Stay and Residence Permits

• The Delegated Decree no. 63/2014 (and subsequent Law No. 115/2017) has introduced some interesting opportunities for business projects involving one or more investments in the Republic of San Marino, which entitle the entrepreneurs to access the simplified procedure for obtaining residence in San Marino. Such opportunity is also extended to executives, researchers and family members.

  Also the Delegated Decree no. 116/2014 provides meaningful opportunities to those entrepreneurs who want to set up a “High-Tech Startup Company”.

  The following are the main points of the laws.

  Download legal references in english language
• 5

  ways to get your residence in San Marino

Incentives for a residence in San Marino

If you open a company in San Marino, you can apply for and obtain your residence if you hold at least 51% of the social security contributions. A maximum number of accepted residences is 50 per year, even in the case of an existing company, provided that:

• • at least one employee of the start-up list is employed on a permanent contract given that the activity concerns one of the sectors to be incentivized (as set out in Delegated Decree 119/2017)
• • or at least three employees of the start-up list are employed on a permanent contract if the activity of the company does not concern one of the fields to be incentivized.

• Automatic residence for investors

  Special categories, (such as entrepreneurs, some management figures, researchers needed to start specific company projects and their family members) can access the simplified scheme for obtaining the residence, provided that at least 5 full time employees on a permanent contract are from the start-up job list. In case that the employees are more than 5, it is requested that at least the 50% comes from the list of San Marino.

  For the completion of the procedure it is requested to purchase a property of a minimum value of 300.000 Euro or to create a real guarantee of equal value.

• Elective residence

  In Art. 19 of Law 94/2017, the State Congress has the right to grant the elective residence to a foreigner who finalizes and maintains one or both of the following types of investment in his / her name in the territory until the consolidation of the residence (10 years):

  • Purchase, upon payment, for a price of not less than 500,000 Euros of a building or portion of building to be destined to own home or family residence.
  • A non-profitable restricted deposit of 10 years for not less than 600,000 Euros in stocks issued by the San Marino State or in a specific fund established by the Chamber.

Residence permit for business purposes

The residence permit for business purposes may be obtained by the shareholders that hold at least 25% of the company’s shares, the Single Administrator or the Chairman of the Board of Directors, of companies operating in the following sectors: technology goods or services, green economy, arts and culture, development services, marketing, research or training, low environmental emissions, health and pharmaceutical production.

Moreover, in order to obtain a residence permit it is necessary to make an appropriate health insurance policy at a San Marino Agency, with a minimum annual coverage of 30.000 Euro.

Special residence permit granted to the employees of high-tech startup companies

Legal representatives and partners who are employees of high tech start ups may apply for residence to the “Permanent Council on Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Immigration” for themselves and their family members in accordance with the regulations of Law 118/2010 and following changes. The residence permit is valid for 1 year and it can be renovated.
Foreign working employees who have been granted a special residence permit with reference to a High-tech Startup Company are not entitled to benefit from the provision of free health care services, also of a financial or economic type from the National Institute for Social Security.
Working employees coming from countries that do not form part of the Schenghen Area must have entry visas.
For the year 2017, High-tech Startup Companies are granted a maximum number of 100 residence permits.