© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.
Repubblica di San Marino → Aotearoa New Zealand
San Marino is on New Zealand’s visa-waiver list. No embassy, no appointment. Apply online and receive approval within 72 hours. Valid 2 years with multiple entries.
The Republic of San Marino is a landlocked microstate of 61.2 km² completely surrounded by Italy, located on and around the slopes of Mount Titano in the northern Apennine mountains near the Adriatic coast. It is the world’s fifth-smallest country by area and the world’s smallest republic. Its total population is approximately 34,000, of whom approximately 23,000 are Sammarinese citizens holding San Marino passports — the remainder are Italian and other foreign nationals resident in the country.
According to tradition, San Marino was founded on 3 September 301 AD by a Christian stonemason named Marinus, who fled Roman persecution and established a community of followers on the summit of Mount Titano. Whether or not the exact date is historically accurate, San Marino has maintained a form of self-governance on its mountain continuously since at least the 13th century. Its constitution dates to 1600 — one of the world’s oldest written constitutions still in force. The republic is governed by two Captains Regent who serve simultaneously for six-month terms, elected by the Grand and General Council (parliament). This system has operated continuously for over 700 years.
San Marino has no national airport. The nearest international airport is Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini (RMI), approximately 25 km from San Marino’s capital and reachable by road in approximately 30 minutes. Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ), approximately 100 km away, offers more long-haul connections and is frequently used for New Zealand travel. The capital, also called San Marino, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and receives approximately 3 million tourists annually — an extraordinary number for a nation of 34,000.
All four items must be ready before opening the NZeTA application. All details must match your San Marino passport exactly.
No embassy. No appointment. Apply from San Marino or anywhere at our NZeTA application page. Apply at least 3 days before your RMI or BLQ departure.
Full legal name, date of birth, San Marino passport number, and expiry date — exactly as printed in your passport. San Marino passports are issued in Italian — the romanised name on the data page is what must be entered. A single error in the passport number will delay processing.
Upload your digital face photograph and truthfully answer all health and character declaration questions. Required by New Zealand immigration law — inaccurate answers may result in rejection. All declarations are in English and typically take 3 to 5 minutes to complete.
The NZeTA service fee and the New Zealand government IVL levy are collected together in one secure online card transaction. Non-refundable. Instant confirmation is sent and your application enters processing immediately after successful payment.
Approved within 72 hours. The NZeTA is electronically linked to your San Marino passport — no printing required. Check-in staff at RMI or BLQ and New Zealand border officers at AKL verify it automatically when you present your passport.
The NZeTA covers short-term visits only. See the tourist visa, business visa, and transit visa pages for activities requiring a separate visa.
| Activity | NZeTA Status |
|---|---|
| Tourism, sightseeing, and leisure holidays | ✓ Covered |
| Visiting friends or family in New Zealand | ✓ Covered |
| Business meetings, conferences, trade events (no paid work) | ✓ Covered |
| Hiking Great Walks, adventure activities, skiing, watersports | ✓ Covered |
| Short courses or workshops lasting under 3 months | ✓ Covered |
| Airport transit through any New Zealand international airport | ✓ Covered |
| Paid employment or working for a New Zealand employer | ✕ Work visa required |
| Study or education lasting more than 3 months | ✕ Student visa required |
| Planned medical treatment or procedures | ✕ Medical visa required |
| Stays exceeding 90 consecutive days or residency applications | ✕ Separate visa required |
San Marino has no national airport. All international travel departs from nearby Italian airports. Three gateway airports serve San Marino residents, shown below with their distances from the capital.
No airport, no barrier: San Marino sits at the centre of a well-connected Italian region. Rimini is the closest and most practical option for most travellers. Bologna offers more international connections and is preferred for New Zealand-bound journeys. All three airports connect easily to major European hubs for onward long-haul service.
