San Marino document photos online

San Marino is a 61-square-kilometre republic ringed entirely by Italy, yet its little maroon passport quietly punches far above the country's size. Ranked 16th in the world on the 2025 Henley Passport Index, it opens roughly 170 destinations visa-free and is one of barely a dozen 'ordinary' European passports that grant visa-free entry to China. The same state that issues it claims to be the oldest surviving republic on Earth, founded by a stonemason in 301 AD, and is still headed by two captains regent who swap office every six months, a power-sharing ritual unbroken since 1243.

• Passport power San Marino's passport ranks 16th worldwide on the 2025 Henley Passport Index, granting its roughly 34,000 residents visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to about 170 countries.
• China access The Sammarinese passport is one of only around a dozen 'ordinary' European passports that allow visa-free visits to mainland China for stays up to 90 days.
• Citizenship San Marino runs one of Europe's strictest naturalisation regimes, normally demanding 30 years of residence (reduced for spouses) and requiring applicants to renounce every other nationality, since dual citizenship is not permitted.
• Honorary citizen Abraham Lincoln accepted honorary Sammarinese citizenship in 1861, replying that 'although your dominion is small, your State is nevertheless one of the most honored in all history.'
• Currency Without ever joining the EU, San Marino uses the euro under a monetary agreement and mints its own collector euro coins, while also retaining the right to issue gold 'scudo' coins that are legal tender only inside the republic.
• Oldest republic By tradition founded in 301 AD by Saint Marinus fleeing Roman persecution, San Marino calls itself the world's oldest continuously surviving sovereign republic.
• Oldest constitution Its governing Statutes, codified in Latin in 1600, are widely regarded as the oldest written constitution of any state still in force.
• Dual heads San Marino is led by two captains regent who serve jointly for just six months at a time, an anti-tyranny ritual of co-rulers that has run continuously since 1243.
• Diaspora More citizens of San Marino live abroad than at home: around 47,000 hold citizenship while only about 34,000 reside in the country, with large diaspora communities in Italy, the USA, France and Argentina.