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San Marino Elective Residency: A Comprehensive Guide
What is retirement visa?
Retirement visas are a type of passive income visa that has been popular worldwide since the 1980s. Typically, they are issued to retirees who have sufficient retirement funds or stable income.
In general, global retirement visas have the following characteristics:
1. Applicant Qualifications: Typically, retirement visas require applicants to be retirees, reach a certain age, or have retirement funds.
2. Restrictions on Employment: Visa holders are usually not allowed to work locally.
3. Path to Permanent Residency: After residing in the destination country for a certain period, retirement visa holders can often apply for permanent residency or even citizenship.
If you’re interested in retirement visas or passive income visas, you might want to read our informative article: ‘Global Passive Income Visa | An Incomplete Guide‘.
San Marino Elevtive Residency: An Overview
The San Marino Elective Residency program, operational since 2017, is a residence visa issued to foreigners who either purchase property or buy government bonds in the country. To apply for this visa, you need to meet one of two main financial conditions:
1. Property Purchase: You must purchase a property or a partial ownership stake in a property in San Marino valued at no less than €500,000. This property will serve as the residence for you and your family in San Marino.
Given San Marino’s abundance of ancient buildings, the local government allows up to €150,000 spent on renovation, reconstruction, or furnishing the property to be included in the total purchase cost for visa application purposes. This means you could buy a property for €350,000 and then spend €150,000 on its renovation or reconstruction, bringing your total investment to €500,000 for your non-profit residency application.
2. Bond Purchase: This option requires you to spend €600,000 to purchase ten-year, interest-free, non-redeemable bonds issued by the San Marino government or funds issued by the local Excellency Chamber.
If you’re applying for the non-profit visa via the bond option, you’ll need to pay a non-refundable fee of €10,000 to the local Registry and Conservatory Office upon submitting your application.
In addition to the financial requirements, applicants for the San Marino Elective Residency visa must also meet the following basic conditions:
1. Be over 18 years old, in good health, and have no criminal record.
2. Cannot be employed by any employer within San Marino.
3. Cannot resell the purchased bonds or property for profit before obtaining local permanent residency.
4. All main and dependent applicants must each purchase Schengen Area health insurance with coverage of at least €30,000, ensuring they do not burden local public healthcare resources.
5. The main applicant must pay a government fee of €20,000 for each dependent applicant.
Application Process:
The application process for the San Marino Elective Residency visa generally involves these steps:
1. Complete Your Investment: Neither property purchase nor bond acquisition can be done online. So, you’ll first need to apply for a valid Schengen Area visa to enter San Marino. Once there, you’ll open a bank account, transfer funds, and complete your investment.
2. Submit Your Application: After your investment is finalized, gather all required documents, go to the San Marino Foreign Affairs Department, fill out the application form, and submit your visa application.
3. Visa Approval: The San Marino Foreign Affairs Department will then forward your application to the local Parliament. The Parliament will complete the visa review process within 60 working days. Once a decision to approve or deny the visa is made, it cannot be appealed.
Dependents:
With the San Marino Elective Residency visa, the main applicant’s spouse, children under 25, and children of any age with physical or mental disabilities can all receive the visa as dependents.
Visa Validity:
The San Marino Elective Residency visa is valid for ten years and can be renewed under the original conditions upon expiration.
After legally residing in San Marino for ten years, foreigners are eligible to apply for permanent residency.
For naturalization, a foreigner can apply for San Marino citizenship only after legally residing for 30 years, or after being married to a local citizen and legally residing for 15 years.
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