De facto couple in Andorra: registration before a notary

In many of our articles we have mentioned the common law or stable union of a registered partner in Andorra. Specifically, in our articles where we talk about the ways of living in Andorra or the different types of residence permit Andorrans, we mention this category of the marital status of two people based on non-marital coexistence.

Última actualización: mayo de 2026. La información de este artículo se contrasta regularmente con fuentes oficiales del Govern d’Andorra.

It should be noted that for this formality to be valid in the Principality of Andorra, it must have been formalized in this same country, therefore it is not valid that the formalization has been done in a foreign country, even if it is Spain or France. Thus, in order to process the residence permit for family reunification, this procedure must be completed, which we are going to detail in this article.

Stable union of couple, origin and definition

The legislation governing civil partnerships in Andorra is currently regulated in the Llei 30/2022, qualified person and family, approved on July 21, 2022 and in force since August 18, 2022. This law expressly repealed the previous Law 4/2005 qualificada de les unions stabs de parella. Unions already registered under the previous law remain fully valid under the new legal framework.

Article 147 of Law 30/2022 defines a stable partnership or de facto partnership as a lasting union formed by two people, of legal age or emancipated minors; without a direct line of kinship by consanguinity or adoption and in the collateral line by consanguinity up to the third grade (the previous Law 4/2005 excluded up to the fourth degree); who live together as a couple and are registered in the corresponding Registry.

Law 30/2022 maintains the Register of Stable Partnerships under the responsibility of the civil registrar, in order to initiate the preliminary proceedings for declaring the partnership and to certify this partnership as well as its dissolution. To formalize the partnership, neither member can be married or in another stable partnership. Furthermore, at least one member must have Andorran nationality or legal, effective and permanent residence in the Principality (requirement introduced by Law 30/2022).

Registration of a stable couple union in Andorra

To be legalized as a common-law partner in the Principality of Andorra, the interested parties must appear at the offices of the Civil Registry and prepare a prior file that must be evaluated and authorized in order to register it. The purpose is to demonstrate in a documentary way that the applicants are effectively a civil union of a couple and it consists of an application, which must be delivered duly signed and filled out, and the rest of the documentation provided for in the Law.

Documentation necessary for the file

• Passport or DNI in force
• Residence certificate delivered by the Immigration Service in the case of legal residents in the country, or registration in the case of non-residents.
• Private agreement (Optional, art. 150 of Law 30/2022): Members may agree on their personal and financial relationships through a cohabitation agreement. This is not a mandatory requirement for registration, although it is advisable to regulate the rights and obligations between cohabitants.
• Coexistence documentation:
  • In the case of a public document, (notarial deed or foreign registration) this will be sufficient to prove prior coexistence.
  • If there is no sworn statement by two witnesses that they have proof of the duration, at least one year, of the cohabitation (this period is not required when the cohabiting couple has a common child, the existence of which will be accredited by means of Literal birth certificate).
• Literal birth certificate
  • If you were born in Andorra, it is already in the Civil Registry.
  • If you were born abroad, you will obtain it in the Civil Registry of the place where you were born.
• Certificate of civil status being Andorran
  • If you are single, it is done in the same Civil Registry by the appearance of 2 documented witnesses.
  • If you are divorced in Andorran Courts: Verify that your divorce is registered in the Civil Registry of Andorra.
  • If you are divorced in a foreign court and the previous marriage is registered in Andorra: it will be necessary for you to request the exequatur of the divorce judgment at the Higher Court of Justice of Andorra, as well as provide the literal certificate of your previous marriage with the marginal mention the fact of dissolution.
  • If you are a widower, you must provide the literal certificate of your previous marriage and the death certificate of the previous spouse.
• Certificate of civil status being a foreigner
  • Residents must request it from their Consulate. (Spanish the document Fe de vida y estado).
  • Non-residents can request it from their country of origin or at their Consulate.
  • If you have been married before, also bring the literal certificate of the Civil Registry stating your previous marriage, with the marginal mention of the fact of dissolution.
  • The widowers also the literal certificate of their previous marriage and the death certificate of the previous spouse.

About the required documentation

• Once the Civil Registry confirms that the documents and the file are correct, both of them must go to the Civil Registry to sign the Declaration of will to become a common-law couple in AndorraAccording to the Law 30/2022 (art. 148), Registration will take place after a period of 6 months from the aforementioned declaration.
• It is not necessary to translate the documents written in Spanish, French or Portuguese, but it is necessary translation into Catalan, Spanish or French of documents written in another foreign language. The translation will be done by an official translator.
• All documents from abroad must be presented duly legalized using one of the following two procedures.
  • The Hague Apostille. It is a single stamp, for the countries that are part of the Hague Convention.
  • The chain of legalizations, for countries that are not party to the Hague Convention. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the foreign country they can inform you about which departments have to put the chain of stamps on the documents. Note that the last stamp to be affixed will be that of the Consulate (whether Andorran, Spanish or French) accredited in that foreign country, or that of the Consul of that foreign country accredited in Andorra.

Extinction of the domestic partnership

Finally, the legislation itself also establishes that the stable union of a couple is extinguished for the following reasons:

• By mutual agreement. In this case, both members must jointly urge the cancellation before the Registry by means of a written and reliable notification.
• By unilateral will. This will must be reliably manifested to the other partner and, subsequently, the cancellation will be requested in the competent Registry, attaching a copy of this notification. This cancellation registration can only be made after 3 months from the date of the reliable notification to the other partner. If it is not possible to do so for reasons beyond the control of the interested party, such as the lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of the other cohabitant, it must be proven before the registrar that you have tried to notify by any means admitted by law.
• By marriage of one of the partners. The marriage of one of the members automatically supposes the cancellation of the stable union. Regarding the marriage celebrated outside the Principality of Andorra, with the presentation of the marriage certificate issued by the competent Civil Registry, the registration of the cancellation of the stable couple's union will proceed immediately.
• Due to death or judicial declaration of death. In the case of death or judicial declaration of death of one of the members of the couple, the surviving member or any other interested person must send a copy of the death certificate or the judicial declaration in the Registry, in order to proceed with the cancellation of registration.

Conclusions

The legal framework for stable partnerships in Andorra has been completely renewed by the Llei 30/2022 qualified person and family, in force since August 2022. The main changes compared to Law 4/2005 are: the reduction of the prohibited degree of collateral kinship from the fourth to third gradeThe requirement that at least one member of the couple have Andorran nationality or legal residence in the Principality, and the integration of this legal status within a general family law, remain unchanged. The procedure before the Civil Registry, the required documentation, and the six-month timeframe are also unchanged. Couples registered under the previous law retain full validity.