Yes, moving to American Samoa is possible, but the territory runs its own immigration system and the requirements vary sharply depending on whether you are a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a foreign national. American Samoa enforces its own immigration law under Title 41 of the American Samoa Code Annotated, with the stated purpose of protecting Samoan land, culture, and way of life.1FAO. Revised Constitution of American Samoa That protective posture shapes everything: who gets in, who can work, who can own land, and how long it takes to become a permanent resident.
What Your Nationality Decides
Before anything else, sort yourself into one of three groups. The gate you enter through determines the entire process.
U.S. Citizens
If you are a U.S. citizen, you do not need a visa or entry permit. You do need a valid U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate proving U.S. nationality, plus a ticket for onward passage or proof of employment in the territory. You can stay up to 30 days without additional approval. Anything longer requires permission from the Attorney General of American Samoa.2U.S. Department of the Interior – DOI.gov. American Samoa – Section: Travel Requirements
U.S. Nationals
People born in American Samoa or Swains Island are U.S. nationals, not U.S. citizens. They owe permanent allegiance to the United States and can live and work in any U.S. state without a visa, but they are not citizens unless they naturalize. Returning to American Samoa, they follow the same entry rules as citizens. A U.S. national who later moves to a state and wants full citizenship gets a streamlined path: no green card needed, and the physical presence requirement is 30 months in the United States.3USCIS. A Guide to Naturalization – Chapter 4 – Eligibility Requirements Summary
Foreign Nationals
If you are neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. national, you need an entry permit before arriving. American Samoa does not use the standard U.S. visa system. Its Immigration Division issues its own permits. Travelers from U.S. visa-waiver countries, or those holding a U.S. visa or green card, can apply online for a 30-day visitor permit. Citizens of the independent nation of Samoa can apply online for a 10-day visitor permit. Everyone else needs a local sponsor who must apply in person at the Immigration Office.4Department of Legal Affairs. Visitor Permits For anything longer than a visit, foreign nationals go through the formal immigration petition process with a local sponsor.
What Residency Actually Requires
The basics are what you would expect: valid passport, proof of sufficient funds, and a return or onward ticket. Health clearances are standard, which means a medical exam screening for communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis, plus documentation of required vaccinations. You will also need a criminal background check from your country of origin.
For foreign nationals, local sponsorship is the biggest hurdle. A resident of American Samoa or a local business must sponsor your petition, and the sponsor is required to post an immigration bond once the petition is approved. Bond amounts vary by the applicant’s country of origin and were most recently revised in November 2025. The bond puts financial responsibility for you on your sponsor.
The forms depend on your basis for immigration. Family-based petitions use Form P-12; employment-based petitions use Form P-45. Both are available at the Immigration Office on the first floor of the Executive Office Building in Utulei.5Department of Legal Affairs. Residency Classification 2.0 They ask for detailed personal information, financial disclosures, your purpose for relocating, and sponsor details.
Applying and How Long It Takes
Applications go to the Immigration Division of the Office of the Attorney General. Residency petitions generally require in-person submission, though some shorter-term visitor permits allow online filing.4Department of Legal Affairs. Visitor Permits The fee is $75 for a residency petition, plus $30 for an identification card.5Department of Legal Affairs. Residency Classification 2.0
Processing runs from several weeks to several months. The Immigration Division assigns preference categories that decide your place in the queue. Family relationships to American Samoans or U.S. citizens sit at the top, then professionals whose skills benefit the local economy, then skilled and unskilled workers filling documented labor shortages.6American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0303 – Allocation of Registration Receipt Cards Each category holds a percentage cap of available registration cards, so waits differ by category. Expect an interview and expect the timeline to slip.
Working in American Samoa
Foreign nationals need employer sponsorship to work. Your employer must demonstrate that the position cannot be filled by someone already residing in the territory. Employment-based immigration runs through the P-45, with up to 10 percent of registration cards allocated to professionals such as physicians, engineers, lawyers, and teachers, and another 24 percent for skilled and unskilled workers filling documented shortages.6American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0303 – Allocation of Registration Receipt Cards
A work permit ties you to the sponsoring employer in the approved position. Changing jobs means starting the sponsorship over. Renewals must be on time, and significant changes in circumstances get reported to the Immigration Division.
