Retiring in Andorra

Is this pathway for you?

This pathway is for people who want to spend their retirement in Andorra without carrying on any activity there. It applies to you:

• if you receive, or will receive, French pensions from the private sector or the civil service;
• if you can invest €1,000,000 in Andorra and prove annual resources of about €56,500, pensions included;
• if you are leaving alone, as a couple, or with an elderly dependent parent.

If you intend to keep a paid activity, passive residency is not suitable: see the employee or freelancer pathways. If your financial assets are substantial, also read the investor, private income pathway.

What are the conditions for retiring in Andorra?

The law provides no permit specific to retirees: it is passive residency, or residence without gainful activity, that applies. Since 13 February 2026, it requires:

• an investment of €1,000,000 in Andorran assets (more than €800,000 per property in the case of real estate), or of €400,000 in the public Housing Fund;
• a payment of €50,000 to the AFA, the Andorran Financial Authority (formerly INAF), plus €12,000 per dependant, on a final basis;
• resources of more than 300% of the annual minimum wage, i.e. about €56,500, plus about €18,800 per dependant; a pension certificate is among the accepted supporting documents;
• insurance covering 100% of medical costs in Andorra; after 60, sickness insurance is enough, without incapacity or old-age cover;
• a home in Andorra and at least 90 days of presence per calendar year;
• a place in the annual quota: 163 authorisations without gainful activity in 2026 (Decree 74/2026).

The investment remains an asset, subject to market fluctuations; the payment to the AFA, on the other hand, is lost. The guide Costs and AFA deposit puts figures on the whole.

Where is your pension taxed?

In Andorra for a private-sector pension, in France for a civil service pension: the France⁠–⁠Andorra tax treaty allocates the right to tax according to the nature of the pension.

For Article 17 to work in Andorra’s favour, you must be tax resident there (more than 183 days in the year, or the centre of your economic interests) and have broken your French tax domicile: household, principal place of stay, economic interests. French pension funds in principle apply a withholding tax to pensions paid to a non-resident (Article 182 A of the French General Tax Code): notify them of your departure and prove your Andorran residence.

Retirement in Andorra: how much tax on your pension?

Your pension is in practice taxed at 0% up to €24,000 a year, at 5% from €24,000 to €40,000 and at 10% above that. In Andorra, it is earned income, included in the general tax base of IRPF, the income tax: it benefits from the tax-free personal allowance of €24,000 and from the tax credit capped at €800, but not from the 3% flat-rate expenses allowance reserved for salaries. Savings are taxed separately: 10% above €3,000 a year.

Indicative calculation under Articles 35, 37 and 46 of the IRPF law: single person, tax-free allowance of €24,000, with no other income or deduction. With €60,000 of income, this retiree exceeds the resources threshold of about €56,500. The French health insurance contribution that their pension fund may withhold (3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension, see the health section) is not deducted here.

Variant: married to a spouse with no general-base income, the same retiree would have an allowance of €40,000. The tax on their pension would fall to €0 (indicative calculation: 10% × €8,000 = €800, wiped out by the €800 tax credit, which is still calculated from €24,000). This is precisely the case of a lightly taxed pension, where the Article 25 clause deserves to be examined. The couple would also have to prove resources of about €75,300.

For your own pension, choose “Net base” in the calculator and enter its annual amount: no contribution or flat-rate allowance is deducted from it. The full calculation is explained in Income tax (IRPF).

How much would you pay?

Estimate your Andorran income tax in seconds.

Estimate my tax

Healthcare for French retirees: the agreement, the CASS and insurance

As a retiree under a French scheme, you can receive healthcare in Andorra on the basis of your pension: the France⁠–⁠Andorra social security agreement of 12 December 2000 allows you to be registered with the CASS, Andorran social security, if you have no rights of your own under the Andorran scheme. It covers former employees, the formerly self-employed and retired civil servants, whatever their nationality.

1. 1

   Ask your pension fund for form SE 130-09

   This is the certificate of registration for the pensioner and their dependants. Under the general scheme, the CNAV issues it after a questionnaire assessing your entitlement to healthcare abroad. For a civil or military pension, notify your pensions management centre of your departure: the DSFIPE, the specialised public finances directorate for overseas matters, becomes your point of contact and issues the form to you.

2. 2

   Register with the CASS

   The form registers you, with the dependants who live with you, for the reimbursement of healthcare under sickness and maternity insurance, according to Andorran legislation: 75% of consultations and 90% of hospitalisation within the care pathway with a referring GP, 33% outside this pathway, based on the CASS tariffs. See CASS reimbursements.

3. 3

   Keep the certificate for your stays in France

   On registration, the CASS gives you a certificate attached to the form. Presented with your pension document, it allows the cost of your healthcare during a temporary stay in France to be covered, as well as that of your family members.

If your tax residency is no longer in France, your pensions bear neither CSG, nor CRDS, nor Casa. Instead, a health insurance contribution is withheld if your healthcare is the responsibility of a French scheme, which is the case in particular if you are entitled to treatment during your stays in France:

on the basic pensionusual rate

3.2%

on the supplementary pensionusual rate

4.2%

on a self-employed worker’s pension

7.1%

Working in retirement

Do you want to work a little? Passive residency prohibits it: you would need another authorisation, a work permit in Andorra or self-employed residency. An employee who already receives their retirement pension contributes 10% of their gross salary to the CASS, of which 3% is paid by them, to the general branch only. The CASS does not specify whether a foreign pension gives access to this regime: have it confirmed.

What can make the plan fail

• Insufficient resources. Below about €56,500 a year for a single person, pensions included, passive residency is not accessible.
• The entry cost. €1,000,000 to tie up, €50,000 lost and, in the case of a property purchase, 6% foreign investment tax and about 4% property transfer tax.
• A public pension. It remains taxed in France: moving changes nothing for it.
• A household that has stayed in France. Main home, spouse or principal place of stay in France: you remain taxable there on all your income.
• The Article 25 clause. A pension lightly taxed in Andorra could be taxed by France: have this checked.
• Poorly coordinated health cover. The insurance required must cover 100% of medical costs in Andorra: check how it combines with your registration with the CASS on the basis of your French pension.
• Inheritance. Your children domiciled in France may owe French tax on what they receive, including your Andorran assets (Article 750 ter of the CGI): see France⁠–⁠Andorra inheritance.

Your action plan, step by step

1. 1

   Classify your pensions

   For each pension fund, note whether it is a private or a public pension, and its annual amount: this is what determines which country taxes it.

2. 2

   Check your resources and your budget

   About €56,500 a year for you, plus about €18,800 per dependant. Compare with the cost of living in Andorra.

3. 3

   Organise your health cover

   Ask your pension fund for form SE 130-09 to be registered with the CASS, and arrange the insurance required for the permit: 100% of medical costs in Andorra; after 60, sickness insurance is enough. See healthcare for retirees in Andorra.

4. 4

   File the application, pay and invest

   Application early in the year, because of the quota; €50,000 to the AFA, then €1,000,000 invested within 6 months.

5. 5

   Inform your pension funds

   Give them your new address and bank details, and prove your Andorran tax residency, so that the French withholding tax is, where applicable, not applied. Each year, return the life certificate they ask you for on time.

6. 6

   Have your tax and inheritance position checked

   Article 25 of the treaty, French inheritance tax for your heirs, the exit tax if you hold at least €800,000 of securities: review these with a professional.

7. 7

   Move in and renew

   At least 90 days a year for the permit, more than 183 days to be tax resident. For a French national: a 2-year authorisation, then 3 years, then 10 years after 5 years.