Moving & Living - Andorra - Complete Guide

01Choose a parish around your daily journey

Begin with an address rather than a national lifestyle description. Andorra la Vella and adjoining Escaldes-Engordany put many urban errands within a compact valley, but the final uphill walk can change whether a particular home suits you. A job in a mountain resort or a course in Sant Julià de Lòria calls for a different search from an office near the capital's commercial streets.

1. Mark the precise workplace, school or university on a map. Add any regular medical appointments and the services your household needs.
2. Choose two areas to visit. Compare similar flats rather than treating a furnished central property and an unfurnished village home as equivalent.
3. Walk from the bus stop to each building and inspect the lift, entrance and parking arrangement. Ask about heating and the direction the main rooms face.
4. Arrange temporary accommodation for viewings if your timetable permits. Obtain the documents that a residence application needs from the accommodation provider before relying on that booking as housing evidence.

02Match your move to an actual residence category

Visitor entry, residence and employment permission solve different problems. Andorra's official travel guidance explains that travellers who require a Schengen visa need a double-entry or multiple-entry visa appropriate to their journeys through Spain or France. Passing through a neighbouring country does not itself authorise employment in Andorra. Plan the journey and the Andorran application separately.

1. Use the official directory to select the category that describes what you will actually do. Download its application form and record the responsible service.
2. Identify whether the employer, educational institution or applicant supplies each document. Confirm that the currently available quota covers the intended category before planning a fixed start date.
3. Prepare separate evidence for accompanying family members. Ask which permission allows each adult to work, rather than assuming every residence card has identical rights.
4. Submit the required dossier through the procedure specified for that category and retain the receipt. Arrange travel around the permitted application sequence and the decision, including transit permissions.

This guide does not quote a universal processing time or application fee: those amounts and appointments were not verified across the different categories. The linked application service is the place to obtain the applicable charge for the particular dossier.

03Agree the job, remote activity or business before moving

The ordinary initial employment route lists an indefinite employment contract with a legally established Andorran company. Seasonal work follows separate authorisations and quotas. Obtain the actual contract before treating a verbal offer as the basis for a move. Compare the place of work, weekly hours, accommodation arrangements and start date with what the employer will put in the immigration dossier.

For a salaried job

1. Ask the employer which authorisation it is preparing and who will coordinate appointments and supporting paperwork. Establish whether the offer is ordinary employment or a particular temporary category.
2. Read the salary as a payroll figure and ask for the deductions and payment schedule in writing. Budget from the net amount that will reach your account.
3. Resolve any professional-recognition requirement before accepting a start date for regulated duties. A foreign qualification and immigration approval do not answer the same question.
4. Keep the signed agreement and the authorisation together. Ask HR to confirm your social-insurance registration when work starts.

For remote work or a business

Andorra has a specific digital-nomad application. Its published conditions include minimum effective residence of 90 days per calendar year, financial means and insurance; it is not simply permission to carry on any activity under a tourist stay. Obtain the favourable economic-ministry resolution required before the residence application, then describe the clients, contracting entity and work location accurately in the dossier. The electronic service lists an in-person appointment and a €224.61 application price at the 13 October 2026 review; its two-month maximum resolution period is not a promised approval date. Obtain your employer's agreement to the overseas arrangement and determine who handles payroll or invoicing.

If you intend to establish an Andorran company or work on your own account, use the government immigration service to identify that route before incorporating solely for residence. Ask for the business, professional and immigration steps as a sequence. A company registration does not by itself resolve the individual's residence or employment rights. The cost of incorporation, professional advice and any route-specific financial requirement belongs in the initial budget.

04Build a household budget and establish your tax position

Price the actual home and household you intend to move. A national monthly total would conceal the difference between a single worker in employer accommodation, a family choosing private schooling and a retiree meeting investment conditions. Collect written amounts for each item and record whether tax, parking, heating and communal charges are included.

