Monaco · Residency by investment
Monaco Residence Permit (carte de séjour)
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open and functioning. Critically: there is NO statutory or government-mandated bank deposit figure. The widely quoted EUR 500,000 originates from a May 2017 recommendation of the AMAF (the Monégasque banking association), not from law. Individual private banks set their own thresholds and now frequently require EUR 1,000,000 or more.
Monaco residency is far more accessible than its reputation suggests — the bank deposit is refundable capital, not a fee, and there is no legal minimum at all. The genuine barrier is housing: at roughly EUR 57,500 per m2 you cannot establish residence without committing serious annual capital to rent or purchase, and that, not the deposit, is what filters applicants.
Qualifying routes
€500k
Bank deposit / proof of sufficient means
AMAF-recommended floor for a single applicant with no Monaco professional activity; banks in 2025–2026 commonly require EUR 1m+. The funds remain yours — this is a solvency test, not a payment.
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Monaco employment or professional activity
A Monaco employment contract or incorporated activity substitutes for the deposit
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Documented recurring income or support from spouse/parent
Accepted alternative to a lump deposit
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €500k
- Total landed cost
- The deposit is refundable and remains your capital. The unavoidable cost is housing: Monaco averaged about EUR 57,500 per m2 in 2025 and family-sized rentals run roughly EUR 10,000–45,000 per month. Budget EUR 150,000–500,000+ per year in rent alone, plus roughly EUR 10,000–30,000 in professional fees for the application.
- Timeline
- 2–8 months — EEA nationals typically 2–5 months. Non-EEA nationals must first obtain a French long-stay Type D visa (reportedly 4–8 weeks, not officially confirmed), which adds materially to the timeline.
- Physical presence
- For the INITIAL card you must intend to reside at least 3 months per year. For RENEWAL, the Monaco Cour de Révision ruled on 12 July 2022 that the 3-month minimum does not apply — renewal turns on a discretionary case-by-case assessment of 'effective residence'. Holders of the 10-year privilégiée card face stricter practical expectations (commonly described as around 6 months), but that is administrative practice, not codified law.
- Family
- spousedependent childreneach adult family member generally needs their own accommodation and means showing
- Permanent residency
- carte de séjour temporaire (1 year, renewable) → ordinaire (3 years, after 3 years' residence) → privilégiée (10 years, after 10 years' residence with effective presence)
- Citizenship
- 10 years' ordinary residence after age 18, then entirely at the Sovereign Prince's personal discretion — there is no legal right to naturalisation even if every condition is met
- Language test
- no formal codified language examination; French proficiency is expected in practice
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- proof of accommodation in Monaco (lease or title deed) sufficient for the householda Monaco bank reference letter confirming funds or meansclean criminal record from previous countries of residencevalid passport; non-EEA nationals need a French long-stay Type D visa firsthealth insurancein-person application to the Sûreté Publique
What can go wrong
- THE FRENCH TRAP: under the Franco-Monégasque convention of 18 May 1963, French nationals resident in Monaco remain taxable by France on worldwide income unless they can prove habitual residence in Monaco for the 5 years preceding 13 October 1962 — meaning settled in Monaco before 13 October 1957. The common shorthand 'resident before 1962' is wrong and materially understates the test. For any French national reading this today, Monaco offers no income tax benefit.
- Monaco has been on the FATF grey list since 27 June 2024 and REMAINS listed as of the June 2026 plenary. The FATF determined in June 2026 that Monaco has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment, but no date is set and delisting is not confirmed. Expect continued banking friction and enhanced due diligence meanwhile.
- Naturalisation is effectively unobtainable: 170 people became Monégasque in 2025, of whom only about 20 by Sovereign Ordinance, against a total Monégasque population of 9,961 at 31 December 2025. Treat citizenship as out of reach and plan for residency only.
- Naturalisation requires renouncing all prior nationalities (the narrow exception is a foreign spouse acquiring nationality after 10 years of marriage, who must actually retain their original nationality).
- The 'no income tax' headline does not exempt you from tax in your home country if you retain ties there — Monaco's zero rate is worthless against a home-country residence test you still fail.
- Monaco is a CRS participant and from 1 January 2026 applies the upgraded CRS 2.0 standard under a protocol signed with the EU on 13 October 2025, extending reporting to digital assets and e-money. There is no banking secrecy benefit here.
- Monaco is not in the EU and its EU association agreement negotiations were suspended around September 2023 over the Principality's preferential treatment of its own nationals — unlike Andorra and San Marino, Monaco's track has not resumed as of July 2026.
- Rents are rising fast: up 6% in 2024 to about EUR 114.50/m2/month, with a further 8–15% since the start of 2025 and three-bedroom units up 56% to about EUR 142.30/m2/month. Model housing cost inflation, not a flat figure.
- Non-EEA nationals depend on France for the entry visa — a step Monaco does not control.