Written and reviewed by the Axior Global Advisory Team — Andorra-based tax, corporate and residency advisors.
TL;DR: An Andorran residency file in 2026 is built from six blocks of documents: identity (passport), good conduct (apostilled criminal-record certificates from your country of nationality and countries of recent residence), civil status (marriage and birth certificates for dependants), means (proof of income and, for passive residency, evidence of the EUR 1,000,000 qualifying investment or EUR 400,000 Housing Fund contribution and the EUR 50,000 non-refundable state contribution under Law 2/2026), cover (private health, disability and pension insurance for passive residents; CASS enrolment for active residents) and accommodation (Andorran deed or lease). Every foreign public document must be apostilled (Hague Convention) or legalised and, where not in Catalan, accompanied by an official translation. The applicant then attends a medical examination at the Immigration Service in Andorra. In our experience, document collection — not the Andorran review — is what sets the timeline: start the criminal-record and apostille steps first, because they expire and take longest.
Key Facts: Andorra Residency Documents (2026)
| Item | 2026 position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity document | Valid passport (full copy); EU nationals may also present national ID | Servei d’Immigració |
| Criminal-record certificate | From country of nationality and countries of residence in recent years; apostilled/legalised; recently issued | Llei qualificada d’immigració; Immigration Service practice |
| Apostille | Required for foreign public documents (Hague Convention of 5 October 1961); consular legalisation if the issuing country is not a party | Hague Apostille Convention |
| Official language | Catalan — foreign-language documents need an official translation | Constitution of Andorra, art. 2 |
| Financial means (passive) | Income of 300% of the annual minimum wage + 100% per dependant | Llei qualificada d’immigració |
| Qualifying investment (passive) | EUR 1,000,000 in Andorran assets, or EUR 400,000 in the Housing Fund | Llei 2/2026 (Òmnibus 2), in force 13 Feb 2026 |
| State contribution (passive) | EUR 50,000 non-refundable + EUR 12,000 per dependant | Llei 2/2026 |
| Minimum property value (if real estate is the investment) | EUR 800,000 | Llei 2/2026 |
| Insurance (passive) | Private health, disability and old-age (pension) cover valid in Andorra | Llei qualificada d’immigració |
| Social security (active) | Enrolment with CASS — 22% total (15.5% employer + 6.5% employee) | Llei de la CASS |
| Accommodation | Title deed or registered lease of a home in Andorra | Immigration Service |
| Medical examination | Carried out in Andorra by the Immigration Service’s medical unit | Immigration Service |
| Annual quota (residence without work) | Yes — check availability before filing | Decret 74/2026 |
| Typical processing (complete file) | 2–4 months | Axior Global case experience |
What Documents Do You Need for Andorra Residency in 2026?
You need a valid passport, apostilled criminal-record certificates, civil-status certificates for any dependants, proof of financial means (and, for passive residency, proof of the qualifying investment and the state contribution), proof of insurance or CASS enrolment, proof of accommodation in Andorra and passport photographs, followed by a medical examination in Andorra. The precise list varies by permit type, but the core is the same for every route.
The Andorran Immigration Service (Servei d’Immigració) processes all residence authorisations under the Llei qualificada d’immigració, as consolidated on the Portal Jurídic d’Andorra, and the 2026 financial thresholds for investor residency come from Llei 2/2026 (Llei Òmnibus 2), published in the BOPA and in force since 13 February 2026. This checklist organises the documents by block so that you can assign each to a person, a date and a cost.
Block 1 — Identity
- Passport, valid, with a complete copy of every page (including blank pages). Check that validity comfortably exceeds the initial permit period.
- National identity card (EU/EEA nationals), where available.
- Passport-size photographs in the format requested by the Immigration Service.
Block 2 — Good conduct
- Criminal-record certificate from your country of nationality.
- Criminal-record certificate from each country in which you have resided in recent years. Applicants with a UK, US, Swiss or Gulf background typically need two or three certificates.
- Each certificate must be apostilled (or legalised) and, if not in Catalan, officially translated (see below).
Block 3 — Civil status (families)
- Marriage certificate or registered-partnership certificate, apostilled.
- Birth certificates for each child, apostilled.
- Where only one parent relocates with a minor: consent of the other parent or the relevant custody order, apostilled.
- Family applications are covered in detail in our family relocation guide.
Block 4 — Financial means and investment
- Proof of income sufficient for the means test: for residence without work, income of 300% of the Andorran annual minimum wage for the main applicant plus 100% for each dependant. Acceptable evidence usually includes bank statements, pension statements, dividend vouchers, rental contracts and audited accounts.
- Passive residency only — evidence of the qualifying investment under Law 2/2026: EUR 1,000,000 in Andorran assets (real estate at a minimum of EUR 800,000 per property, Andorran company equity, Andorran public debt or qualifying bank products), or EUR 400,000 placed in the national Housing Fund (Fons d’Habitatge). Full detail on qualifying assets is in our passive residency guide and our residency by investment breakdown.
- Passive residency only — proof of payment of the EUR 50,000 state contribution to the AFA, plus EUR 12,000 per dependant. According to the BOPA (Law 2/2026), this contribution is definitive and non-refundable; it is no longer a returnable deposit.