Hypothetical cash calculation, not a market price: if your chosen lease were €1,200 a month and the agreed deposit were two months, first rent plus deposit would require €3,600. Add removals, temporary accommodation, insurance and any documented charges separately. At that hypothetical rent, twelve months of rent alone would be €14,400. These calculations do not establish what an available flat costs or the total cost of life in Andorra.

The official IRPF guidance treats more than 183 days in Andorra during the calendar year as one tax-residence condition; the main centre of economic activity or interests is another. The minimum presence attached to an immigration category is therefore not a complete tax-residence test. Have an adviser consider the departure country, family situation, income and any treaty before changing payroll or assuming overseas income is outside taxation.

Keep a dated travel calendar and records of salary, pension, rental income and business receipts. Establish which registration and declarations apply to you using the tax service. Leave money available for a first-year liability rather than committing every liquid euro to moving expenses or an immigration investment.

05Arrange school enrolment or university admission

Andorra's official education directory explains the coexistence of Andorran, French and Spanish systems. Choose by the child's language, previous curriculum and next educational stage, then consider the commute. A familiar language on a school website is not evidence of an available place or of how a particular year group teaches every subject.

1. Identify schools in the intended parish through the government directory. Ask the relevant school or system how a newcomer joins the appropriate year and how previous records are assessed.
2. Request the enrolment list for each child. Prepare identity records, previous reports and any health or residence evidence the school specifies, with translations if required.
3. Use the official school-enrolment regulation as the framework for registration or a change of system. Obtain confirmation from the receiving institution before describing the place as secured.
4. Price meals, transport, materials and any tuition separately. Coordinate the housing decision with the actual drop-off and collection route.

For higher education, the Universitat d'Andorra admissions page states that qualifications from outside the Andorran system require government authorisation for access to higher education. Start with the university's programme and entry requirements, then obtain that assessment and the admission decision. Ask which documents the institution provides for student immigration and whether the programme requires physical attendance. Do not assume an online course or acceptance letter grants residence.

Build the schedule backwards from the programme's registration deadline, allowing time for qualification assessment and the separate immigration dossier. Keep tuition, accommodation and everyday spending in the student's funding plan, with a clear account of who pays each item.

06Test residence without work against your retirement finances

A pension is an income source, not an immigration authorisation. A retiree considering Andorra should first assess the residence-without-lucrative-activity category, including household eligibility, insurance, permitted investments and the available quota. Keep this assessment separate from employment residence: a financial qualification does not grant the same work permission.

The January 2026 law, Article 10, changed major financial conditions. The ordinary qualifying investment is €1 million in approved Andorran assets. A €400,000 alternative applies to investment permanently and effectively in the Housing Fund under the relevant rules. The principal applicant's €50,000 AFA payment, and €12,000 for each dependent acquiring this residence, are definitive payments, refundable only if the initial authorisation is refused. Treat these payments separately from your ongoing living costs and from assets that remain invested.

1. Ask Immigration to identify the current application category and dossier for your household, then establish that each proposed investment qualifies. Do this before a property reservation or fund transfer.
2. Build a retirement cash-flow plan from the pension amount actually available after home-country deductions, exchange costs and your expected tax treatment. Include private medical cover, recurring housing expenses and travel back to family.
3. Separate liquid money for daily expenses from the qualifying investment and the definitive payments. Do not assume a residence-related investment can pay the rent.
4. Obtain professional advice on the specific investment and transition rules. Older bank or relocation pages may still show the former €600,000 threshold; the guide uses the current law rather than that earlier figure.

Confirm the application timetable and evidence deadlines in your own decision letter. This section establishes the large financial distinction that changes the decision to move; it does not promise a quota place or approval.

07Prepare authenticated documents and an organised move

Document preparation often begins while the employer or institution is assembling its part of the application. Order official records early enough to allow authentication, but check their accepted validity before paying for them. A certificate obtained too far ahead of an appointment may need replacing.

