Samoa publishes 90-day visitor guidance; travellers should check conflicting advice

Read Samoa’s current arrival guidance alongside the issued permit

Samoa’s immigration authorities currently describe a free 90-day visitor permit on arrival for foreign nationals without Samoan citizenship or a valid temporary residence permit. Travellers should nevertheless verify their actual admission period because some official material still refers to 60 days. This guide records the position checked on 29 October 2026; the sources do not establish a new implementation date today.

The Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Border Services page is the direct resource for arrival requirements. It asks for a passport valid for at least six months after intended departure, a return or onward ticket, permission for the next destination where needed, accommodation details and evidence of sufficient funds. For a private stay, identify the village and family rather than simply saying that relatives will host the visit.

An onward booking should fit the permission actually granted at the border. For illustration, a traveller admitted for a shorter period cannot rely on a general web reference to 90 days to remain beyond the date recorded by Immigration. Raise any mismatch promptly, while there is still time to adjust the journey or obtain the necessary permission.

Do not ignore the difference in British travel advice

The UK government’s Samoa entry requirements continue to describe visa-free visits of up to 60 days for British citizen passport holders. That guidance also describes a free visitor or business visitor permit issued using the arrival card, with evidence of funds, accommodation and onward travel when requested.

The difference between the 60-day UK advice and the 90-day Samoan ministry pages should be resolved with Samoa Immigration for a proposed stay extending beyond 60 days. Neither source supports inventing a transition date or assuming that every existing permit has automatically been lengthened. The destination authority sets the permission, but an individual’s stamp or permit remains essential evidence of the authorised stay.

Prepare an extension file rather than treating a booking change as approval

The ministry’s Permit Services page directs visitors seeking additional time to use the temporary residence application form, MPMC100. It requires a copy of the onward ticket, evidence of funds for the additional period and details of accommodation. The request concerns immigration permission; changing a return ticket alone does not extend a stay.

The ministry also hosts the separate MPMC108 extension form, which asks about the current permit, its validity, activities already undertaken, proposed activities during the extension, financial support and the requested additional duration. It includes a question about changing sponsors and requests a new sponsorship form where relevant. Because the service page and the available extension form name different forms, confirm which one Immigration requires for the particular case before lodging.

Use the current fee schedule instead of relying on an old printed form

The ministry’s Immigration page publishes a SAT$200 visitor entry-permit application fee and a ten-working-day processing indication. That is distinct from the free visitor permit described for arrival. Confirm the charge for the specific extension service with Immigration rather than presenting the application fee as a compulsory arrival charge.

The hosted MPMC108 form still prints a SAT$100 visitor fee. This conflicts with the ministry’s current online schedule. Do not use the lower printed figure as a promise of the amount payable. The schedule also gives different temporary residence charges according to purpose and whether the principal applicant applies offshore or inside Samoa. A visitor extension, employment application and family residence case are therefore not interchangeable products.

Allow time for the stated processing period before existing permission ends. The published indication does not guarantee a decision by a flight date, and the reviewed pages do not establish an automatic grace period while an extension is being considered.

Keep short business visits separate from local employment

The Permit Services guidance prohibits work on a visitor permit. It describes business visitors as people normally employed and paid offshore making a short visit for matters such as company-branch visits, negotiations or a conference. Other business activity requires temporary residence permission.

For employment residence, the ministry identifies the application, employer sponsorship, medical and police reports, and qualifications or supporting references. Someone planning local work should use that employment route and confirm the requirements before beginning duties. An approval to stay longer as a visitor should not be read as approval to change the purpose of the stay.