- Active residency only — the company documents: deed of incorporation, registration with the Registre de Societats, foreign-investment authorisation, tax registration (NRT) and evidence of your shareholding and directorship. See our company formation guide and active residency guide.
Block 5 — Cover
- Passive residency — certificates of private health insurance, disability cover and old-age (pension) cover valid in Andorra for the applicant and each dependant. Passive residents are outside CASS and must hold private cover as a permit condition.
- Active residency — proof of CASS enrolment (employer and self-employed registrations). Contributions total 22% of the base — 15.5% employer and 6.5% employee — as explained in our CASS guide.
Block 6 — Accommodation
- Title deed of a property in Andorra, or
- Registered lease of a home in Andorra in the applicant’s name, together with evidence that the dwelling is suitable for the family size declared.
- Buyers should also budget for the foreign real-estate investment tax (IEI) at 6% on a first property and 10% on additional properties — see our property guide.
Block 7 — In Andorra
- Medical examination at the Immigration Service, booked once the file is lodged.
- Application forms and the administrative fee, completed with your adviser.
- Andorran bank account — not strictly a document, but the qualifying investment and the state contribution are, in practice, routed through an Andorran bank, and the bank’s own onboarding file (source-of-wealth evidence) runs in parallel.
Which Documents Need an Apostille?
Every foreign public document — criminal-record, birth, marriage and death certificates, court orders, notarial deeds and, where applicable, academic or professional certificates — must carry a Hague apostille from the issuing country, or consular legalisation if that country is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Andorra acceded to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, so an apostille is the standard route.
Three practical points decide whether this step takes one week or two months:
- Apostille the original, not a copy. Most authorities will only apostille a document issued by a public body in their own country. A UK criminal-record certificate (ACRO) is apostilled by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; a US FBI Identity History Summary is apostilled by the US Department of State; a Spanish certificado de antecedentes penales is apostilled by the Ministry of Justice.
- Apostille before translation. The translator must translate the apostille too, so sequencing matters.
- Watch expiry. Criminal-record certificates are accepted only if recently issued (in practice, within a few months of filing). Order them last among the slow documents so that they are still current when the file is lodged, and do not apostille a certificate that will expire before you can submit.
Private documents — bank statements, insurance policies, employment letters — do not carry apostilles; they are supported instead by originals, bank stamps or notarial certification where the Immigration Service asks for it.
Do Documents Have to Be Translated into Catalan?
Catalan is Andorra’s only official language under Article 2 of the Constitution, and the Immigration Service requires foreign-language documents to be accompanied by an official translation. Our practice is to confirm with the Immigration Service, before commissioning translations, which documents in your file need a sworn translation and which may be accepted as issued; translating unnecessarily is a common avoidable cost, and failing to translate a required document is a common cause of a file being returned.
Use a sworn (official) translator recognised for the language pair. Ask for translations that reproduce the apostille and any stamps, since incomplete translations are rejected. Budget one to two weeks for a family file.
How Long Are the Documents Valid?
Criminal-record certificates and civil-status extracts are treated as time-limited and should be issued within a few months of filing; passports, deeds and insurance certificates simply need to be in force on the filing date and throughout the permit’s initial period. Because validity windows are short and apostilles add time, the order in which you request documents matters as much as the documents themselves.
A sequence that works in most files:
| Week | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Engage adviser; confirm permit route and quota availability (Decret 74/2026 caps residence-without-work authorisations annually); open bank onboarding |
| 1–2 | Request marriage and birth certificates (long-life documents) and their apostilles |
| 2–4 | Sign lease or complete property purchase; arrange private insurance or CASS registration; prepare investment evidence |
| 4–6 | Request criminal-record certificates from every relevant country; apostille on receipt |
| 6–8 | Sworn translations of all apostilled documents; assemble file |
| 8–10 | Lodge application; attend medical examination in Andorra |
| 10–18 | Immigration Service review; approval and card issuance |
The Immigration Service’s own review is rarely the pacing item; a complete, correctly apostilled and translated file typically completes in 2–4 months end to end.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
The five errors we see most are: criminal-record certificates that expire before filing, apostilles obtained on copies rather than originals, translations that omit the apostille, insurance that does not cover Andorra or omits disability and pension cover, and investment evidence that does not show the funds actually placed in qualifying Andorran assets. Each of these results in a returned file and, in a quota year, can cost the applicant their place in the cycle.
Two further points deserve a note for high-net-worth applicants. First, the source-of-wealth evidence the bank requests for the EUR 1,000,000 investment is more demanding than the immigration file itself: expect to document the origin of the funds (sale agreements, dividend records, inheritance documents) in a form a compliance officer can follow. Second, applicants with several nationalities or residences should map, at the outset, which countries’ criminal-record certificates will be required, since a missing certificate discovered late is the most expensive delay of all.
Which Documents Are Different for Each Residency Type?
