A Guide to Getting Monaco Residency for Those Who Want to Live in Europe’s Most Exclusive Tax Haven

There are obvious benefits to living in Monaco. A great climate, virtually no taxes, and a very accessible location. It’s no surprise that lots of people want to live in the principality.

You can stay there for three months as a tourist, but any longer than that and you will need to apply for a residence permit.

So, how can you make the Monaco lifestyle a reality?

If you have the financial means, it’s not an overly complex process to get Monaco Residency.

First, you need a Monaco bank account.

It all starts with choosing from the wide range of banks that have representation in Monaco and completing an application to open an account.

To get Monaco residency, you’re going to need at least a 250,000 euro deposit. I emphasize the words at least because some private banks in Monaco will ask for a million euros or more from new account holders.

If this level of funding requirement comes as a shock to you you’re probably not ready to get Monaco residency.

After completing the paperwork and transferring the funds, it will take two or three weeks for the bank to set up the account for you.

At this point, they will issue the all-important attestation banquier. This is a letter that they send to the Surete Public, the immigration department confirming that you have sufficient financial means to support yourself as a resident of Monaco.

The next thing you need is a property in Monaco.

You need a place that you can call home. This could be your second shock. Monaco really does have the highest property prices on the planet, and they’re not for the faint-hearted.

From a residency perspective, there are two key facts to be aware of:

  1. The property must be an appropriate size for the number of people that will live there. A family of four proposing to hang out in a one-room studio will obviously not work.
  2. If you’re proposing to rent the property, you must have a lease for at least 12 months. You’ll need to pay three months’ rent upfront plus another three months’ rent as a security deposit.

So you’ve got your bank account open and funded and you’ve found your ideal home in Monaco.

You’re now ready to submit your residency application.

You’ll have to make your appointment for your residency interview with the immigration department (The Surete Publique)

There’s a few things you’re going to need to bring along to the meeting.

  1. A fully completed official set of residency application forms, which the immigration department provides.
  2. Proof of purchase of your Monaco home or the lease on your rental property which must be for a minimum of 12 months.
  3. You’ll also need the electricity contract for your Monaco home.
  4. You’ll need the letter from your bank, confirming you have the means to live in Monaco without working.
  5. Also, you need a valid passport and birth certificate for each applicant.
  6. You’ll need certificates of marriage or divorce if relevant.
  7. A criminal record check from the police in your country of origin
  8. You’ll also need to provide a mini CV showing your educational and business or professional experience as well as how your wealth has been acquired, for example from the sale of a business.

Everything needs to be translated to French.

If you’re over 70 years old you’ll also need to provide evidence of having private health insurance valid for living in Monaco.

Now that you have all that paperwork you can turn up for a fairly short meeting with an immigration officer at the Surete Publique. The meeting will be in French but if your paperwork’s in order you won’t have to say much.

Needless to say the more complete your documentation and the more confident you are at speaking French the easier this interview will be.

Assuming all goes well at the interview the residency permit should be available around about eight weeks later. This is valid for 12 months and needs to be renewed each year for the first three years.

At that stage you’ll be issued with a Monaco residency permit valid for another three years so you can relax for 36 months before your next renewal.

At each renewal you’ll also need to complete another set of residency forms bring your latest electricity bills and a fresh letter from the bank confirming that you continue to be financially self-sufficient.

If you’re an EU passport holder the whole process should take about three months end to end.

If you’re a non-eu passport holder you’re going to need a long stay visa for France before you start the procedures to get Monaco residency.

There is a minimum requirement that you spend at least three months of each year actually living in the Principality.

It doesn’t have to be all on one go but having gone to all this trouble to

get Monaco residency it’s surely not too challenging to make sure you spend at least 90 days in your new home.

Finally no matter how long you might live in Monaco don’t get any ideas about becoming a citizen with a shiny new Monegasque passport.

Technically you can apply for Monaco citizenship after 10 years of residency. The reality is that unless you’re friends with the Royal family or make a major multi million euro donation to the Prince’s favourite charity you’re unlikely to get that Monaco passport.

So that’s it. There are a few steps to go through to get Monaco residency. If you need help with any of the procedures please get in touch with us.

Click here to find more information from the Monaco government directly

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