1. Use the category-specific official list rather than a generic relocation checklist. The employment application requests criminal-record certificates covering origin, nationality and countries of residence. Establish which countries therefore apply to your personal history.
2. Ask the receiving service which documents need an apostille or legalisation and which need translation. The digital-nomad service expressly requires foreign official documents to be apostilled or duly legalised. Preserve the authentication with the record it belongs to.
3. Keep passports, civil-status records, employment or admission evidence and the housing paperwork in an accessible folder. Store copies separately and retain a list of what you submitted.
4. Prepare a numbered inventory for the mover, separating ordinary belongings from a vehicle, valuable items, medicines and goods requiring special handling. Obtain a quote that describes customs work as well as transport.

Andorra's customs framework was updated in 2025. Before dispatch, give the mover your residence situation and inventory and ask which import procedure and evidence applies. No blanket tax-free allowance for household goods is asserted here: its application to a particular shipment was not verified. Obtain written confirmation of the relevant treatment before relying on relief in the quote.

Decide what will accompany you personally during the first weeks. Keep the original application records, medicines with prescriptions, chargers and clothes appropriate to your arrival season out of the removal shipment. Arrange delivery only after you know the building access, unloading location and person authorised to receive it.

If a pet is moving with you

A pet's journey includes the destination, the transit through Spain or France and the carrier's rules. Give the veterinarian the entire itinerary, species, microchip information and travel date. Do this before booking a non-refundable transport arrangement: entry evidence and the carrier's acceptance are separate matters.

1. Use the government's pet-movement guidance to identify the applicable health and identification rules. Its framework follows reciprocal conditions equivalent to the European rules; do not substitute a document for a different species or country of origin.
2. Have the veterinarian establish which passport or certificate, vaccination evidence and timing your animal requires. Check the transit authority's rules for the same itinerary, including the return journey if relevant.
3. Confirm the accommodation permits the animal and arrange transport suitable for its size. Keep the identification and veterinary originals with the person accompanying it.
4. After moving, arrange a local veterinarian and the RAC registration. The official registration regulation requires an animal identified outside Andorra with an accepted identification to be registered within two months after entry.

The exact certificate and testing timetable for every possible origin and species were not verified for this guide. Resolve that precise question with the responsible veterinary authority rather than treating a general description of European-equivalent rules as an individual clearance. Keep the completed veterinary file and local registration evidence with the household's residence records.

08Use the first days to make the household operational

Travel with the permission needed for every part of the journey and the originals needed at your appointments. Save the accommodation address and host's contact offline. Ask how late arrival, luggage storage and key collection work, especially if travelling beyond the capital after the last convenient connection.

1. Inspect the initial accommodation and establish the agreed checkout date. Obtain any written address evidence promised for the application.
2. Activate your phone, locate a food shop and test the journey to your employer or institution. Keep enough accessible money for the gap before a local account or first salary is operational.
3. Confirm the immigration and medical appointments associated with your category. Ask the coordinating employer or institution to identify any outstanding document rather than assuming the submitted dossier is complete.
4. Create a calendar showing the grant date, residence-card expiry, municipal registration deadline and the start of work or study. Attach each supporting receipt to the relevant entry.

Do not allow temporary accommodation to expire before the next home and its paperwork are ready. If the address changes during the application, ask the responsible service how to update it and retain the acknowledgement. This protects the connection between the actual household and the address on its documents.

09Complete immigration, parish and service registrations

The Comú is the parish administration. Registration there is a separate task from obtaining immigration approval. The ordinary initial residence-and-work page requires registration in the parish of residence within three months of the grant and proof within that period. For digital nomads, the government thematic page specifies one month, while the electronic application page says three months. This discrepancy was unresolved at review. Obtain written confirmation from Immigration and plan to complete registration within the earlier month; use the deadline in your own decision. Do not merge the differing instructions into a universal rule.

1. Contact the Comú for the home address and request its newcomer-registration documents. Bring the immigration evidence, identity and occupancy records it specifies.
2. Complete the registration and keep the dated certificate or receipt. Supply the proof to Immigration in the manner requested by your category.
3. Ensure the name, address and identifying number match across the residence file, employer, bank and insurance records. Resolve a spelling difference while the supporting originals are available.
4. Arrange the government digital certificate if you intend to use online services. Establish any CASS and tax registration that applies to your work or household, rather than assuming municipal registration completes those systems.