The identity, good-conduct, accommodation and medical blocks are common to every route; the differences lie in the means, investment and cover blocks. Choosing the wrong route is a strategic error rather than a paperwork one, so the comparison belongs at the start of the process.
| Document block | Passive residency (residence without work) | Active residency (self-employed / company) | Digital nomad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport, photos, criminal records, civil status | Required | Required | Required |
| Means test | 300% minimum wage + 100% per dependant | Business substance and income | Income from outside Andorra |
| Investment evidence | EUR 1,000,000 (or EUR 400,000 Housing Fund) + EUR 50,000 contribution + EUR 12,000 per dependant | Company incorporation and shareholding | Not applicable |
| Cover | Private health, disability, pension | CASS enrolment | Private health cover |
| Accommodation | Required | Required | Required |
| Minimum presence | 90 days per year | Effective residence, more than 183 days | Per permit conditions |
Our digital nomad residency guide covers the remote-work route. Remember that the residence permit and tax residency are distinct: the 183-day rule and the centre-of-interests test are explained in our tax residency guide, and once you are tax resident, income tax (IRPF) runs from 0% to 10%, corporate tax is a flat 10%, IGI is 4.5% and there is 0% wealth, inheritance, gift or exit tax. All 2026 legal changes are tracked in our pillar hub, Andorra Law & Tax Changes in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which criminal-record certificates does Andorra require?
A certificate from your country of nationality and from each country where you have lived in recent years, each apostilled (or legalised) and officially translated if not in Catalan. Certificates must be recently issued at the time of filing.
2. Do I need an apostille on my passport?
No. A passport is presented in original with a full copy. Apostilles apply to public documents such as criminal-record, birth and marriage certificates and court orders.
3. Can I submit documents in Spanish, French or English?
Catalan is the only official language. Foreign-language documents require an official translation; confirm with the Immigration Service, before translating, which documents in your file need a sworn translation.
4. What proof of investment is needed for passive residency in 2026?
Evidence that EUR 1,000,000 has been invested in qualifying Andorran assets (or EUR 400,000 in the Housing Fund), and proof of the EUR 50,000 non-refundable state contribution plus EUR 12,000 per dependant, under Law 2/2026 (in force 13 February 2026).
5. Is private insurance mandatory?
For passive residency, yes: health, disability and old-age cover valid in Andorra for every family member. Active residents enrol with CASS instead (22% total contributions: 15.5% employer, 6.5% employee).
6. Is a medical examination required?
Yes. Every applicant attends a medical examination arranged by the Immigration Service in Andorra after the file is lodged.
7. How long does it take to gather the documents?
Typically 6–10 weeks for a family with two or three countries of prior residence, driven by criminal-record certificates, apostilles and sworn translations. The Andorran review then usually completes within 2–4 months of filing.
8. Are residence permits limited in number?
Residence authorisations without work are subject to an annual quota under Decret 74/2026. Check availability before committing to document collection and the investment.
Build Your File With Axior Global
A residency application succeeds or stalls on the quality of its documents. Axior Global prepares the full file — route selection, the investment structure under Law 2/2026, apostilles, sworn translations, insurance and the bank’s source-of-wealth pack — and lodges it with the Immigration Service. Use our free Andorra tax assessment to see what Andorra’s 0–10% income tax means for your situation, then book a free consultation and we will send you a personalised document checklist for your nationality and family.
Sources
- Portal Jurídic del Principat d’Andorra (consolidated Andorran law; primary source): https://www.portaljuridic.ad
- Butlletí Oficial del Principat d’Andorra (BOPA) (official gazette; primary source): https://www.bopa.ad
- Llei qualificada d’immigració (consolidated text) — residence authorisations, means test, insurance and good-conduct requirements: https://www.portaljuridic.ad
- Llei 2/2026 (Llei Òmnibus 2), in force 13 February 2026 — EUR 1,000,000 qualifying investment; EUR 400,000 Housing Fund alternative; EUR 50,000 non-refundable state contribution; EUR 12,000 per dependant; EUR 800,000 minimum per property: https://www.bopa.ad
- Decret 74/2026 (11 March 2026) — annual quota for residence authorisations without work: https://www.bopa.ad
- Govern d’Andorra — Immigration: residence without work, initial authorisation (document list and forms): https://www.govern.ad/ca/tematiques/immigracio
- Constitució del Principat d’Andorra, Article 2 (Catalan as official language): https://www.portaljuridic.ad
- Hague Conference on Private International Law — Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention), status table: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
- Llei 5/2014 (IRPF) — 0/5/10% bands; Llei 95/2010 (IS) — 10%; Llei 11/2012 (IGI) — 4.5%: https://www.portaljuridic.ad
- Caixa Andorrana de Seguretat Social (CASS) — contribution rates: https://www.cass.ad
Related Axior guides: Andorra Law & Tax Changes in 2026 (pillar hub) · Andorra Passive Residency · Andorra Active & Self-Employed Residency · Andorra Residency by Investment · Andorra Family Relocation · Andorra Digital Nomad Residency · Andorra Company Formation · Andorra Social Security (CASS) · Buying Property in Andorra · Andorra Tax Residency (183-day rule).
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Document requirements are set by the Immigration Service and may change; figures reflect Llei 2/2026 and regulations in force as of September 2026 and should be verified against the Portal Jurídic and the BOPA before acting.