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Andorra · Relocation guide

Moving to Andorra: a practical relocation guide

Andorra is outside the EU and runs route-specific immigration quotas. Choose the exact work, self-employed, remote or family basis, secure a registerable home, then connect the immigration approval to Comú registration, CASS or private health cover and current renewal-language rules.

Content updated 12 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Choose a route that matches both work and presence

Andorra does not apply EU free movement. The ordinary residence-and-work route requires a qualifying Andorran job, an indefinite employment contract and effective permanent residence. Self-employed residence and work has separate professional, business and financial conditions. Both depend on an open quota.

Digital-nomad residence is a separate quota route requiring a favourable economy-ministry decision and at least 90 days’ residence per calendar year. A border worker lives outside Andorra; family, study and residence-without-work permissions follow different conditions. Do not use one route’s presence or renewal rules for another.

Choose a route that matches both work and presence
SituationRoute to examineDecision point
Indefinite job and effective residence in AndorraResidence and Work Authorisation (A.1)Employer, occupation and a current quota place must align.
Operating a qualifying Andorran businessSelf-Employed Residence and Work Authorisation (J.1)Check professional/business evidence, capital and any AFA deposit.
Approved location-independent workDigital Nomad Residence (D.3)Needs the economy-ministry decision, quota and at least 90 days’ annual presence.
Joining an eligible resident sponsorFamily Reunification Residence (B.1)Eligibility is limited by relationship and sponsor category; adult relatives are not automatically included.
Living abroad and commuting to AndorraBorder Worker Authorisation (C.1)This is not Andorran residence and has separate quota and renewal consequences.

Treat quota capacity and documents as live inputs

Quota availability can change quickly. In April 2026 the government opened a reduced general allocation of 800 permits, including resident and frontier places; in June it added 250 occupation-specific places after earlier allocations had been requested or exhausted. These announcements describe capacity, not a guaranteed place for an individual.

Build the application against the current immigration page and quota decree. Foreign public documents may need an apostille or legalisation, and the ordinary work page specifies a recent photograph under six months old. Check validity, translations and document issue dates again immediately before filing.

Secure housing and complete Comú registration

A real Andorran address connects immigration, the parish census, utilities and services. Before paying a deposit, confirm that the lease or title supports the particular authorisation and the Comú registration. Inventory the property and meters and record which utilities the tenant must transfer.

For initial residence and work, official proof of Comú registration must be supplied within three months after approval. The residence-without-work route gives a different one-month deadline. Follow the period shown on the issued route rather than applying a universal arrival rule.

Keep employer, business and family conditions distinct

An employee’s authorisation is tied to the approved employment basis, while a self-employed applicant must meet the business and professional conditions and, where applicable, lodge the published €50,000 AFA deposit. Do not begin or change activity on an assumption that residence alone permits it; re-check Immigration and CASS steps first.

Family reunification covers defined relationships such as a spouse or stable partner, minor children and limited dependent relatives, subject to the sponsor category and evidence. It is not an open route for any adult relative. Each joining person needs their own authorisation, Comú and healthcare plan.

Connect CASS, banking and tax separately

An employer registers an employee with CASS and coverage begins when the employment is activated; a self-employed person registers themselves. A non-working resident needs a valid CASS-insured, indirect-beneficiary or private-insurance basis. After activation, choose a reference GP or paediatrician under the preferred pathway and confirm referral validity for planned specialist care.

Banks perform their own identity, tax-residence and source-of-funds checks; Andorra is outside the EU basic-account regime. Tax residence can arise from more than 183 days in a calendar year or the principal centre of economic interests, with sporadic absences potentially counted. This is different from immigration routes that require at least 90 days or effective permanent residence.

Choose a school system and start Catalan early

Education is compulsory from age six to sixteen, and families can choose among Andorran, Spanish and French systems; enrolment is available from age three subject to the relevant process. A non-Andorran family completes Comú and immigration formalities and should pre-enrol with the appropriate school before finalising the government procedure.

Catalan is also becoming a renewal dependency. For general-quota authorisations governed by regulations approved after 26 April 2026, the first renewal requires A1 and the second A2. Extension to border-worker, self-employed, non-working and specified digital-economy routes begins in 2029. Check the issue regulation on the card rather than assuming identical immediate rules for every route.

Act within the six-month driving window

The current driving regulation reduced validity of a foreign licence in Andorra from one year to six months. Exchange or testing depends on the issuing country, licence format and category, so check the exact branch before the sixth-month point and before relying on a vehicle for work.

A dog, cat or ferret needs the applicable identification, rabies and passport or health-certificate sequence for its origin and transit through France or Spain. In Andorra, a foreign-chipped pet must be checked by an Andorran veterinarian and entered in the RAC companion-animal register. Arrange that visit promptly after arrival and ask the veterinarian to confirm the applicable registration requirements.

Calendar the route-specific renewal ladder

Initial residence and work and self-employed authorisations are normally valid for one year, followed by three two-year renewals and, generally after seven years, ten-year renewals. Family authorisation linked to a residence-and-work sponsor follows a similar published ladder. Digital-nomad and residence-without-work routes instead publish a two-year initial period, then two, three and ten-year stages.

These durations do not remove quota, activity, presence, language or documentation conditions. Record the authorisation’s legal basis, expiry and Catalan milestone, preserve Comú, CASS, work and day-count evidence, and start the next filing well before expiry.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 19 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

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