Use the official service directory for an address change or renewal. Keep a reminder well before expiry so that renewal evidence, insurance and any required presence records can be assembled. A receipt is useful evidence of submission, but ask the authority what it permits while a decision is pending.

10Open the right account and set up payments

A bank will assess its customer file separately from Immigration. MoraBanc's account-opening service distinguishes resident individuals from non-residents. Select the path that matches your actual position and tell the bank why the account is needed. An online form starts an assessment; it does not establish that the account is accepted or ready to receive a residence-related payment.

1. Request the current document list and charges before the appointment. The bank's published document guidance includes identity and address evidence; ask what it accepts while you are transitioning from an overseas home.
2. Describe the income source and proposed transfers accurately. Prepare the evidence requested for salary, pension, business income or investment proceeds, keeping the ownership trail for substantial funds.
3. Confirm the IBAN, currency, card charges, transfer fees and online access. Test a modest ordinary payment before relying on the account for rent or payroll.
4. Give the employer and agreed bill suppliers the correct account details. For a major property or immigration transaction, obtain the recipient's official instructions and compare them with the signed paperwork before transferring.

Keep the old account operational until you know how final bills and outstanding payments in the departure country will be handled. Review direct debits after the first month and distinguish the bank's recurring service charge from one-off transfer costs.

11Inspect a home and agree the rental terms in writing

Ask for the complete monthly payment, not only the advertised rent. Parking, storage, communal expenses, heating and internet can change the comparison between two homes. Inspect the actual property and request its housing documentation before using the address in an immigration application.

1. Record the rooms, furnishings, heating system, parking access and defects. Test windows, hot water and appliances with the owner or representative, and photograph the condition at handover.
2. Read the proposed term, notice, renewal, permitted occupants and pet conditions. Ask who pays each bill and how any shared charges are calculated.
3. Compare the deposit with the published urban rental law, which permits an agreed deposit no higher than two monthly rents. Obtain advice on the provisions and current amendments applicable to the proposed contract before treating an older lease clause as standard.
4. Confirm the owner's or representative's authority to sign, the payment recipient and what each initial payment covers. Obtain a receipt for the deposit and first rent.
5. Sign the inventory and handover record, count the keys and note meter readings. Establish how the address certificate and any subsequent change of holder will be arranged.

Keep a written record of repairs and of the method for giving notice. If a term is unclear, resolve it before signing, especially where ending early may create a payment obligation. Do not assume the deposit automatically pays the last month's rent. The guide offers a decision process, not a claim that any listed home is available.

12Establish coverage and choose a referring doctor

Keep medical insurance in place for the period before any public entitlement is confirmed. Employment registration, dependent coverage and residence categories requiring private insurance need different evidence. Ask CASS to confirm the start of your own entitlement rather than interpreting possession of a residence card as proof of full reimbursement.

1. For employment, confirm with HR that the CASS enrolment is complete. For other routes, obtain the insurance required by the application and read exclusions, excesses and overseas treatment provisions.
2. Use CASS's preferred-care guidance to select a metge referent: your principal general practitioner or child's paediatrician among the participating professionals.
3. Bring a concise medical history, prescription list and relevant reports to the first appointment. Discuss ongoing treatment and the referral process before a regular medicine runs out.
4. Follow the prescribed pathway for specialist or external treatment and keep invoices and referral documents. Ask how the insurer or CASS processes the claim before committing to expensive planned care.

The CASS table distinguishes the preferred pathway from treatment outside it: ordinary medical visits are reimbursed at 75% of the applicable responsibility tariff under the pathway, and hospital admission at 90%; the table shows lower reimbursement outside it. These are tariff-based percentages subject to the applicable conditions, not a promise to repay the same proportion of every invoice. Ask about the remaining payment and any complementary cover.

Set aside the documents needed for a claim and identify where your household would seek urgent help. When considering a home farther from the urban valley, include access to ongoing care in the location decision.

