Andorra: Business, Tax & Residency

[hlepic211]

Hi everyone

Any expats from Andorra here? Would be grateful if someone can share their experience in relocation & real estate purchase

1) How hard it was to open a bank account as a non-resident/resident? What documents did they ask for?
2) When purchasing real estate as a non-resident do they require you to open a local bank account? Can you fund the purchase from a EU account and then open the local account when you have your residence card (which I assume would be much easier)?
3) Are areas like Soldeu/El Tarter/Encamp good for living long-term?
4) Can you get along with Spanish or Catalan is a must?
5) Any issues with banks & running an Andorran company?

Would appreciate any other inputs regarding local day to day life.

Thanks!

 

[ImABotnet]

up

 

[hlepic211]

Update:

1) Turned out to be pretty hard. Credit Andorra asks for 500k deposit. Andbank - didn't try, but their app MyAndBank actually allows expats to apply for an account without the residence, however it turned out to be a scam as they message you afterwards and ask to visit the branch (obviously for racketeering purposes, like blah blah you're not a resident give us a 500k deposit) . MoraBanc was the last bank that was left and they will open an account with a 100k deposit, pretty straightforward.
2) They don't. You can pay from your other EU account. They'll ask you to have a local account etc, but you can ignore that. That will only be needed to pay the bills via direct debit (after you bought the property). Transferring funds to Andorra is a headache but if you're AML papers are in order it will work. They ask for everything, criminal records, tax certs, etc.
3) Encamp is the local working class village, lots of shops, cafes etc. El Tarter will be flooded with tourists during the season (new developments are located next to a huge parking lot right next to the slope. If you check the images via google maps there's like 10 buses on that lot, feels very crowded). Soldeu is best. But for long-term living if you're not an introvert I think you should only consider Andorra La Vella.
4) Spanish/English is enough to start with.
5) No idea but I think a lot of headaches with banks are expected. Intros don't work, no one will care about you.

 

[dany]

1) Turned out to be pretty hard. Credit Andorra asks for 500k deposit. Andbank -

500K euro ?

 

[hlepic211]

500K euro ?

Yes. Maybe you can get a better offer but it will still be between 300-500k

 

[alpakiwi]

From my perspective—I had a house there for a few years and have many friends living in Andorra. It’s very easy to open a bank account if you have the right introductions.

Andorra has a long history of operating as a financial and trade enclave, historically thriving on untaxed money, tobacco smuggling, and other informal economic activities. The so-called “minimum deposit requirements” that banks mention are often just a tactic to see if you’re willing to park more money with them. In reality, there are no strict minimums at Credit Andorrà, Morabank, or Andbank.

However, no one from Andorra actually keeps their savings there—most prefer to hold their money in Switzerland. Andorran bank accounts are primarily used for daily living expenses, such as paying rent or domiciling bills. The main reason is that their banking system is not particularly strong, and they lack efficient, low-cost payment rails. Funnily enough, even the owner of one of Andorra's banks once told me that he keeps his money with UBS Switzerland rather than in his own bank. That tells you all you need to know.

Also, everything in Andorra has become quite expensive now.