living in Andorra guide on residency relocation advice

Relocating your family and children is nothing to be feared. The schooling process is easy and friendly and is obligatory from the age of 5 through 16 years, and there is the great advantage of your child becoming fluent in many languages. Please see my section below on schooling in Andorra.

There is before the schooling, the business of the residency application. This must be done by means of a family application and is quite straightforward in the majority of cases. Note that each child is a family member from the day he or she is one day old, so the bond will cost € 7,000 per child.

Firstly you will need to produce the birth certificate which must be apostillised or legalised. You will require a record of vaccinations, known in some countries as the Family Book, and a letter from the current doctor or pediatrician that the child has had the necessary vaccinations and in his opinion is in good health.

You now also need a letter from the current school confirming that the child has been in education in the past year.

The child will not undergo a further medical nor of course will they require a police report if under 18 years of age.

With single parent applicants the process is complicated somewhat by the necessity of having to prove custody of the child. This can be done by the necessary court orders and or certificates but also these will need to be Apostillised or legalised. This may need to be explored in advance with Immigration prior to applications being lodged. However most cases are straightforward, and after the Immigration process the Government will require the necessary enrolment documents to prove the obligation of schooling. Please note that "home schooling" is not permitted under Andorran law.

In addition to the French, Spanish and Andorran schools available in most parishes, there is also an independent school where most english speaking expat children attend. The medium of many subjects is in English, but children will very quickly become fluent in most if not all of the three main languages in Andorra, Catalan, Spanish and French.

There is in Andorra only one independent fee paying school.

It is easy to secure a place for your child in this independent school called the Col.legi Internacional Del Pirineu (roughly translated into the International School of the Pyrennees). The school is located in the La Massana valley at the village of Aldosa, and is for children from 6 to 18 years old. The primary school is from 6 to 12 years and thereafter the children progress to senior school.

The fees for the international school are €750 for a one off enrolment, then €670 per term with additional and optional monthly costs of €140 for food and €150 for transport to and from the school. If more than one child enrols then there is a 10% discount offered.

In addition to all the usual education and exams, a variety of winter and summer sports and activity camps are organised.

I can arrange for parents to meet the director for preliminary visits. I can also arrange for introduction to the state schools if desired.