13Set up a local phone and a workable commute

Start with the journeys you will repeat: the workplace or campus, the school gate, a food shop and your doctor. A flat that looks close on a map may involve a steep final walk. Test that last stretch with shopping bags, and look at where the return bus stops as well as the outward service. Keep the winter journey in mind when comparing a central flat with a higher village.

Connect your phone

1. Decide whether you need a temporary prepaid connection while arranging a home, or a household contract tied to your longer-term address. Verify that your handset supports the operator's eSIM before purchasing that format; a physical SIM remains an alternative.
2. Use Andorra Telecom's prepaid service to select a domestic allowance. At the 13 October 2026 review, tariff S costs €10 for 30 days with 3GB of data in Andorra and 40 domestic call minutes; tariff M costs €20 with 12GB and 100 domestic minutes. These published prices include IGI.
3. Record the activation date. The package renews when there is enough credit, so review the balance before the next 30-day period. Purchase additional data through the operator if your allowance is insufficient.
4. Read the separate terms for calls abroad and travel outside Andorra before relying on this connection across the border. An allowance described as national data covers Andorra; it does not establish what your phone will cost in Spain or France. Likewise, ask your existing overseas operator how it treats Andorra.

Put electricity and other bills in order

Ask the landlord which distributor serves the address and whether you need a new supply or a change of holder. For a new home supply, FEDA lists the application documents: the electrical-installation record in the contracting person’s name, the original habitability certificate in the owner’s name, identity and NIA, and the SEPA debit instruction with IBAN evidence. Obtain the property documents from the owner before visiting the commercial office. If another person signs for you, prepare the signed delegation FEDA requires.

Record the meter reading at handover and retain the new contract. Ask the landlord or parish who supplies water and how heating is billed, then arrange those accounts separately. Compare the first bill with the agreed start date and readings rather than assuming the prior occupant’s account automatically transfers to you.

Apply for the resident bus pass

The government's monthly free bus pass requires legal, effective and permanent residence at application, or Andorran nationality. Do not build a visitor's arrival budget around a pass you have not yet obtained. FEDA Solucions explains the application and activation: obtain the RFID number linked to your NIA through transports.ad using the government digital certificate, then link the pass in MOU_T_B. Its current guidance covers people from age three who do not already have another government-subsidised pass, such as Bus Jove or Targeta Blava.

Save the operator's current route and timetable for the exact stop serving your home. Check the last return service before accepting an evening shift. A bus photograph records the vehicle and location at its capture date; it is not evidence that a particular departure still operates today. If you will use a car instead, obtain the parking conditions for the building and the local registration or licence procedure before adding it to your household plan.

14Build a local routine and finish the first month's tasks

Use the first month to make the recurring tasks repeatable. Choose a shopping route, a realistic transport plan and a system for bills. Keep a single household calendar so that school forms, immigration dates and insurance renewals do not remain scattered among messages.

For language learning, use the government's Catalan learning directory. It links courses, materials and centres; the current programme includes guided learning as well as scheduled classes. Pick a format compatible with your actual shift or care responsibilities and ask for the appropriate starting level. Use everyday errands to practise the terms that appear on your own forms and bills.

Close out the first month

• Check that every household member's residence situation and any work permission are documented.
• Keep proof of parish registration and submission to Immigration within the applicable deadline.
• Confirm the first salary, pension transfer or business receipt reaches the intended account.
• Review the lease, inventory, supplier accounts and first bills for unexpected charges.
• Confirm medical coverage, the referring doctor and the procedure for regular prescriptions.
• Complete school follow-up and, where applicable, the pet's veterinary appointment and registration.
• Replace estimates in the budget with the first month's actual spending and retain a reserve for unfinished tasks.

Find activities through the local parish and the institution or workplace you have joined. Start with something that fits an ordinary weekday, rather than only excursions requiring a car or a full day away. At month's end, write down the remaining administrative action, responsible person and due date. That turns an unfinished move into a manageable sequence rather than a permanent collection of loose ends.