Written and reviewed by the Axior Global Advisory Team — Andorra-based tax, corporate and residency advisors.
Moving to Andorra with Children in 2026: Family Residency, Schools and Real Costs
TL;DR: A family relocates to Andorra on one residency application, not four. The principal applicant meets the investment test — EUR 1,000,000 under the passive-residency route (Omnibus Law 2, Law 2/2026, in force 13 February 2026), or the EUR 400,000 Housing Fund alternative — and each additional family member is added for a non-refundable EUR 12,000, on top of the principal applicant’s non-refundable EUR 50,000 AFA state fee. Children then enter a free, trilingual public school system (Andorran, French or Spanish, compulsory and free from ages 6 to 16), with two private English-language international schools as the paid alternative. Passive-resident families must hold private health insurance covering every member, and children under 16 must complete the Andorran vaccination schedule. The tax outcome for the household is a 0–10% income-tax cap, 0% wealth, inheritance, gift and exit tax, and 0% capital gains on property held over 10 years. Physical presence required: 90 days per year on the passive permit. Budget roughly EUR 1.09 million in committed capital and state charges for a family of four choosing the EUR 1M route — of which EUR 86,000 is genuinely spent rather than invested, before transaction tax (IEI) and insurance.
Key Facts: Relocating a Family to Andorra (2026)
| Item | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Investment — passive residency | EUR 1,000,000 | Minimum, per Law 2/2026 (Omnibus 2), in force 13 Feb 2026 |
| Alternative investment route | EUR 400,000 | Directed to the Andorran Housing Fund (Fons d’Habitatge) |
| State fee (AFA) — principal applicant | EUR 50,000 | Non-refundable contribution — no longer a returnable deposit since Law 2/2026 |
| Per additional family member | EUR 12,000 | Non-refundable, each dependent added to the application |
| Minimum property value (if buying) | EUR 800,000 | Minimum value per property; the EUR 1,000,000 total threshold still applies |
| Foreign investment tax (IEI) | 6% first property / 10% additional | Payable on the acquisition |
| Minimum physical presence | 90 days per year | Passive-residency requirement |
| Income test | 300% of the Andorran minimum wage, +100% per dependent | Demonstrated at application |
| Health cover | Private insurance, mandatory | Must cover the holder and every regrouped family member in Andorra; premiums typically from around EUR 2,000/yr |
| Compulsory schooling | Ages 6–16, free | Three parallel public systems: Andorran, French, Spanish |
| Personal income tax (IRPF) | 0–10% | First EUR 24,000 exempt; 5% to EUR 40,000; 10% above |
| Wealth / inheritance / gift / exit tax | 0% | No such taxes exist in Andorra |
| Capital gains on property | 0% after 10 years | Tapered before that |
| VAT (IGI) | 4.5% | Lowest standard VAT rate in Europe |
| Social security (CASS) | 22% total (15.5% employer / 6.5% employee) | Applies to local employment, not to passive residents |
| Double tax treaties in force | 22 | Network expanded with Estonia, in force 24 March 2026 |
Can My Whole Family Move to Andorra on One Residency Application?
Yes — Andorra treats the household as a unit through family reunification (reagrupament familiar), so a spouse and dependent children are added to the principal applicant’s permit rather than qualifying separately. Only the principal applicant must satisfy the investment threshold and the income test. Each additional member is attached to that authorisation for a non-refundable EUR 12,000.
That structure matters commercially. Under an individual-application model, a family of four would need to meet the EUR 1,000,000 threshold four times over. Under Andorran family reunification, the capital requirement is met once, and the marginal cost of bringing a spouse and two children is EUR 36,000 in state charges plus documentation. According to the reunification procedure, applications for family members require original marriage and birth certificates, and minors under 16 are generally required to comply with the Andorran vaccination schedule for their age (confirm the current requirement with the Immigration Service, as it is set by administrative procedure rather than by statute).
For the mechanics of the underlying permit itself, see our guide to Andorra passive residency requirements and the wider Andorra Law & Tax Changes in 2026 hub.
How Much Does It Actually Cost to Move a Family of Four to Andorra?
Around EUR 1.09 million in committed capital and fees under the EUR 1,000,000 route — but only about EUR 86,000 of that is money you spend rather than money you still own. The distinction is the single most misunderstood point in Andorran relocation budgeting.
| Cost line | Family of four (2 adults + 2 children) | Spent or retained? |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying investment | EUR 1,000,000 | Retained — you still own the asset |
| AFA state fee (principal) | EUR 50,000 | Spent — non-refundable since Law 2/2026 |
| Dependants (3 × EUR 12,000) | EUR 36,000 | Spent — non-refundable |
| Total non-refundable state residency charges | EUR 86,000 | Spent |
| Private health insurance | Typically from around EUR 2,000 per year | Spent — recurring, on top of the above |
| IEI, if the investment is property | 6% of purchase price (first property) | Spent — transaction tax, on top of the above |
The EUR 86,000 figure covers the state residency charges only. If the qualifying investment is made through real estate, the IEI adds a further 6% of the purchase price — on a EUR 1,000,000 property that is another EUR 60,000, taking genuine outlay to roughly EUR 146,000 and committed capital to around EUR 1.15 million. Families budgeting for the property route should model the higher figure.
