Living in Andorra: requirements and 5 ways

Many clients and users search about the requirements necessary that must be met for to be able to live in Andorra, especially being Spanish. However, this question is a little more complicated since Andorra has various types of residence permit different, each one with its requirements, its rights and obligations, its procedures and its necessary documentation.

Thus, depending on the objectives and what you want to do in the country, you can obtain one authorization or another, or one or the other will be more relevant. That is why we talk about ways to get to live in Andorra, and not the requirements themselves. On this page we show the 5 updated forms according to the 2023 modifications applied to the Andorran Immigration Law.

Difference between active residence and passive residence

The first concept that must be taken into account to know how to live in Andorra is the difference between active and passive residence that Andorran legislation makes. Usually:

Active residence refers to those permits that grant the right to live and work in Andorra, that is, it makes the holder an active resident (worker). You need to move to Andorra and settle permanently.
Passive residence is used to designate the permissions that allow just reside in Andorra, but not working in the country (not exercising economic activity). They do not require moving to Andorra (only staying for more than 90 days).

Therefore, the holders of an active residence permit are obliged to pay taxes to the CASS (Andorran social security) for the fact of carrying out economic activity, while holders of a passive residence permit may decide not to do so. For each category of residence there are numerous types of permits, each with its classifications, particularities and exceptions. For example, in active residence, work can be self-employed or employed, and the most famous type of residence is called non-profit residence.

The 5 ways of living in Andorra

Thus, based on these types of permits, we consider that there are generally four ways to live in the Principality, depending on the objective one has and the economic and professional activity that is going to be carried out. all forms of moving to Andorra share a common set of requirements and documentation, namely:

ID in copy and original: for people of the European Union or the European Economic Area DNI, for others the Passport.
Clean criminal record certificate, both from the country of origin and from the countries in which you have resided to date.
Fill out and sign a sworn declaration of the previous criminal record.
Documentation that verifies the stay in the Principality (rental contract, property title of a property, etc.).
Documents on marital status:
- In the case of a single person, the official certificate of singleness or fill out and sign an affidavit of the same.
- In case of married, the official marriage certificate.
- In case of divorce, photocopy and original of the separation sentence.
- If you are a widower or widower, a photocopy and original of the spouse's death certificate.
- Finally, if it is a common-law couple, an official certificate issued by the Andorran Civil Registry.
Make a brief medical check successfully.

Worker or employee

It is the most understandable way to live and work in Andorra. For this, the interested person must be hired by an Andorran legal company, whether public or private. So you can apply for the permission of active residence and employment and after being in the country a minimum of 183 days the tax residence. Depending on the type of contract, the leave may be temporary or indefinite, the time of the leave being restricted to the time of the employment contract. To go to live in Andorra in this way, it may be required: in addition to the common requirements above:

Work contract of the Andorran company where you are going to work.
Curriculum vitae of the person hired, seeking to have relevant information about their training and experience.
Other formalities on salary and professional conditions- They can be required from academic tests, degrees and work experience to social security points or salary reports.
Fill out and sign a sworn statement of the training plan.
Diligence of registration to the Comú.
Fill out and submit the application of immigration authorization for active residents employed.

Registration in the Community in which you reside must be done at most three months later to obtain the authorization, as has been committed during to do by signing the diligence.

It should also be noted that the most hard This way of residing in Andorra is get an employment contract being a foreigner, especially indefinite since Andorran legislation restricts the hiring of non-residents.

Liberal or titled professional

This way of living in Andorra consists of Obtain a residence permit and self-employment as a qualified professional. It is a legal figure, it is the equivalent of the self-employed in Spain or other countries, but in Andorra it is much more restricted, as it is only allowed for people with a university education who can join a professional or equivalent school and for certain economic activities defined.

In addition, its approval depends directly on the government according to the characteristics of the degrees and the centers that issue them, the characteristics of the economic activity, the quotas available for the profession considered, etc. When we speak of qualified professionals, we have to think of lawyers, engineers of various kinds, architects, economists, etc. Similar to the previous case, your requirements are:

Curriculum vitae of the person concerned with relevant information about their training and experience.
Fill out and submit the application immigration authorization for active self-employed residents.
Prove that the authorization to exercise the liberal profession by the government and the membership of the corresponding professional association within a maximum period of 3 months.
Give of high in the CASS and to contribute monthly under a qualified professional regime.

