San Marino is on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so no visitor visa is required — but an NZeTA must be approved before you board. It is requested online, valid two years, with stays of up to 90 days.
90 days
Maximum stay per visit
2 years
NZeTA validity
Multiple
Entries permitted
Under 72 hrs
Typical decision time
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
San Marino is one of the smallest countries on New Zealand's visa waiver list, with a citizen population of around thirty-four thousand. The Sammarinese passport is uncommon enough that airline check-in staff occasionally need a moment with it — which is all the more reason to have the NZeTA correctly linked before you travel.
The republic is landlocked within Italy, so departures run through Bologna, Rimini or Rome. Total journey times to Auckland are around 28 to 33 hours.
San Marino is on the waiver list, so there is no visitor visa to apply for. Since October 2019 every traveller needs an NZeTA — an online authorisation held against your passport number and checked by the airline before departure.
At a glance
Eligibility
No visa, but an NZeTA is required. Sammarinese citizens can enter New Zealand for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, conferences or transit for up to 90 days under the visa waiver.
The waiver covers visiting only. Employment requires a work visa granted before travel, and study beyond three months requires a student visa. Neither can be arranged from an NZeTA after arrival.
Eligibility follows the passport. Many residents of San Marino also hold Italian citizenship, and either passport qualifies since Italy is also on the waiver list — but the NZeTA is issued against one specific document, so request it on the passport you will actually present.
Stay & validity
Sammarinese passport holders may stay up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years from approval and permits unlimited entries in that period, so the cap applies to each individual stay.
Extending beyond 90 days requires a Visitor Visa applied for from within New Zealand before your existing permission expires, assessed on its merits.
The authorisation is bound to one passport number for two years, and a renewal voids it with no transfer available.
New Zealand requires three months of passport validity beyond your departure. Routings through Dubai, Doha or Istanbul may apply a six-month rule, and the strictest requirement on the itinerary governs.
Pricing
Live fees for Sammarinese passport holders, shown all-in — the government charge, the tourism levy where it applies, and our service fee, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as San Marino
Requirements
Everything Sammarinese passport holders need before starting a request. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport bio-data page — a clear colour scan or photo showing your photograph, full name, date of birth, passport number and expiry date
Recent passport-style photograph — full face visible against a plain light background, taken within the last six months, no headwear other than for religious reasons
A valid email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should keep accessible while travelling
A credit or debit card to pay the NZeTA request fee and the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy together
Your onward or return ticket details — border officers can ask to see evidence that you intend to leave
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with our team checking every field before anything reaches Immigration New Zealand.
Enter your passport details exactly as printed, answer the health and character questions, and upload your photo. Most people finish in under ten minutes.
Our team checks your photo dimensions, passport number, name spelling and declarations before anything is submitted to Immigration New Zealand.
Your request goes to Immigration New Zealand together with the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, and we track it until a decision is issued.
There is no sticker or label — the authorisation is held electronically against your passport number. We explain exactly what to show at check-in.
Sammarinese requests are approved automatically in most cases, often within minutes. Immigration New Zealand advises allowing up to 72 hours because a proportion are referred to an officer, usually over a photograph the automated check cannot read.
Apply at least a week before departure, and keep the approval reference to hand. The Sammarinese passport is unusual enough that a check-in agent may want to verify the authorisation manually, and having the details available saves time at the desk.
Getting there
San Marino has no airport of its own. Bologna, Rimini and Rome are the practical departure points, and all connect to New Zealand through the Gulf hubs. Total journey times run to around 28 to 33 hours.
Best time to go
New Zealand's summer of December to February is the reverse of the Italian winter and gives the best conditions across both islands. It is peak season with prices to match.
February to April is the value window, with settled autumn weather and thinner crowds. September to November is the spring equivalent.
The Italian August holiday period falls in the New Zealand winter, good for skiing at Queenstown and Wanaka but poor for touring. New Zealand is 10 to 12 hours ahead of San Marino depending on daylight saving in both countries.
Avoid these
Declines are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on requests from San Marino — we check for every one of them before submitting.
Many Sammarinese citizens also hold Italian documents. The NZeTA is issued against one specific passport number, so request it on the document you will actually present at check-in and use that same passport at the New Zealand border.
The Sammarinese passport is rare enough that a check-in agent may need to verify the authorisation manually. Keeping the approval email accessible on your phone avoids a delay at the desk.
There is no way to obtain an NZeTA at Bologna or Rome, and the airline will not board a passenger without one. A multi-sector booking collapses entirely if refused at the first desk.
The authorisation sits against one passport number for two years and does not survive a renewal. There is no transfer process.
Passport number mistyped
By far the most common problem. The authorisation is attached to the number you enter, so a single wrong character produces an NZeTA that does not exist as far as the airline is concerned.
An undeclared conviction
Immigration New Zealand asks about convictions, deportations and previous refusals. Undisclosed history found later is treated far more seriously than the original offence.
A photograph that fails the check
Shadows across the face, glasses, a busy background or a cropped chin all cause the automated check to reject an image, which turns an instant approval into a manual review.
Conditions
These conditions are set by Immigration New Zealand and do not vary by nationality. Two of them — the passport-linking rule and the cruise rule — catch out a lot of otherwise well-planned trips.
Your authorisation is held electronically against the passport number you entered. There is no label in your passport and nothing to print for immigration. If you renew or replace that passport, the NZeTA does not transfer — you must request a new one.
Every person travelling needs their own NZeTA, including newborns and children. A child cannot be added to a parent's request, and each one needs their own valid passport.
An approved NZeTA lasts two years from the date it is issued and can be used for any number of trips in that period, provided your passport remains valid. It cannot be extended — when it expires you simply request a new one.
The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy funds conservation and tourism infrastructure and is charged alongside the NZeTA request. It currently stands at NZD 100 and is payable once per NZeTA, not once per trip.
An NZeTA lets you board. The decision to admit you is made by a border officer at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Queenstown, who can ask about your funds, your accommodation and your intended departure.
Since October 2019 every cruise passenger arriving in New Zealand by sea needs an NZeTA or a visa, regardless of nationality — including passengers whose nationality would otherwise be exempt.
Consular services
New Zealand does not maintain a mission in San Marino — the Rome Embassy is accredited to the republic. Neither is involved in an NZeTA request, which is completed entirely online. They handle work visas, student visas, residence applications and consular assistance.
FAQs
The questions Sammarinese passport holders ask most often about travelling to New Zealand.
No visitor visa is required — San Marino is on New Zealand's visa waiver list. You do need an NZeTA, requested online before departure and checked by the airline at Bologna, Rome or wherever you first board. It covers stays of up to 90 days.
Up to 90 days per visit. The NZeTA lasts two years and allows unlimited entries in that period, but each individual stay is capped at 90 days. Only British citizens receive a longer allowance.
Either qualifies, since both countries are on the waiver list. What matters is consistency — request the NZeTA on the passport you will actually present at check-in and at the New Zealand border, because the authorisation is tied to one specific passport number.
The cost is the government request fee plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, currently NZD 100, both charged together. The pricing panel on this page loads the live all-in figure for Sammarinese passport holders including our service fee.
Usually, but the Sammarinese passport is uncommon and an agent may want to verify the NZeTA manually. Keep the approval email accessible on your phone so the check can be completed quickly at the desk.
Yes, every traveller does, including infants. Each child needs their own valid passport and their own request.
Your nationality is already set to San Marino. Complete the form in under ten minutes, and our team will check every detail before it reaches Immigration New Zealand.
Other nationalities
Stay limits, entry conditions and levy rules differ by passport. Here are the guides for other nationalities.
