American Samoa Entry Permit

I am planning to visit several pacific islands including Fiji, Samoa (and possible American Samoa), New Zealand and etc in Nov & Dec 2015. I am holding Malaysian passport and from what I searched online saying that I will need to have American Samoa entry permit if I want to visit American Samoa.

Do anyone know where can I apply for this entry permit? What is the procedure and how long does it take?

Thanks.

This permit could in theory be applied for even in Apia in (western) Samoa.
In practice, when I tried (years ago) no one ever bothered replying, just like with Tongan visa approvals back then.
Authorities of many Polynesian countries seem to think that tourists from the countries that they allow in visa-free are enough for them!

Of course you could try and have more luck, but don't make any travel arrangements, like buying flight tickets out of American Samoa, before securing your permit.

Luckily, there should be enough Pacific islands accessible without visas and permits even to you.

As a Malaysian national you do not qualify for an entry permit unless you are a resident of a select few countries (eg Australia) but unfortunately you do not give that information. Normally you would need a tourist visa. Entry permits are issued upon arrival at immigration and do not need to be applied for beforehand.

This site should clear up all your questions and also give you the address of the nearest consulate should you indeed require a tourist visa.
https://american-samoa.visahq.com/

I have a valid US tourist visa and live in Australia. I don't think the requirement of Entry Permit is based on country of residence as per this articles.
http://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/american-samoa.cfm

Do you mean I will need Entry Permit even if I go to Apia? It should obtainable on arrival?
https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=1&NA=MY&DE=WS&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C

Living in Australia qualifies you for an entry permit so you are good to go, you just need a blank page in your passport.

I don't think the requirement of Entry Permit is based on country of residence

If you check the link I gave you, you can see that your country of residence does in fact affect your entry requirements. If you lived in the UK for example, you would need a tourist visa - as always the devil is in the detail.

That website is wrong. Its only the passport that matters, not the country of residence. However American Samoa has own immigration rules that are different in some cases from the general US requirement.
http://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/upload/AS-Travel-Requirements-Exceptions.pdf

That website is wrong. Its only the passport that matters, not the country of residence. However American Samoa has own immigration rules that are different in some cases from the general US requirement.
http://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/upload/AS-Travel-Requirements-Exceptions.pdf

Any idea where can I apply for the Entry Permit for American Samoa?

Did you not read my reply at #5 ?
Because of your Australian residency, you're good to go, you need a blank page in your passport.
Entry permits are always issued upon arrival.

Why are you misleading people with that website? I live in Apia, Samoa and contacted Oceania Travel&Tours , a local travel agent with offices in Apia and Pago-Pago. They sell tickets to American Samoa every day. This is what they say:

"Malaysian passport holder NEED VISA TO ENTER AMERICAN SAMOA. even with Australian permanent residency stamp. Just like Samoans with US GREEN CARD, they still need visas for Am Samoa!
We can apply for her visa it costs USD60 per person - visa fee attorney generals office pago USD40, fees for pago USD20. Require - copy of passport, air ticket apia pago apia, air ticket to leave apia, and simple letter explaining reasons for going to American Samoa. Air fare is WST395 per adult."

So nothing will be issued upon arrival - in fact Polynesian Airlines would not even sell a ticket to Pago without the visa stamp in the passport.
Forget about that misleading website. #8 - have you even been in American Samoa? I doubt it. So why you are so sure to know everything?

Just to make sure about the different stamps. Visa and Entry permit are not the same thing.

Upon arrival in American Samoa one gets an Entry permit. To qualify for that you must normally have a visa before. The visa is the prerequiste for the Entry permit. Holders of some countries' passport are exempted from that though and can get their permit straight away. Malaysia is not excempted though; so you have to have a visa first in order to travel to American Samoa and to get your entry permit there.

Your country of residence is completely unimportant. As the travel agent said: even Samoans residing in the US still need a visa to travel to American Samoa. The same when they reside in Australia of course.

Do you mean I will need Entry Permit even if I go to Apia? It should obtainable on arrival?

