San Marino Economic Residency: An Overview

The San Marino Residence for Economic Reasons program is a long-term residence permit issued by the San Marino government to non-EU entrepreneurs who establish or acquire a company and engage in economic activities in the country.

Applicants for this program must meet the following economic conditions:

1. Deposit €75,000 into a San Marino bank account when submitting the application. An additional €75,000 must be deposited within two years of receiving the residence permit, bringing the total deposit to no less than €150,000.

Alternatively, instead of increasing the deposit, you can choose to purchase local property with a total value of at least €500,000.

Whether it’s the deposit or the property, this asset serves as financial collateral for your business activities in San Marino and must be maintained for at least ten years. Should your business underperform in the future, the San Marino government has the right to use these assets to cover any unpaid employee wages or outstanding taxes.

2. Establish or acquire a San Marino company. The main applicant must hold over 51% of the company’s shares and meet the following job creation requirements:

If the company operates within an industry incentivized by the San Marino government, you must employ at least one San Marino citizen.

If the company does not operate within an incentivized industry, you must employ at least three San Marino citizens.

If the company employs multiple staff, you must ensure that over 50% of your employees are San Marino citizens.

Application Process:

The Industry, Handicraft and Commerce Office in San Marino is responsible for approving and issuing Economic Residence Permits. The entire application process for the San Marino Economic Residency program can be broken down into the following steps:

1. Complete Your Investment: To apply for economic residency, you’ll first need to enter San Marino with a valid Schengen visa. Once there, you’ll open a bank account, transfer funds, deposit the initial €75,000, and either establish or acquire your business. You’ll also need to hire your employees at this stage.

2. Submit Your Application: After all preliminary steps are complete, you can prepare all the required documents and fill out the application form. You’ll then submit your Economic Residence application in person to the San Marino Industry, Handicraft and Commerce Office.

The processing time for the entire economic residence visa is typically around two months.

3. After Visa Approval: Once your visa is granted, you have two years to either deposit an additional €75,000 into a local bank or financial institution, bringing your total deposit to no less than €150,000, or purchase local property valued at no less than €500,000.

Concurrently, you must continuously maintain your business operations. The San Marino government will consistently monitor the business status of Economic Residence visa holders. If your company violates the economic conditions mentioned above or falls into severe debt for 90 consecutive days, the local government will revoke the entrepreneur’s Economic Residence visa.