So the advantage of this mode is that it is very cheap, because unlike the employer (which we will see below does not require the incorporation of a company with all the expenses that it entails and nor the deposit of €50,000 to the AFA as it is not a foreign investment. You can read more about this way of residing in Andorra as a freelancer here. It is currently the best way to establish yourself in the country without a doubt. You can contact us if you are interested in it.

The obvious disadvantage is that it is very restricted Because you have to have a tertiary training degree and get it to be approved by an Andorran educational institution, in addition to having to register and that the Government of the country allows you to practice as a liberal professional. On the other hand, by exercising as a natural person you have full responsibility for debts and income and are limited to carrying out the professional activity that the training allows.

Businessman or entrepreneur

The shape easiest, but also the most expensive. For this you have to start a business in Andorra by forming an Andorran company and get permission from active residence and self-employment through such foreign investment, being administrator and partner of the newly created company. After residing 183 days or more in the country, tax residence is achieved. The requirements to access in this way to live in Andorra are:

Curriculum vitae of the person concerned with relevant information about their training and experience.
Fill out and submit the application immigration authorization for active self-employed residents.
Have obtained authorization from foreign investment.
Have effectively constituted the company.
Have a participation of more than 34% on the total capital stock.
Hold a position in the administration of the company.
Prove that the company is the owner of a duly registered trade and active in a maximum of three months.
Make the deposit of the deposit of € 50,000 to the Andorran Financial Authority (AFA).
Give of high in the CASS and to quote monthly as an entrepreneur.

In this way any activity that can be framed within the corporate purpose of a company can be carried out No problem. In addition, when receiving income also as a charge of the company, the maximum total effective rate paid in direct taxes is always less than 10% of the income received, there is limited liability and the flexibility that operating through a company provides. It is a fact that taxes in Andorra are very attractive.

As a disadvantage therefore we have to mention the high cost, both in monetary terms (costs of incorporation and maintenance of the company, provisions of share capital and the AFA guarantee, etc.) how long (requires two to three months of procedure and formalities). The increase in the deposit to the Andorran Financial Authority from €15,000 to €50,000 by 2023 has made this way of settling in Andorra problematic and uninteresting.

By family reunification

It is about living in Andorra obtaining any active residence permit by family reunification of another person holder of an active residence permit. This residence permit applies only to direct relatives of the person holding the original residence in Andorra, who roughly are the spouse, children and ascendants over 65 years of age. In addition to the common requirements, you must provide:

Documentation accrediting the health insurance of the people to regroup and affidavit of commitment.
Copy of the holder's immigration authorization.
Documentation accrediting economic capacity or solvency.
Other documents according to the relative in question, age, etc.

As we indicate on our page about the permissions of residence in Andorra, after the changes applied in the Immigration Law in 2022, a certification issued by an Andorran bank must be provided. economic capacity and also demonstrate the effective residence with the contribution of three full months to Social Security. The economic capacity is granted by demonstrating the perception of income equivalent to the 70% of the Andorran minimum wage for the regrouping of each adult and 40% for each minor.

Passive or non-profit residence

Because, as we said before, passive residence permits authorize you to reside but not to work, this way of getting to live in Andorra is the most suitable for those who do not wish to carry out any activity in the country. As well requires a large investment and only requires the effective residence in the country for more than 90 days, is usually the way to retired elderly, great executives or managers of multinationals who travel a lot, retired athletes or large family assets.

It consists of obtaining the passive residence permit Through its basic method, being a professional with international projection or for reasons of scientific, cultural or sports interest. With this permission you cannot have wage income from Andorra of any kind, but yes you can receive returns on capital such as interest, rental income or dividends. In addition to the common requirements, you must meet:

Fill out and sign a commitment to live in the country for a minimum of 90 days a year.
Have coverage and insurance of health and retirement for Andorra, either public (CASS) or private.
Show that they are perceived income greater than 300% of the annual minimum wage in force in Andorra.
Register in the relevant Community and obtain your certificate in a maximum period of one month.
Fill out and submit the application immigration clearance for passive residents.
Make the deposit of the deposit of €47,500 to the Andorran Financial Authority (AFA).
To invest at least 600,000 euros in Andorran assets of the following assets:
- Property located in the territory of the Principality of Andorra.
- Participations in the capital stock or in the equity of companies resident in the Principality of Andorra.
- Debt instruments or finances issued by entities resident in the Principality of Andorra.
- Public debt instruments issued by any Administration of the Principality of Andorra.
- Life insurance products contracted with entities resident in the Principality of Andorra.
- Deposits to the AFA (Andorran Financial Authority) unpaid.
Sign a declaration of commitment to make said investment within a maximum period of six months.