No. I meant you needed one (or a visa) to go from there to American Samoa, and as a last resort, this could still be arranged in Apia - in theory!

#10 Hmm... If I had access to my data bases I could comment further but unfortunately I'm away from work. You may well be correct even though your links to ancient web-sites don't inspire alot of confidence.
The strange thing on the free to view sites is the clause that American Samoa issues entry permits INSTEAD of visas which negates your claims that visas are a pre-requisite for an entry permit.
Definitely alot of conflicting advice on the web, best course of action for OP is to contact his airline.

Why are you misleading people with that website? I live in Apia, Samoa and contacted Oceania Travel&Tours , a local travel agent with offices in Apia and Pago-Pago. They sell tickets to American Samoa every day. This is what they say:

"Malaysian passport holder NEED VISA TO ENTER AMERICAN SAMOA. even with Australian permanent residency stamp. Just like Samoans with US GREEN CARD, they still need visas for Am Samoa!
We can apply for her visa it costs USD60 per person - visa fee attorney generals office pago USD40, fees for pago USD20. Require - copy of passport, air ticket apia pago apia, air ticket to leave apia, and simple letter explaining reasons for going to American Samoa. Air fare is WST395 per adult."

So nothing will be issued upon arrival - in fact Polynesian Airlines would not even sell a ticket to Pago without the visa stamp in the passport.
Forget about that misleading website. #8 - have you even been in American Samoa? I doubt it. So why you are so sure to know everything?

Thanks for response.

When do you said "NEED VISA TO ENTER AMERICAN SAMOA", do you mean the entry permit for American Samoa or US visitor visa? For what I understand, attorney generals office in Pago-pago will issue entry permit for visitor which are not exempted.

I called the Polynesian Airlines and they said I will need a valid US visitor visa and Entry Permit issued by American Samoa attorney generals office. Is this incorrect?

Do you know how long does this take if applying the entry permit (or Am Samoa visa) in Apia?

Thanks

I have to correct myself too: American Samoa calls their visa an Entry Permit. So its the same thing and you have to apply for it. I asked the travel agent again and this is what she said:

"If she is just going to pago for a visit or holiday and returning directly to Apia, then she only needs the entry permit for American Samoa. No need visa for US. It takes two or three days to do the visa. someone of the office in pago has to literally sit at attorney generals office in pago, otherwise it can take weeks.I suggest she does it now before she gets to Apia. Email passport copy, send copy of her tkt out of apia after pago. Simple letter giving reason for going to Pago."

So no US visa needed. I have never been asked for one too and I would hardly know any Samoan traveling to Pago having one. But thats only valid if you go straight back to Apia. If you would want to go to Honolulu instead you would need the US visa.

I have to correct myself too: American Samoa calls their visa an Entry Permit. So its the same thing and you have to apply for it. I asked the travel agent again and this is what she said:

"If she is just going to pago for a visit or holiday and returning directly to Apia, then she only needs the entry permit for American Samoa. No need visa for US. It takes two or three days to do the visa. someone of the office in pago has to literally sit at attorney generals office in pago, otherwise it can take weeks.I suggest she does it now before she gets to Apia. Email passport copy, send copy of her tkt out of apia after pago. Simple letter giving reason for going to Pago."

So no US visa needed. I have never been asked for one too and I would hardly know any Samoan traveling to Pago having one. But thats only valid if you go straight back to Apia. If you would want to go to Honolulu instead you would need the US visa.

Thanks for response. Do you mind to give me the contact details for the travel agents in Apia that can handle the entry permit application?

Cannot do that here. I sent you a Private Message instead.

I think it would be OK to post the contact details when it's in reply to a specific request by a genuine user.

I take your word for it. That's Oceania Travel & Tours in Apia, +685 24443, oceaniatravel@ipasifika.net, www.oceaniatravel.ws. Talk to Ms Sulu Malifa.