One boundary worth naming: the separate guest worker permit program is narrow, not a general work visa. The Attorney General can issue these permits only to people of Samoan ancestry born in the Independent State of Samoa, and only for employment at specific operations such as the local canneries or call centers.7American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0902 – Authorization to Issue Guest Worker Permit Applicants must be between 19 and 45 at application.8American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0903 – Requirements for Eligibility for Guest Worker Permit
Do not assume your mainland professional license transfers. For medical and dental professionals, graduating from an accredited U.S. school counts toward American Samoa’s education requirements for licensure, but you still go through local licensing.9American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 31.0424 – Additional Qualifications Physician assistants must meet standards aligned with the U.S. National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. For law, teaching, and other fields, contact the relevant licensing authority directly; reciprocity is not guaranteed.
Land Ownership: Plan on Leasing
This is the part most newcomers do not see coming. American Samoa has some of the most restrictive land ownership laws in any U.S. jurisdiction. The territory’s constitution directs the government to protect persons of Samoan ancestry against alienation of their lands, and changing those protections requires a two-thirds vote of both legislative houses in two successive sessions plus the Governor’s approval.1FAO. Revised Constitution of American Samoa
Under the land alienation statute, it is illegal to transfer any land (except designated freehold land) to anyone who has less than one-half native Samoan blood. Someone with some native blood still faces restrictions unless they were born in American Samoa, descend from a Samoan family, live among Samoans as a Samoan, have resided there for more than five years, and have officially declared their intention to make it home for life. Children of two parents who each have any non-native blood cannot inherit land unless they are at least one-half native blood.10American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 37.0204 – Restrictions on Alienation of Land
In practice, if you are not of Samoan ancestry, you are not buying property. Most non-Samoan residents lease freehold land or rent. Plan your housing around leasing, not ownership.
Taxes
American Samoa runs a “mirror” tax system. Instead of filing with the IRS, bona fide residents file a local income tax return with American Samoa’s tax office using a version of the U.S. tax code adapted for the territory. If you are a bona fide resident for the entire tax year, income from sources within American Samoa and income connected to a business you run there is excluded from your U.S. federal gross income.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 931 – Income From Sources Within Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands You cannot claim federal deductions or credits against that excluded income.
Qualifying as a bona fide resident means meeting three tests during the tax year: a presence test requiring sufficient physical time in the territory, no tax home outside American Samoa, and no closer connection to the mainland United States or a foreign country than to the territory.12Internal Revenue Service. Tax Credits and Bona Fide Residents of United States Territories
One federal obligation follows you regardless: self-employment tax. If you have net self-employment earnings of $400 or more, you file Form 1040-SS with the IRS, even though your income tax goes to the local office. The deadline is April 15, with an automatic two-month extension if you are outside the United States on that date.13Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1040-SS American Samoa residents are explicitly not treated as nonresident aliens for self-employment tax purposes.14eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6017-1 – Self-Employment Tax Returns
The Long Road to Permanent Residency
Permanent resident status in American Samoa is a long commitment. The standard path requires 20 years of continuous physical and legal presence in the territory, plus good moral character. “Continuous” means uninterrupted residency, with absences no longer than three consecutive months allowed.15American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0403 – Persons Entitled to Apply for Permanent Resident Status
Two shorter paths exist. If you are legally married to an American Samoan or a U.S. citizen and have resided in the territory, the requirement drops to 10 years. Certain other categories specified in the immigration code also qualify at 10 years.15American Samoa Bar Association. American Samoa Code Annotated 41.0403 – Persons Entitled to Apply for Permanent Resident Status Even the shorter path is a decade. Plan accordingly.
Keeping Your Status
Residency requires upkeep. Permanent residents who live outside American Samoa for more than six months without the Attorney General’s authorization risk losing status. The Attorney General can also revoke permanent residency for a felony conviction or two or more criminal convictions, whether or not they arose from a single incident.16ILO NATLEX. Citizenship, Alienage and Immigration Title 41 – Section: 41.0405 Loss of Permanent Resident Status
Temporary residents have their own obligation: written notice of your address to the Attorney General every three months, even if nothing has changed.17ILO NATLEX. Citizenship, Alienage and Immigration Title 41 – Section: 41.0308 Notice of Address or Change of Address Missing those reports can jeopardize your status, and work permits and dependent permits need timely renewal. Report significant changes in circumstances to the Immigration Division promptly.