Andorra, a relatively overlooked international destination between Spain and France, may soon open its doors to digital nomads who want to live in the country. While the program details are not final, the government announced its plans in 2021 to create a program for digital nomads to live in the country while working remotely for companies outside of Andorra.
Andorra is a wonderful place to live and has attracted many expats because of its beautiful outdoors, good healthcare and education systems, and low crime levels. Digital nomads who are not looking for low-cost destinations in Europe, and prefer mountainsides, safety, and favourable tax benefits, may find this country a preferable option.
Andorra is a safe place to live with a low cost of living for digital nomads
Living in Andorra can be a pleasant experience for digital nomads, as the country has reliable internet, a relatively low living cost, and many outdoor attractions. The Andorra government is very open to long-term residents living in the country and is very entrepreneur friendly as well. Andorra is a beautiful place to live and establish residency if you have a long-term interest in Europe. Moreover, the country is also a solid hub for digital nomads who want to explore a smaller European country and travel regionally. Andorra is very close to Spain, France, and other European destinations.
Andorra has reasonably strong internet speed relative to other European countries. The country has a download speed of 131.30 Mbps/second for fixed broadband, which is slightly above the global average. However, countries like Spain and France have somewhat faster internet.
Although the cost of living in Andorra may be slightly lower than in some Western countries, most digital nomads should not expect drastically lower prices when moving to Andorra. The average salary in Andorra is between €1,300-4,200/month ($1,406-4,545 USD), and around 75% of the population earns approximately €50,000 or less yearly ($54,107 USD or less annually).
Andorra, which borders France to the north and Spain to the South, has many national attractions for residents to enjoy. There are around three Natural Parks in the country and plenty of skiing, hiking, and biking trails to enjoy. Andorra has a Mediterranean-style climate, with warm, enjoyable summers and cold winters.
Andorra is also a very safe place to live, with a very low crime rating, according to Numbeo. Moreover, the World Bank ranks Andorra 5th globally regarding political stability. This country can be a great place to live if you decide to bring your family with you, and it will be a safe destination if global geopolitical tensions escalate.
The government has many tax advantages for residents and is open to attracting talented digital nomads who participate in the digital economy. If you are a digital nomad looking for a long-term European hub, you should definitely have Andorra on your radar.
The official language of Andorra is Catalonian, but most people speak French or Spanish as their second language. Furthermore, English is popular in some tourist areas but not everywhere.
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Andorra is a popular destination for expats and digital nomads because of tax benefits
The Andorran government announced that it wants to launch a digital nomad visa soon, but the application is yet to be available at the moment. You can monitor the developments on this website to see if they make any announcements. Many European countries like Portugal, Germany, Spain and Greece already have their digital nomad visas, so Andorra will likely follow suit soon. The government has specifically been monitoring how Estonia launched residency programs for people who wanted to incorporate businesses and noted in 2019 that it would also like to offer a similar program. The country’s political stability and favourable tax laws could make it a magnet for European and North American digital nomads.
Although the digital nomad visa program is not finalized yet, you can still expect to submit the following when applying in the future:
The processing times and the cost of this digital nomad visa still need to be set, as the program has yet to be approved.
The income requirements have yet to be determined, but the cost of living in Andorra is very high, so expect the income requirements to be relatively high.
The current tax rate in Andorra is 10% for non-residents. Nowadays, digital nomads should plan to pay 10% taxes on their income while living in the country. As seen in some countries, tax exemptions for digital nomads have not been announced yet, but the government announced it might lower corporate taxes to 3% in 2023.
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Andorra has many natural attractions to enjoy while living there
Andorra is also another popular residency destination, particularly for European expats who want to move to Andorra for tax benefits. Andorra allows investors to gain residency if they invest more than €400,000 ($432,860 USD) in the economy. You can become a citizen later, but this requires 10-20 years of active residency, which is considerably longer than similar programs offered in other countries.
It is encouraging that Andorra is open to expats, but many of these options are unrealistic for most people. For most individuals, applying for a digital nomad visa in Andorra seems like a more logical first step, as this option still provides many benefits for digital nomads. While Andorra is a wonderful location for digital nomads, there are much more attractive CBI and residency by investment programs globally.
Andorra has an enjoyable Mediterranean-style climate
Digital nomads should keep monitoring Andorra, which may follow Estonia’s footsteps to create a new digital nomad visa and option for entrepreneurs to incorporate businesses in Andorra easily. The government has been working on new laws to clarify the role of digital nomads in the Andorran economy and is also planning to make tax laws more attractive for residents. We will monitor updates as we hear more about this digital nomad visa program, which may launch in 2023. Until then, there are plenty of other digital nomad visa programs in Europe to consider.