Andorra Passive Residency 2026: Active Route Compared

Andorra's passive residency program now requires a 1,000,000-euro (€1,000,000) investment, up from 600,000 euros (€600,000) before a January 2026 law change raised the entry threshold by two-thirds. Active residency, the route for founders and employees actually working in the country, remains far more accessible on capital but demands 183 days a year of physical presence.

If you've been researching Andorra residency for more than a few months, the number stuck in your head is probably wrong. A lot of what's indexed online still cites the old €600,000 figure, the old refundable deposit structure, and outdated real estate rules. Andorra's parliament changed all three at the start of 2026.

This guide covers what both residency routes actually require today, how the tax treatment works, and, just as important, where the assumption that "residency equals tax residency" breaks down. That distinction matters more than most guides admit, and it's one of the most common misunderstandings we see in this jurisdiction.

Key Takeaways

• Andorra's passive residency investment threshold rose from €600,000 to €1,000,000 under a law approved in January 2026, with a lower €400,000 route available through the Housing Fund.
• Passive residency also requires a non-refundable €50,000 deposit (plus €12,000 per dependent) and only 90 days a year of physical presence.
• Active residency has a lower capital barrier but requires 183 days a year in Andorra and genuine economic activity, whether as an employee or a business owner.
• Andorra caps personal income tax at 10%, with no wealth tax and no inheritance tax for direct descendants.
• Holding an Andorra residence permit does not automatically make you a tax resident. Your actual tax status depends on presence and where your center of vital interests sits.

What changed in Andorra's residency rules for 2026

Andorra's government approved a bill in early 2026 that reshaped the passive residency program's financial requirements. The changes affect anyone applying from this point forward, not existing permit holders, but they matter a great deal to anyone still comparing programs based on older articles.

Three things changed. First, the standard investment threshold moved from €600,000 to €1,000,000 in qualifying Andorran assets. Second, the refundable deposit system was replaced with a non-refundable state fee structure, meaning applicants no longer get that capital back if they later give up residency. Third, real estate rules tightened: if property is used toward the investment total, each individual property must now exceed €800,000 in value.

If you're weighing Andorra against EU options with lower thresholds, our guides to Portugal residency by investment and Spain residency visa options are worth reading alongside this one. Both sit in a different capital range and come with their own trade-offs.

None of this means Andorra stopped being attractive. It means the calculus changed, and anyone budgeting off a two-year-old article is working from the wrong numbers.

The rationale behind the increase, according to public statements around the bill, was to keep the program aligned with Andorra's housing market and to reduce speculative applications that treated the old refundable deposit as a low-risk parking spot for capital. Whatever the policy reasoning, the practical effect is the same for applicants: budget for the current figures, not the ones still circulating on older sites.

Andorra passive residency: requirements and costs in 2026

Passive residency, sometimes called residency without work authorization, is built for people who don't need to earn income locally. It's the more capital-intensive of the two routes, and it's the one dominating most search results.

How much do you need to invest for Andorra passive residency in 2026?

The standard route requires a 1,000,000-euro investment in qualifying Andorran assets, such as government bonds, company shares, or real estate. A lower alternative exists through Andorra's Housing Fund, which sets the threshold at €400,000. Both routes also require a non-refundable deposit of €50,000, plus €12,000 for each dependent included in the application.

If real estate makes up part of the investment total, each individual property must be valued above €800,000. A portfolio of smaller properties that sums to the target no longer qualifies on its own; the per-property minimum applies regardless of the total. This closes a structuring approach some applicants previously used: buying two or three mid-priced properties to reach the old threshold. That approach is no longer viable under the 2026 rules.

Physical presence: the 90-day rule

Passive residents must spend at least 90 days a year physically present in Andorra. That's a light requirement compared to most EU residency-by-investment programs, and it's part of what still makes the route appealing to people who don't want to relocate full time.

Say you're retired and start researching Andorra in late 2025, working off a €600,000 figure from an article published two years earlier. By the time you engage an advisor in February 2026, the threshold has already moved to €1,000,000. Restructuring the application around the Housing Fund route instead brings the total capital commitment to roughly €450,000 once the non-refundable deposit is included. The application can proceed, but only on a different route: at €600,000, the standard route was no longer open to you.

Want to see how Andorra's numbers stack up against comparable programs before you commit capital? Get in touch to talk through what actually fits your situation.

Andorra active residency requirements: the route most guides skip

Passive residency dominates search results, but active residency is the more relevant path for founders, consultants, and employees who intend to build a genuine presence in Andorra rather than simply hold a permit.

How many days do you need to live in Andorra for active residency?

Active residency requires at least 183 days a year of physical presence, more than double the passive route's minimum. This is the threshold most tax treaties and residency frameworks treat as the line for genuine tax residency, and Andorra's active route is built around it directly.

What counts as genuine economic activity

Active residency is granted to people who work in Andorra, either as employees of an Andorran company or as owners running a real, operating business there. The capital barrier is meaningfully lower than passive residency's investment requirement, but the trade-off is substance: applicants need to demonstrate actual employment or business activity, not a shell arrangement.

Now say you run a SaaS company and relocate a three-person team to Andorra la Vella in mid-2025. You incorporate an Andorran company, hire a local operations lead, and commit to spending the majority of the year on-site rather than commuting. By early 2026, the 183-day threshold is cleared comfortably and active residency follows without the seven-figure capital commitment the passive route requires. What you give up is flexibility: unlike in the passive example above, splitting the year across multiple countries is off the table.

This route works well for entrepreneurs and professionals ready to build a real economic footprint. It doesn't work for anyone hoping to hold a permit while living elsewhere most of the year.

Passive vs. active residency in Andorra: side-by-side comparison

The two routes serve different applicants, and the differences go well beyond the headline investment figure.