Are those not the same people that said a visa was necessary ? Maybe 3rd time lucky ?
It just doesn't inspire alot of confidence, you'd think a travel agent could reel these things off in their sleep.

Confidence? In this case: yes. This travel agent can reel these specific things off in her sleep indeed. Why? Because she lives in Samoa, has her agency here since 1987, with offices both in Apia, Independent Samoa, run by herself, and in Pago-Pago, American Samoa, run by her daughter. So when it comes to travel between both Samoas she is one of those to ask. Simple as that. Not neccessarily about any visa, somewhere in the world, but about this one for sure.

Cannot do that here. I sent you a Private Message instead.

Thanks

This site should clear up all your questions

[](http://www.besthotels1.com/2015/10/my-fantastic-article-about-samoa-island.html)

Hi all,

Just want to say that it was really a pleasant surprise to drop in the American Samoan forum and the first thread has the very specific topic I'm looking for. I am too a Malaysian looking to apply for a visa to American Samoa in mid-July.

Since I still have 3 months to go, I prefer to get the important stuff like visas sorted. I am looking to take the once-weekly ferry service instead of flying. However, the tricky part is contacting Samoa Shipping which runs the MV Lady Naomi that ply between Apia and Pago. They have never answered my email which I am beginning to worry.

I have managed to contact an Immigration Officer in Pago and they mentioned the USD40 application fees, but I have never thought how I am to pay. Therefore, are the inbound and outbound flights from Apia (as opposed to Pago Pago) sufficient to prove that I will be leaving both Samoas good enough for visa application?

nasay88, jika anda telah berjaya memperoleh visa dan masuk American Samoa, sila share kat semua orang :) Thanks!

Middle of August 2016 Seta at the AG's office in Pago Pago state telephonically that if a passenger arrive on a cruise liner with a South African passport then the agents for the ship will have to apply in advance for a visa. On the 31st August Michael Panem, the Operations Manager for Pago Pago Harbour stated in an e-mail message to my travel agent that "as long as your client arrives and departs with the ship, all is good" in a reply to a query if a visa would be needed. In a previous message he said that if the passenger would like to join the ship in Pago Pago (thus arriving by air) the passenger would need a visa.

Hi I just would like to ask how long it will take to have a entry permit. Thank you :)

Hi, I managed to obtain an entry permit by chance in July when I was in Apia.

If you're entering American Samoa from independent Samoa, you can approach Oceania Travels in Apia and they can do it for you for $60. However, as a travel agent, their service is atrocious. When I asked them for backpacker's accommodation to support the application, they weren't helpful and asked me to look for it myself. When I presented to them an unpaid flight itinerary for visa application purposes I have obtained myself from Polynesian Airlines, they quickly offered me to pay through them, seemingly to get an easy commission. So, with their poor service, I had to hesitantly use their visa application service because there's no other agency in Apia I've found that will do this. They immediately demanded $60 and didn't bother to explain the procedures that will follow. When I asked about this, they unhelpfully dismissed the questions and accused me of being difficult. Clearly, they didn't understand my questions and more importantly they didn't even understand and respect customers' needs. When I related my opinion of their service to them, they took offence and said I can take my money back. Extremely unprofessional.

Luckily I managed to come across a man who works at Fiji Airways who knows someone who works at the immigration department in Pago Pago. However, the chances of finding someone who has connections with authorities in American Samoa and willing to help is rather low.

Oceania Travels is probably the only agency that can help you, unless you already know someone in American Samoa who can "sponsor" you by applying the visa and paying the service fees on your behalf in Pago Pago. You can also possibly approach your accommodation (I would recommend Tisa's Barefoot Bar for the cheapest option at $50/night) to apply on your behalf, if they are willing.

The process of obtaining the American Samoan entry permit is bureaucratic and unnecessarily difficult for nationals who need one.

I hope you could successfully apply for an entry permit. Perhaps if you already have a US visa and flying from Hawaii, the process would be smoother.

Hi patricklosinada,

I got the entry permit within 2-3 working days. I think they would approve within a day if you tell them it's urgent.

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