Andorra · Residency by investment
Residence without gainful activity (Residència sense activitat lucrativa)
Repriced. Law 2/2026 ('Llei Òmnibus 2', the sustainable growth and right-to-housing law) was approved on 22 January 2026, published in BOPA no. 15 on 12 February 2026, and entered into force on 13 February 2026. It amended Article 96 of Law 9/2012, raising the investment from EUR 600,000 to EUR 1,000,000 and converting the AFA deposit into a non-refundable payment to the State.
Two things changed in February 2026 and both hurt. The investment nearly doubled to EUR 1m, and the EUR 50,000 that used to be a refundable AFA deposit — returned when you left — is now a non-refundable payment to the Treasury. A family of four now writes off EUR 86,000 permanently just to arrive. The Housing Fund route at EUR 400,000 is the genuine story here and is being widely missed: it is 60% cheaper than the headline and is the reform's deliberate incentive.
Qualifying routes
Article 96(1): the EUR 1m threshold is reduced to EUR 400,000 where the investment is made directly or indirectly, permanently and effectively, in the Housing Fund. This is the cheapest lawful entry and is new in 2026.
Article 96(1): permanent and effective investment across one or more of — Andorran real estate; equity in Andorran-resident companies; debt or financial instruments issued by Andorran entities and Andorran collective investment funds (36-month limit); Andorran public debt; life insurance with Andorran-resident entities; non-remunerated deposits with the AFA
Article 96(2): paid to the Andorran Financial Authority, definitively and non-refundably, save where the initial immigration authorisation is refused. It does NOT count toward the EUR 1m threshold.
Article 96(2): EUR 12,000 for each dependant acquiring passive resident status, on the same non-refundable terms
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €400k
- Total landed cost
- for a family of four: EUR 1,000,000 invested (or EUR 400,000 via the Housing Fund) plus EUR 50,000 + (3 x EUR 12,000) = EUR 86,000 in non-refundable State contributions, plus EUR 15–40k in legal, notarial and housing costs — so roughly EUR 1.1m committed, of which EUR 86k is permanently gone
- Timeline
- 2–6 months — immigration decision is relatively fast; the investment must be completed within 6 months of the application commitment, extendable by 6 months only for force majeure or third-party fault (Article 96(3))
- Physical presence
- 90 days per calendar year, plus regular long-term accommodation in Andorra — one of the lightest genuine presence requirements in Europe
- Family
- spousedependent childrendependent ascendants — each dependant triggers a further EUR 12,000 non-refundable payment
- Permanent residency
- renewable permits (typically 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 years, then 10-year renewals); no EU-style permanent residence
- Citizenship
- 20 years of principal and permanent residence, and Andorra does not permit dual citizenship — in practice this is a residency, not a citizenship, programme
- Language test
- Catalan language and Andorran civics examination
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- permanent and effective investment of EUR 1,000,000 in qualifying Andorran assets, or EUR 400,000 in the Housing Fundnon-refundable payment of EUR 50,000 to the AFA plus EUR 12,000 per dependantcommitment at application to complete the investment within 6 monthsregular long-term accommodation in Andorra (owned or leased)private health and disability insurance valid in Andorraclean criminal record from country of nationality and residencemedical examinationno gainful activity in Andorraphysical presence of at least 90 days per calendar year
- The EUR 50,000 (plus EUR 12,000 per dependant) is now non-refundable and is not part of the EUR 1m. Article 96(2) is explicit: it is paid 'amb caràcter definitiu' and transferred to the State once the authorisation is granted. Advisory material still describing it as a returnable deposit is describing the pre-February-2026 law.
- Financial instruments and Andorran collective investment funds count for a maximum of 36 months. After three years, Article 96(1)(c) requires the capital to be redirected into other qualifying asset classes — real estate or company equity — or the investment stops counting and the authorisation can be annulled. This is a structural trap: the easy way to park EUR 1m has a three-year fuse.
- If the investment is made even partially in real estate, more than EUR 800,000 must be allocated to each property unit acquired — so a EUR 1m budget buys one qualifying unit, not two.
- Andorran real estate purchases by foreigners now attract a foreign real-estate investment tax of 6%, rising to 10% for investments beyond the single-dwelling limits, with progressive banding by number of units and aggregation across related parties (Law 3/2024 as amended by Law 2/2026).
- Failure to evidence the investment within the deadline annuls the residence authorisation outright (Article 96(3)).
- No dual citizenship, ever. Andorra requires renunciation, and 20 years is the standard qualifying period — treat citizenship as unavailable.
- Andorra is not in the EU or the Schengen Area and has no airport. There is no free movement or right of establishment in the EU, and access is by road via Spain or France.
- Andorra is a CRS participant and has an EU monetary and tax-cooperation relationship — this is a low-tax jurisdiction, not an opaque one.
- Banking onboarding is slow and genuinely selective; source-of-funds diligence on large crypto positions is a common failure point.