Legal frame
The public phrase "residence by investment" is imprecise for Andorra. The official category is residence without work, in Catalan residència sense treball, and the investor profile is residence without gainful activity, residència sense activitat lucrativa. It authorises residence in Andorra during the validity of the permit; it is not citizenship, it does not authorise work in Andorra, and it is not a right to live in Spain, France or another European state.
The Andorran Government's official e-services portal states that a non-gainful residence applicant must establish principal and effective residence in Andorra for at least 90 days per calendar year and must not carry out labour or professional activity there. The 90-day rule is therefore an immigration condition for this permit type, not a tax residence rule and not a generic mobility promise.
The initial residence-without-work authorisation is granted for two years; the first renewal is also for two years, and the second and subsequent renewals for three years, with ten-year renewals once the holder has held the permit for at least seven years. Spanish, French and Portuguese nationals follow a separate track under article 32 of Law 9/2012: an initial two years, renewals of three years, and ten-year renewals after five years as a holder. This renewal structure is more legally important than a marketing timeline for receiving a card.
Investment in Andorran assets
Under the current framework, the principal applicant must invest permanently and effectively at least EUR 1,000,000 in Andorran assets. Law 2/2026, of 22 January 2026, published in the BOPA on 12 February 2026 and in force the following day, raised this threshold from the EUR 600,000 set by Law 5/2025. Its article 96 lists the eligible classes: immovable property in Andorra; shares or own funds of Andorran resident companies; debt or financial instruments issued by resident entities, including Andorran collective investment funds for a maximum of 36 months; debt instruments issued by Andorran public administrations; life-insurance products contracted with Andorran resident entities; and non-remunerated deposits with the Andorran Financial Authority (Autoritat Financera Andorrana, AFA).
If the investment is made directly or indirectly in the Housing Fund, Fons d'Habitatge, the threshold is reduced to EUR 400,000. But for real estate, Law 2/2026 adds a separate constraint: where the investment in Andorran assets is made wholly or partly through immovable property, an amount above EUR 800,000 must be allocated to each real-estate unit acquired, up from the EUR 600,000 per unit that applied under Law 5/2025. This is no longer the old simplified story in which one mid-priced apartment could be presented as the general route.
The transitional regime is narrower than the entry-into-force date suggests. Under transitional provision two, applications for non-gainful residence filed before the law was approved, that is before 22 January 2026, remain governed by the previous rules; applications filed between that date and entry into force on 13 February 2026 fall under the new thresholds.
Beyond the investment, a passive resident evidences annual income above 300% of the Andorran minimum wage plus 100% for each dependant. That requirement was not introduced by Law 2/2026 but by article 12 of the regulation on residence authorisations without gainful activity of 12 November 2025; with the minimum wage at EUR 1,568.67 a month from 1 July 2026, the threshold for a principal applicant is roughly EUR 56,500 a year.
The applicant may undertake to make the investment within six months. Law 2/2026 allows a further six-month extension where the investment could not be formalised because of force majeure or a third party's fault. Failure to provide the required investment evidence, or evidence of the new allocation for assets subject to reallocation, results in annulment of the non-gainful residence permit.
AFA payment after the 2026 reform
Older materials referring to a refundable EUR 47,500 deposit should not be used as current law for this route. That figure, plus EUR 9,500 per dependant, is the refundable deposit that still applies to two neighbouring categories: residence for professionals with international projection (article 99 of Law 9/2012) and residence for scientific, cultural or sporting interest (article 101). For non-gainful residence the immediately preceding rule, under Law 5/2025, was a refundable EUR 50,000 deposit plus EUR 12,000 per dependant, and those amounts were deducted from the investment threshold. Law 2/2026 changes that regime: the principal applicant must make a EUR 50,000 payment to AFA and an additional EUR 12,000 payment for each dependant who acquires non-gainful resident status. These payments are final and non-refundable unless the initial immigration authorisation is refused. Once the Immigration Service communicates the grant of the authorisation, AFA transfers the amounts to the state.
This is why a public cost calculation should separate the investment in assets, the non-refundable public payment, immigration fees, housing, insurance, legalisation, translation and professional costs. The old expression "security deposit" no longer captures the 2026 position for this route.