Distance from capital: ~25 km by road (~30 min)
Routes to AKL:
RMI → LHR (Ryanair/British Airways ~2.5 hrs) → SIN/DXB → AKL
RMI → FRA (Ryanair ~2 hrs) → SIN → AKL (Lufthansa/SIA ~22 hrs)
~26–28 hrs total · 2 connectionsDistance from capital: ~100 km by road (~1 hr)
Routes to AKL:
BLQ → DXB (Emirates ~3.5 hrs) → AKL (Emirates ~17 hrs)
BLQ → SIN (Singapore Airlines ~12 hrs) → AKL (~10 hrs)
~25–27 hrs total · 1 connectionDistance from capital: ~240 km by road (~2.5 hrs)
Routes to AKL:
VCE → DXB (Emirates ~4 hrs) → AKL (Emirates ~17 hrs)
VCE → HKG (Cathay ~11 hrs) → AKL (~10.5 hrs)
~26–28 hrs total · 1–2 connectionsSan Marino uses the Euro (EUR €). New Zealand uses NZD. An open-jaw itinerary — arriving Auckland (AKL) and departing Christchurch (CHC) — covers both islands without backtracking and is recommended for first-time visitors.
San Marino’s 1,700 years of self-governance have produced a nation that looks unchanged on the surface but has adapted continuously within its medieval walls. Each historical fact has a modern counterpart — and an unexpected echo in New Zealand.
| Historical San Marino | San Marino Today | New Zealand Parallel |
|---|---|---|
| Governance Two Captains Regent (co-regents) first appointed in 1243. Both must agree for decisions to pass — a system designed to prevent single-person tyranny. | Still the same system San Marino still elects two Captains Regent every six months. They cannot be re-elected for three years after serving. The 60-member Grand and General Council (parliament) has operated continuously since the 13th century. | New Zealand’s electoral innovation New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in 1893. Its Parliament uses MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) voting, adopted in 1996, giving smaller parties significant representation. Both San Marino and New Zealand have experimented continuously with governance structures designed to prevent concentration of power — from opposite ends of constitutional history. |
| Defence Medieval walls surrounding the Three Towers of Guaita, Cesta, and Montale on Mount Titano. The Crossbowmen of San Marino (Balestrieri) were the republic’s historic military force. | Ceremonial military only San Marino maintains a military establishment of approximately 80 uniformed personnel including a ceremonial Crossbowmen corps and the Guard of the Rock. The Crossbowmen compete in medieval crossbow tournaments across Italy — sport as the continuation of military tradition. | New Zealand’s nuclear-free defence New Zealand declared itself a nuclear-free zone in 1987, banned nuclear-armed ships from its ports, and effectively redefined its defence posture. Like San Marino (which disbanded its wartime army after the Austro-Prussian War), New Zealand chose to define what it would NOT participate in as part of its identity. Both small nations have used principle rather than firepower as their primary strategic instrument. |
| Territory 61.2 km² centred on Mount Titano (739 m), entirely within what is now the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche. Has maintained exactly the same borders since the 14th century. | Nine municipalities San Marino is divided into nine castelli (municipalities): Acquaviva, Borgo Maggiore, Chiesanuova, Domagnano, Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, San Marino (city), and Serravalle. The historic city centre and Mount Titano were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. | New Zealand’s scale contrast New Zealand’s South Island alone (150,437 km²) is 2,457 times larger than San Marino. But both countries have mountains at their geographical and cultural heart: San Marino is entirely defined by Mount Titano; New Zealand’s Aoraki/Mount Cook and the Southern Alps define the South Island’s character as completely as Titano defines San Marino’s. For Sammarinese travellers, New Zealand’s mountains are the most immediate cultural resonance they encounter. |
| Economy Medieval quarrying of the white limestone of Mount Titano + agriculture + the sale of artisanal goods to travellers passing through. The mountain’s stone was used for construction across the region. | Banking, stamps & tourism San Marino’s main industries today are financial services and banking, tourism (3 million visitors/year to a 34,000-person state), precision manufacturing, and the sale of collectible postage stamps — among the world’s most prized philatelic items. San Marino was not part of the EU but adopted the Euro, and issues its own distinctive Euro coins, which are popular with collectors. | New Zealand’s tourism economy New Zealand’s tourism sector generates over NZD 16 billion annually and is the country’s second-largest export earner after dairy. Like San Marino, New Zealand built a world-class tourism industry around a small geographic area with extraordinary natural character. The Lord of the Rings trilogy did for New Zealand what the Three Towers do for San Marino — made the landscape itself the destination, for travellers who want to stand inside a landscape they already know as art. |
100% online from San Marino or anywhere. Approved within 72 hours. Valid 2 years. Fly via Rimini or Bologna.
Start NZeTA Application — San Marino Passport© 2026 NZeTA - New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority. All Rights Reserved.