Guide to living in Andorra, residency, personal advice on relocating to Andorra

I have had a number of enquiries as to whether there are advantages to choosing Andorra or Monaco. I have conducted research on websites relating to Monaco, any advice I offer here on Monaco is really based on internet research alone.

The bureaucratic requirements such as police reports, insurance, bank certificates etc are largely similiar in nature. What is fixed in Andorra is the bond or interest free deposit that is payable to the Government, currently 30,000 € for an individual. Monaco appears to depend on which bank issues a certificate and which apparently varies from 100,000 € to 400,000 €, which monies are not required to be kept in Monaco after the certificate is issued.

I would like to hear from anyone who has recently gone through the process in Monaco to compare notes. Whilst researching Monaco I found the same problems that I found in researching Andorra, namely that all the websites that purport to be relevant are either out of date or incomplete. Please e-mail me if you have grass roots information on residency bureaucracy in Monaco.

Both countries owe their continued existence on banking secrecy. I am unable to comment on Monaco, but I can state that Andorra has and will continue to have one of the most secret banking systems in the world. As a resident you can enjoy numbered accounts which remain secret. Under new fiscal paradise agreements and pursuant only to a judicial request with a country that has signed a bilateral agreement, showing fraud is involved will any details ever be disclosed and as of this date to my knowledge no such judicial request has yet been forthcoming.

The one outstanding difference is property rental and purchase. Just as a comparison and this is only a guide:-

A studio in Monaco at about 30 m2 might cost up to 500,000 €, in Andorra one would cost about 120,000€. The larger the apartment the greater the price range varies. A two bedroom 100 m2 in the centre of Moanco with all the views will cost in the region of 10,000,000 €: The same in Andorra, and the views of the mountains can also be breath-taking will cost about 300,000- 400,000 €. The top range apartment in Monaco of over 250 m2 and a terrace will cost up to 50,000,000 €, and in Andorra you simply could not find the most magnificent house with gardens and views for a fraction of that price !

In fact the average Chalet in Andorra as described will cost about 1,500,000 € to 3,000,000 €. Purchase taxes and commissions are also cheaper in Andorra.

As far as rental is concerned in Monaco you can pay over 30,000 € per month for an apartment, in Andorra you would be hard pressed to pay more than 3,000 € per month at the very top end of the market. An average rental price in Andorra for a two bedroom apartment is about 800 € per month.

As an example I have taken a snap shot of a property currently for sale in each in the two countries. I have done this specifically to emphasise what I have stated above and only for comparison, they are not advertisements !

Monaco











Andorra

So the choice really is one of the prestige of Monaco, or enjoying the same benefits on a more low key basis in Andorra. If I can assist on this further please contact me.