The pattern is straightforward: passive residency trades capital for flexibility, and active residency trades capital for time and genuine presence. Neither is objectively better. The right one depends on whether you're trying to add a residency option or actually relocate your life and work.

Andorra tax residency: the 10% rate and what actually triggers it

Andorra's tax appeal is real. Personal income tax tops out at 10%, there's no wealth tax, and direct descendants pay no inheritance tax. Corporate tax also sits at a competitive rate relative to most of Western Europe. This is the headline that draws most people to the jurisdiction in the first place.

Here's the part other coverage tends to skip: holding an Andorra residence permit does not automatically make you a tax resident of Andorra. Tax residency and legal residency are governed by different rules, and treating them as the same thing is one of the most consequential mistakes people make when planning a move.

Does an Andorra residence permit automatically make you a tax resident?

No. Andorra tax residency generally depends on spending more than 183 days a year in the country, or having your main economic interests centered there, regardless of whether you hold a residence permit. A passive resident who only meets the 90-day minimum may still be considered a tax resident elsewhere, particularly in a home country with its own presence or center-of-interests test. For a deeper look at how these day-count thresholds work across jurisdictions generally, see our guide to the 183-day rule and dual residency.

Say you were living in Portugal when you obtained Andorra passive residency in 2024, and assumed your Portuguese tax obligations ended there. You meet the 90-day minimum in Andorra but still spend roughly 200 days a year in Portugal for family and client work. Portugal's tax authority continues to treat you as a Portuguese tax resident because your center of vital interests, not your permit, determines the outcome. The overlap only gets resolved by restructuring your time allocation and filing correctly in both jurisdictions.

This isn't unique to Andorra. It's a pattern worth understanding before any relocation, and our guide to tax obligations when moving abroad covers the broader checklist. The Andorra Tax Department (Departament de Tributs i de Fronteres) publishes the specific residency criteria applied locally, and the OECD's tax residency framework explains how these tests generally interact across borders.

What about corporate tax for active residency founders?

Andorra's corporate tax rate generally sits at 10%, mirroring the personal income tax ceiling, which is part of why active residency appeals to founders relocating a real operating business rather than just an income stream. That rate applies to the company, separately from the founder's personal tax residency status. A founder who moves to Andorra under active residency, meets the 183-day threshold, and runs the business genuinely from Andorra typically aligns both the corporate and personal tax picture in one jurisdiction. A founder who keeps the company registered elsewhere while only personally relocating does not get that alignment automatically, and the two questions need to be assessed separately with a qualified advisor.

Who Andorra residency works for (and who should look elsewhere)

Passive residency fits: high-net-worth individuals and retirees who don't need to work locally, can commit €400,000 to €1,000,000 in qualifying assets, and want a low physical-presence requirement they can meet without relocating full time.

Active residency fits: entrepreneurs and professionals genuinely willing to move their operations, hire locally where relevant, and spend the majority of the year in Andorra. The lower capital barrier is a real advantage, but only for people prepared to build actual substance.

Both profiles share one trait worth naming directly: they've already decided Andorra is where they want to spend meaningful time, not just where they want a document. That distinction, more than the capital figure, is usually what separates a smooth application from a frustrating one.

Andorra isn't a fit if:

• You can't consistently meet the minimum day count, whether 90 or 183 days, most years.
• You're assuming the permit alone changes your tax residency without addressing where your economic and personal life is centered.
• Your budget sits well below €400,000 and you're not prepared to build genuine business activity for the active route.
• You need a path to EU citizenship. Andorra isn't an EU member state, and its own naturalization timeline runs considerably longer than most golden visa programs.

If any of those apply, it's worth comparing Andorra against jurisdictions with lower thresholds or different trade-offs before committing time to an application.

How to get started with Andorra residency

Once you know which route fits, the practical steps are similar for both: confirm the investment or business structure, prepare the required documentation (often including apostilled and translated records), open the necessary bank or business accounts, and submit the application through the Immigration Department. Andorra's Immigration Department publishes the current procedural requirements directly, and verifying details there before applying is worth the ten minutes it takes.

Budget more time than the official processing estimates suggest, and expect the documentation stage, not the government review, to be where most delays happen.

A realistic timeline

Most applicants underestimate the preparation phase, not the government's processing window. Gathering apostilled documents, opening an Andorran bank account as a non-resident, and structuring the investment or business entity typically takes longer than the formal application review itself. A realistic range for the full process, from first document request to permit in hand, runs three to six months for passive residency and can extend further for active residency once company incorporation and local hiring are factored in. Renewal for both routes follows a periodic cycle after initial approval, and maintaining the minimum day count each year is what keeps the permit valid, not a one-time qualifying event.

The bottom line

Andorra's passive residency threshold rose by two-thirds under a law approved in January 2026, from €600,000 to €1,000,000, with a €400,000 Housing Fund alternative still available. Active residency remains the more accessible route on capital, but it demands 183 days a year and real economic activity rather than a passive investment. Both routes lead to the same tax ceiling, a maximum 10% personal income tax rate with no wealth or direct-descendant inheritance tax, but neither one automatically makes you a tax resident. That status depends on your actual presence and where your life is genuinely centered, not on the permit in your passport.

If Andorra looks like a realistic fit once you've weighed the capital, the day-count requirement, and your existing tax obligations elsewhere, get in touch with Atlasway. We lay out what each route really costs you, where it catches people out, and how Andorra compares with the other jurisdictions on your list. If one of our routes fits you better, we handle it; if Andorra is the right call, we point you to a licensed Andorran immigration firm and a tax specialist who understands both jurisdictions involved.

Note: The information in this guide is for research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. Immigration rules and tax regulations change frequently, and Andorra's 2026 threshold change is a recent example. Always verify current requirements with a licensed advisor before taking action.