, ticking the visitor extension purpose. The form asks what tourism or business activity you have done so far, what you plan to do, how long you want to stay and where you live in Samoa, with the hotel name or the name, address and telephone of your hosts.

Attach a photocopy of the onward ticket out of Samoa and evidence of funds for the extended stay, such as bank statements, credit card statements or internet banking printouts showing money transferred during your stay. The MPMC fee table lists SAT$200 for a visitor entry permit application, with about 10 working days of processing and an optional SAT$100 urgent fee.

Work is not permitted on a visitor permit, and it is an offence for a non-citizen to work in Samoa unless an employment permit specifically authorises it. A business visitor permit covers people employed and paid offshore who come briefly to visit a branch of their company, negotiate with a Samoan company or attend a business conference. Any other business activity requires a temporary resident permit.

The Immigration Division's main office is on Level 1 of the FMFMII Government Building at Eleele Fou in Apia, telephone +685 20291, and there is a second office on the ground floor of the SNPF Building in Savai'i. Visitors do not apply for anything before travelling, so the only paperwork is the arrival card and, if needed later, the extension form lodged in Apia.