San Marino entrepreneur permit and residence

The stay permit for business reasons (Article 10-ter of Law 118/2010) can be granted to a foreigner who owns at least 25% of a capital company under San Marino law, or is its sole director or the chair of its board. Companies that operate exclusively in certain sectors excluded by Delegated Decree 63/2014 do not qualify. The permit lasts 24 months, can be renewed, and its holders may apply for residence under the general rules. Decree No. 2 of 13 January 2026 caps business permits at 120 for 2026.

Separately, the Council Commission for Foreign Affairs, on a proposal of the Congress of State and after a mandatory Gendarmerie opinion, may grant registered residence or an ordinary stay permit to foreigners who invest capital in San Marino, directly or through controlled or newly formed companies, in business activities with guaranteed employment commitments and connected or instrumental property investments. New staff must be hired from the job-placement lists, and hiring partners or their relatives does not count towards the employment commitment.

For the business stay permit, the Gendarmerie checklist asks for a copy of a valid passport, four ICAO photos (two for renewal), a birth certificate showing both parents, citizenship, residence and family status certificates, San Marino and home-country criminal record and pending charges certificates, a self-declaration at the Foreigners Office of your role in the company and that it is not in an excluded case (EUR 15 in stamps), proof of suitable housing such as a registered lease, and health cover recognised by the Social Security Institute or insurance with at least EUR 30,000 of annual cover per person taken out with a San Marino insurer.

For investor residence, the file adds the company's certificate of good standing, a tax certificate from the Tax Office, an extract of the shareholder register, a Labour Office statement of the company's employees and a business plan covering at least five years with the employment and property investment project. For a company still to be formed, a five-year business plan, the employment project and documents on your economic, tax and corporate position in your home country are filed instead. Documents must be in Italian or come with a sworn Italian translation made before a San Marino authority, or be multilingual certificates. Certificates must be no older than six months, and foreign certificates other than Italian ones must be legalised or apostilled.

The business stay permit costs EUR 50 in revenue stamps at application and EUR 30 at collection. For investor residence, the stay permit costs the same, plus EUR 50 for the residence itself after the grant decision and before registration in the population register. Appointments for the business permit are booked through stranieri.gendarmeria@pa.sm or 0549 882650; investor residence files are handled by a separate desk, reachable at marinella.chiaruzzi@pa.sm or 0549 883605, weekdays from 8:30 to 12:00.

Investor residence is granted for as long as the business activity in San Marino lasts. For a company still to be formed, registered residence is issued only after the company has been incorporated and its full share capital paid in. If they do not work, residents admitted on this basis must cover their own living and healthcare costs for the first 24 months, with insurance of at least EUR 30,000 a year. The Industry Office monitors compliance and reports at least yearly to the Commission; residence is revoked if the activity ends or the conditions it was granted on are not met, and the Commission may review it if the investment or professional situation changes. After ten years in the population register, with commitments met, the residence consolidates.

A business permit holder can request the same permit for a spouse who is not legally separated, a de facto partner, a dependent unmarried child up to 25 (with the other parent's consent for minors) and a dependent child unable to support themselves because of disability; the family permit lasts as long as the holder's. The holder must show suitable housing for everyone and annual income per person at least equal to the average contractual wage of an industrial worker in San Marino. Minors may enrol in school or vocational training. Investor residence can likewise be extended to the spouse and dependent children.