In case of investing in assets real estate at least one of them must have a value greater than €400,000. In addition, the only exception to the requirement to invest €600,000 is, according to immigration legislation for 2023, the investment in a Housing Fund authorized by the Andorran government to build households of social protection. In this case, the investment requirement to be made is “only” €400,000.

Another remarkable thing about this form is that the main holder can make his relatives residents also in the same permit, having them in charge. These relatives must only provide the basic documentation since they reside in the charge of the owner, and they must pay €9,500 extra as a deposit to the AFA for each of them. So a couple of retirees would deposit €57,000 in said institution.

On the other hand, since no economic activity is carried out in the Principality of Andorra, it is not necessary to contribute to the CASS or social security. However, in case of not listing, it is mandatory to justify and have valid for Andorra a coverage and insurance for sickness, disability and old age both for the applicant and for their dependents, for the entire period of validity of the same coverage, with the exception of minors and those over sixty years of age, who must only justify and have in force for Andorra a health coverage and insurance (health coverage).

Live in Andorra or Barcelona?

Since Barcelona is very close to Andorra, many people from that city wonder if it is better to live there or in the Catalan city. The truth is The Principality is much better for many things. Here we list some:

Rent in Barcelona is very expensive. In Andorra the price of rent and housing are also high but nothing to do with the city of Barcelona.
Barcelona is one of the European cities with the most crime, delinquency and instability, especially for about ten years. Instead in Andorra crime and delinquency are practically non-existent.
The difference in legal certainty between the two sites is enormous precisely because of the above. In Barcelona you can have a business and be completely unprotected from theft, attacks on shops, etc. Home squatting is also common, the opposite of Andorra.
Catalonia is one of the regions with the highest taxes from Spain. If we already commented here the difference in taxes between Spain and Andorra and we saw that there was no color, even less with Catalonia.
Andorra is much cheaper than Barcelona apart from rent. The cost of living in Andorra It is around €1,500 for a businessman who would like to have the same in Barcelona.

Although there may be some other reasons, in any case it must be taken into account that Barcelona is just two hours by car from the Principality. A person used to Barcelona could live there in Andorra most of the time and frequently visit the capital of Catalonia, thus enjoying the best of the mountains and the best of the beach and one of the most beautiful cities in all of Europe.

Taxes when living in Andorra

The greatest advantage recognized in Andorra to live is its low taxes. And it is that in Andorra the most expensive thing is social security, which represents 22% of the workers' salary. All other taxes are much lower than in surrounding countries. For example, personal income tax assumes a rate between 0% and 10%, and VAT between 0% and 4.5%. Also corporate tax, which is a general rate of the 10%. Can read more about taxes in Andorra here.

In conclusion

These are the 5 basic ways of living in Andorra. Usually, the most frequent is usually that of being an entrepreneur, which is what most of them usually do. youtubers, or buy a house and obtain a passive residence permit, as many athletes, celebrities, managers and retirees do, among others. This is because obtaining an employment contract as a foreigner is difficult. However, due to the high amount of bonds to the AFA currently the best option to live in Andorra is to be a qualified professional. Although it is an option restricted to university graduates, it has a very low cost and is very interesting.

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Frequent questions

❓ How can you live in Andorra?

In general, there are 5 different ways to live in Andorra as a foreigner, each with its objectives, type of permit, requirements and documentation.

❓ What is the difference between active residence and passive residence?

In Andorra, the term active residence is used to name the residence permits that authorize to live and work, and passive residence for those that only authorize to live, but not to work.

❓ How to live and work in Andorra?

You have to either get an employment contract with an Andorran company, or be a self-employed professional with a tertiary education degree, or create a company in Andorra and work there as an entrepreneur.

❓ What requirements must be met to move to Andorra?

Be identified and without a criminal record and have an investment objective or economic activity there (employment contract, professional title, company or investment in the country).