American Samoa Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into American Samoa.
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Guide
American Samoa is the one US territory that runs its own immigration system rather than deferring to the mainland's, the Department of Legal Affairs specifically holds responsibility for protecting the territory's borders and regulating who travels in and out, a genuinely different arrangement from Guam, the US Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico. US citizens and nationals need no visa and can come and go freely, but they do need a valid US passport or a certified birth certificate proving US nationality, plus a ticket for onward passage out of American Samoa or proof of local employment, a stricter documentation bar than the fully domestic travel a US citizen experiences elsewhere in US territory.
For everyone else, Australian, New Zealand, and UK citizens are issued a 30 day permit on arrival under the US Visa Waiver Program, while every other nationality has to apply for an entry visa in advance, there is no broader visa on arrival system here the way there might be in a fully independent Pacific nation nearby.
Border crossings
- Pago Pago International Airport
American Samoa's main gateway, where the territory's own immigration staff, not standard US CBP procedures, process arrivals.
Transit routes
- Carry proof of onward travel or local employment even as a US citizen or national
A specific requirement here that does not apply to travel within the fully domestic parts of US territory.
- Confirm whether the Visa Waiver Program's 30 day permit or a full visa applies to you
Australia, New Zealand, and the UK get the simpler route, most other nationalities need to apply ahead of time.
Entry point notes
- This is not the same as flying to Guam or the US Virgin Islands
American Samoa's separate immigration authority is a genuine structural difference worth understanding before you assume mainland US entry rules apply.
- A passport or certified birth certificate both work for US nationals
Worth knowing if you are traveling on nationality documentation rather than a passport specifically.