Schengen boundary
Andorra is not a member state of the European Union and is not a Schengen member state. In November 2025, the Government of Andorra explained a regulatory amendment requiring applicants for residence without work who are not EU or EEA nationals to prove that they are in a regular situation to enter and circulate legally through Schengen states and to re-enter from Schengen territory into Andorra.
That rule matters because Andorra is reached through neighbouring Schengen states in practice. An Andorran residence permit does not itself create EU citizenship, free movement or a right to reside in another state; the Schengen leg must be legally covered by a visa, visa-free entitlement or other valid entry basis.
Tax boundary
Andorra's tax profile should not be described as absence of tax. The Government's IRPF guidance states that the personal income tax rate is 10%. A separate Government explanation describes the effective brackets for the general base: net income below EUR 24,000 is not taxed; EUR 24,001 to EUR 40,000 bears an equivalent 5% rate through a 50% relief against the 10% general rate; income above EUR 40,000 bears 10%; and for savings income, the first EUR 3,000 is not taxed and 10% applies thereafter.
Tax residence is not automatic merely because a person holds a residence-without-work card. For international clients, the result depends on actual presence, centre of vital interests, treaty rules and the exit country's domestic tests. If family, management, business and habitual life remain in Spain, France, Russia or another jurisdiction, the Andorran card alone does not prove that the tax centre has moved.
Corporate and investment taxation must be analysed separately. The immigration permit should not be used as shorthand for every company, fund, holding, real-estate or portfolio income item.
Family members and evidence
The official forms and portal require evidence of civil status, housing, health cover, absence of criminal record, medical review, financial capacity and investment commitment. Documents must be legalised and presented in a form accepted by the Andorran authority. Public writing should not state that all relatives are automatically included: dependence, age, family relationship and status are evidenced separately.
Public text should also avoid saying that the investment guarantees status. Andorran immigration law involves quotas, document review, medical and police checks, housing review, regular Schengen-status evidence for non-European applicants and later proof that the investment has been made. Investment is a necessary element for this authorisation type, not a substitute for the administrative decision.
Q/A
I was told the Andorran deposit is EUR 47,500 and refundable. Still true?
Not for this route. For non-gainful residence Law 2/2026 requires a payment of EUR 50,000 to the AFA plus EUR 12,000 for each dependant who acquires the status, and those payments are final and non-refundable unless the initial immigration authorisation is refused. The refundable EUR 47,500, plus EUR 9,500 per dependant, still applies to two neighbouring categories — articles 99 and 101 of Law 9/2012.
Can one mid-priced apartment still cover the investment requirement?
No. Since Law 2/2026 the principal applicant must invest at least EUR 1,000,000 in Andorran assets, and where the investment runs wholly or partly through immovable property an amount above EUR 800,000 must be allocated to each unit acquired, up from EUR 600,000 per unit under Law 5/2025. The one reduced threshold is EUR 400,000, and only for the Housing Fund, Fons d'Habitatge.
Is the investment enough on its own, or is income tested as well?
Income is tested separately. Article 12 of the regulation of 12 November 2025 requires annual income above 300% of the Andorran minimum wage plus 100% for each dependant; with the minimum wage at EUR 1,568.67 a month from 1 July 2026 that is roughly EUR 56,500 a year for a principal applicant. Nor does the investment guarantee the permit: quotas, document review, medical and police checks come first.
Does an Andorran permit let me live and move freely in the EU?
No. Andorra is neither an EU member state nor a Schengen member state, so the card creates no EU citizenship, no free movement and no right to reside in another state. Since the November 2025 amendment, applicants who are not EU or EEA nationals must additionally prove they are in a regular situation to enter and circulate through Schengen states and to re-enter Andorra from Schengen territory.
Does the card make me an Andorran tax resident paying 10%?
Not by itself. The permit requires principal and effective residence of at least 90 days per calendar year, which is an immigration condition and not a tax test; tax residence turns on actual presence, centre of vital interests, treaty rules and the exit country's own tests. The IRPF rate is 10%, with the general base below EUR 24,000 untaxed and an equivalent 5% between EUR 24,001 and EUR 40,000.