Two structural changes deserve emphasis. First, according to Law 2/2026, the EUR 50,000 paid to the Andorran Financial Authority (AFA) is now a definitive, non-refundable contribution — it is no longer the returnable deposit that older guides and pre-2026 blog posts still describe. Any adviser quoting it as recoverable capital is working from superseded law. Second, the EUR 400,000 Housing Fund route is a genuine alternative to the EUR 1,000,000 threshold, and for families whose wealth is illiquid it often changes the arithmetic decisively.
If the investment is satisfied through real estate, any property counted toward it must be worth at least EUR 800,000 — this is a minimum value per property, not a reduced threshold: the EUR 1,000,000 total still has to be met. Property acquisitions attract the foreign investment tax (IEI) at 6% for a first property or 10% for additional ones. Our guide to buying property in Andorra covers the transaction sequence in detail.
Are Schools in Andorra Free, and What Language Will My Children Learn In?
Public education in Andorra is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 16, and parents choose between three parallel state systems — Andorran, French and Spanish — each teaching in a different primary language. This is unusual: rather than one national curriculum, Andorra runs three complete public school systems side by side, all publicly funded and all free to resident children.
- Andorran system — instruction principally in Catalan, with French, Spanish and English taught alongside. The newest of the three, created in 1982, and attended by roughly 39% of pupils.
- French system — the longest-established in the Principality, with French schools operating since the early 1900s. Instruction principally in French, following the French curriculum, with Catalan, Spanish and English taught alongside. Attended by roughly a third of pupils.
- Spanish system — instruction principally in Spanish and Catalan, with Spanish secular schooling in Andorra dating to 1930.
For English-medium education, two private international schools operate in the Principality; these are fee-paying. Families relocating from the UK, the US or other English-speaking jurisdictions typically weigh continuity of curriculum against the multilingual advantage of the free public systems. In practice, the choice is often driven by the age of the children: younger children absorb Catalan or French quickly and benefit most from the public route, while teenagers mid-way through a national qualification usually need curriculum continuity.
The practical effect on a relocation budget is significant. In most competing low-tax jurisdictions, international schooling is a mandatory five-figure annual cost per child. In Andorra it is optional.
What Happens to My Family’s Healthcare?
Passive residents are not enrolled in the public CASS system and must arrange private health insurance covering every family member included in the application. The policy must be valid in Andorra and cover expenses arising from illness and disability for both the holder and dependants, with regrouped family members required to hold full coverage. Premiums typically start from around EUR 2,000 per year, though this is a market figure rather than a regulated minimum and varies with age and coverage.
This is the point where passive and active residency diverge. A family relocating through active or self-employed residency — where the principal applicant works or runs an Andorran company — enters the CASS system instead, funded by contributions totalling 22% (15.5% employer, 6.5% employee). Families with a working principal applicant should read our guide to active and self-employed residency in Andorra, because the healthcare, contribution and presence rules all differ.
How Many Days Must the Family Actually Spend in Andorra?
Ninety days per calendar year for the passive-residency permit — but that is an immigration threshold, not a tax one, and confusing the two is the most expensive mistake in this area. Meeting the 90-day permit condition keeps the residency card valid. It does not, on its own, establish that Andorra is your tax residence, nor does it end tax residence in the country you are leaving.
Tax residence turns on the 183-day rule and on centre-of-vital-interests tests applied by both Andorra and your departure jurisdiction — and where a family has children in school, the location of the children’s schooling is frequently the decisive fact in a centre-of-interests analysis. Families who keep children enrolled abroad while claiming Andorran tax residence create precisely the pattern that foreign tax authorities look for. Our guide to the Andorra 183-day tax residency rule sets out the tests in full.
How Much Tax Will the Household Pay?
A maximum of 10% on income, and nothing at all on wealth, inheritance, gifts or leaving. Andorran personal income tax (IRPF) exempts the first EUR 24,000, charges 5% from EUR 24,000 to EUR 40,000, and 10% above that. There is no higher band. IRPF is assessed on the individual (with an optional joint regime for couples), so an individual earning EUR 400,000 pays under EUR 37,000 in Andorran income tax — against top marginal rates of 45–55% across most of Western Europe, four to five times Andorra’s cap.
Consumption is taxed at 4.5% through the IGI, the lowest standard VAT rate in Europe — a figure families notice immediately, because it applies to the weekly shop, not just to headline transactions. Capital gains on property fall to 0% once the asset has been held for 10 years. And Andorra maintains 22 double taxation treaties in force, with the Estonian treaty effective 24 March 2026.
What About Passing Wealth to the Children?
Andorra levies 0% inheritance tax, 0% gift tax and 0% wealth tax — there is no charge on transferring assets to the next generation, at any value. For families whose relocation is driven by succession planning rather than by annual income tax, this is usually the decisive figure rather than the 10% IRPF cap.
The comparison is stark. A family holding EUR 20 million and planning an intergenerational transfer faces headline inheritance rates that run well into double digits across most of Western Europe; in Andorra the charge is nil. There is also no exit tax, meaning the decision is not one-way — a family that later relocates again is not penalised on departure. See Andorra wealth, inheritance and gift tax for the detail.
