living in Andorra guide, residency, Andorra relocation personal advice

Many people have asked me to explain the Schengen Agreement and how does it affect Andorra. In a nutshell if as a foreigner (A foreigner is any person who requires a Schengen Visa to enter the EU) you have a right to live in Andorra (residency, passive residency), or a right to work in Andorra (work permit) then for the purposes of a Schengen Visa you will have the same rights as a foreigner resident in Spain or France. ( I will explain this later)

However, you must first get to Andorra to apply for these permits, and Andorra is landlocked by France and Spain. Andorra is not part of the principle Schengen Agreement therefore you must first land in France or Spain (Schengen) and then leave Schengen for Andorra. Legally therefore to leave Andorra you need another entry visa to get back into Schengen, thus on paper requiring a multiple entry visa. In practice, border controls between Andorra, France and Spain do exist but rarely if ever are you asked for travel documents, so in practice a single entry visa may suffice, but don't turn up in a vehicle registered in Eastern Europe etc !!

I should add at this stage that non EU persons applying for work permits must have in their passport a valid multiple entry Schengen visa, but for passive residency this does not appear to be a requirement.

So what does the actual law say on Schengen ?

The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985. The Schengen Area operates very much like a single state for international travel purposes with border controls for travellers travelling in and out of the area, but with no internal border controls.


Andorra is regarded as a microstate along with these other countries:-






Now when the Schengen Treaty was signed, Andorra amongst others would need to have agreements with Schengen for obvious reasons. As far as Andorra is concerned the agreement was made with France and Spain in 2000 and for those researchers I quote:-

"Décret n° 2003-740 du 30 juillet 2003 portant publication de la convention entre la République française, le Royaume d'Espagne et la Principauté d'Andorre relative à la circulation et au séjour en Principauté d'Andorre des ressortissants des Etats tiers, signée à Bruxelles le 4 décembre 2000 (1) "

In this Accord the three signatories state:-

"The French Republic, the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra
Taking into account the particular geographical situation of the Principality of Andorra and the historical links between the three states;
Considering the desire to maintain the quality of existing relationships, inherited from history, reasserted in the Treaty of Good-neighbourliness, friendship and cooperation between the three states of 1 and 3 June 1993;
Taking also into account the agreements on the abolition of checks at common borders existing between the French Republic, the Kingdom of Spain and other States;
Wishing to regulate the procedures of movement and residence of foreigners traveling to the territory of Andorra;
have agreed as follows:....

...Article 4...

...."The system of entry and movement in France and Spain of foreigners holding a residence permit of Andorra is identical to that applied to foreigners holding a residence permit French or Spanish....."

That accord treats foreign residents of Andorra on the same terms as if they were foreigners resident in Spain or France.

So having established that, back to the principle Schengen Agreement to see what provisions there are for foreign residents in France or Spain. This clearly states ;-

Internal movement of holders of a residence title

" Foreigners who are holders of a residence title of a Schengen state may freely enter into and stay in any other Schengen state for a period of up to three months. For a longer stay, they require a residence title of the target member state. "


That appears to be the legalities. Unfortunately in practice when travelling to the Schengen states from all over the world, how many airline check in staff, supervisors, Immigration officials have ever heard of Andorra, let alone the Accord with France and Spain !! In my experience Air France is notorious for refusing flights, and in those problems which were encountered the Spanish authorities could not help enough even though it was not their problem !

My advice in practice then is once accepted as a resident in Andorra, you are exempt from Schengen visas legally ( bear in mind the 90 day rule, although with open borders that may safely be ignored), but that when you travel outside Schengen and to get back "home" to Andorra, carry with you a copy of the Accord between France Spain and Andorra, and your residents permit, (for a copy of the Schengen Agreement you would need a forklift truck !) and really just hope that in all your dealings with foreign airline and Immigration officials that you encounter no problems.

I hope this goes some way to explaining Andorra and Schengen. Once again this is another advantage of passive residency for those outside the EU who would normally require Schengen visas to enter Europe.