One caution: zero Andorran inheritance tax does not neutralise the estate-tax reach of a departure jurisdiction that taxes on nationality or domicile rather than residence, nor does it override the deemed-domicile tail that some countries apply for years after emigration. That analysis is family-specific and should precede, not follow, the move.
What Documents Does a Family Need?
Beyond the principal applicant’s file, each family member requires original civil-status documents, apostilled and translated, plus proof of health cover. In practice the reunification file turns on:
- Original marriage certificate (spouse) and birth certificates (children), apostilled
- Criminal record certificates for adults, from countries of prior residence
- Proof of private medical insurance covering each member in Andorra
- Evidence that minors under 16 meet the Andorran vaccination schedule
- Proof of income at 300% of the Andorran minimum wage, plus 100% for each dependant
- Proof of accommodation in Andorra
Document gathering, not adjudication, is where family applications usually stall. Apostilles and certified translations of foreign birth and marriage certificates routinely take longer than the Andorran processing itself, and families that begin this step early tend to complete the whole relocation within a single school year.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need EUR 1,000,000 for each family member?
No. The EUR 1,000,000 investment threshold (or the EUR 400,000 Housing Fund alternative) is met once, by the principal applicant. Each additional family member is added through family reunification for a non-refundable EUR 12,000.
2. Is the EUR 50,000 AFA payment refundable?
No. Since Law 2/2026 (Omnibus 2, in force 13 February 2026), the EUR 50,000 paid to the AFA is a definitive, non-refundable contribution. Guides describing it as a returnable deposit reflect the pre-2026 position and are out of date.
3. Are Andorran schools free for foreign residents’ children?
Yes. Public education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 16 for resident children, across all three parallel state systems (Andorran, French and Spanish). The two private international schools that teach in English charge fees.
4. Will my children be taught in English?
Only at the two fee-paying international schools. The three free public systems teach principally in Catalan, French and Spanish respectively, with English taught as a complementary language throughout.
5. Does my family get public healthcare?
Not on a passive-residency permit. Passive residents and their regrouped family members must hold private medical insurance valid in Andorra, from roughly EUR 2,000 per year. Families relocating through active or self-employed residency join the public CASS system instead (22% total contributions).
6. How many days a year must we live in Andorra?
90 days per year to maintain the passive-residency permit. Establishing Andorran tax residence is a separate and stricter question, governed by the 183-day rule and centre-of-vital-interests tests.
7. What tax will we pay on money left to our children?
None in Andorra. Inheritance, gift and wealth taxes are all 0%. Your departure jurisdiction may still assert estate-tax rights depending on its domicile or nationality rules, which should be reviewed before relocating.
Model Your Family’s Numbers Before You Commit
The decision for a family rarely comes down to the headline 10% rate. It comes down to the interaction between committed capital, non-refundable fees, schooling for children of a particular age, and the succession position on both sides of the move.
Use our Tax Savings Calculator to model your household’s annual position in Andorra against your current jurisdiction, then book a free consultation with Axior Global to review the reunification file, the schooling choice and the estate-tax tail from your departure country.
Sources
- Portal Jurídic del Principat d’Andorra (primary source of consolidated Andorran law): https://www.portaljuridic.ad
- Butlletí Oficial del Principat d’Andorra (BOPA) (official gazette, primary source): https://www.bopa.ad
- Llei 9/2012, del 19 d’abril, de modificació de la Llei qualificada d’immigració (consolidated) — residency categories, family reunification, 90-day presence
- Omnibus Law 2 (Law 2/2026), in force 13 February 2026 — EUR 1,000,000 investment threshold, EUR 400,000 Housing Fund route, EUR 50,000 non-refundable AFA contribution, EUR 12,000 per dependant
- Llei 5/2014, del 24 d’abril, de l’impost sobre la renda de les persones físiques (IRPF) — 0–10% bands
- Govern d’Andorra (education, immigration and tax administration): https://www.govern.ad
- Ministeri d’Educació — Andorran, French and Spanish school systems: https://www.educacio.ad
- Andorra education system overview — Expat Focus: https://www.expatfocus.com/andorra/guide/andorra-education-and-schools
- Public and private schools in Andorra — Connect Andorra: https://www.connectandorra.com/en/news/education-in-andorra-public-and-private-schools
- Compulsory health insurance for passive residents — ASSAP: https://www.assap.ad/en/insurances-andorra/blog/compulsory-health-insurance-for-passive-residents/
- Passive residence requirements and quotas 2026 — Engage: https://www.engage.ad/en/blog/residence-passive-andorre
Related Axior guides: Andorra Passive Residency · Andorra Active & Self-Employed Residency · Buying Property in Andorra · Andorra Tax Residency: the 183-Day Rule · Andorra Wealth, Inheritance & Gift Tax · Andorra Law & Tax Changes in 2026 (pillar hub).
This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Figures reflect Andorran law as of August 2026. Verify against the Portal Jurídic and the BOPA, and confirm your position with a qualified adviser before acting.