Setting up a company in Andorra without living there: what is possible, authorised and taxed

The short answer

Yes, a person who does not live in Andorra can hold an Andorran company. But "without living there" does not mean "without conditions" or "without tax at home". Three questions decide everything, in this order:

1. Are you allowed to set it up? A non-resident is subject to the direct foreign investment procedure (prior authorisation).
2. Where is the company actually managed? This test, not the address of the registered office, decides its tax residence.
3. Where are you tax resident? If it is France, your income, your dividends and sometimes the company's profits remain within the reach of the French tax authorities.

Step 1: foreign investment authorisation

According to the official note of the Departament d'Estadística on direct foreign investment, the prior authorisation procedure applies to setting up a company, to acquiring more than 10 %verified on 09/10/2026 of the capital of an Andorran company, to substantial changes to the corporate purpose and to capital increases. Since Llei 5/2025, it also applies to individuals and legal entities that are non-resident or have been resident for less than 3 years.

• Decision period: 2 monthsverified on 09/10/2026, extendable by 1 monthsverified on 09/10/2026.
• The administration's silence counts as refusal. The file must therefore be complete and consistent from the outset.
• The application must explain the activity, the origin of the funds and the governance. A project whose only purpose is "to have a company in Andorra" is precisely the kind likely to be refused.

Minimum capital: 3,000 €verified on 09/10/2026 for an SL, 60,000 €verified on 09/10/2026 for an SA. See the legal forms and the setup steps.

Step 2: where is the company "resident"?

A company incorporated in Andorra is an Andorran tax resident. But if its real decisions are taken elsewhere, another State may treat it as resident there. The 2013 France–Andorra treaty settles this conflict through the place of effective management (art. 4.3): the place where strategic and day-to-day management decisions are actually taken.

In practice, an Andorran company whose manager lives in France, signs from France and negotiates contracts from France, and whose Andorran address is only a letterbox, risks being taxed in France at the standard rate of 25 %verified on 09/10/2026. See substance and effective management.

Step 3: tax on the shareholder's side

For a French resident, the anti-abuse rules described in holding companies and French tax apply in addition. The Andorran exemption therefore does not protect against French taxation.

Who does this make sense for?

• An entrepreneur who genuinely moves to Andorra and sets up the company at the same time or just before: this is the normal case. See active residency.
• A non-French non-resident with a real project (commercial activity, consulting, import-export, holding of assets) managed locally by a resident agent or employee.
• A foreign investor who holds a stake in an Andorran company that is already active.

It makes no sense for a French resident who wants to "put profits at the Andorran rate" while continuing to live and work in France.

Banking, accounting, obligations

Opening an account is the real bottleneck for a company held by a non-resident: banks require proof of the activity, of the origin of the funds and of the beneficial owner. See the company account, domiciliation and the gestoria.

Checklist before getting started

1. Is my country of tax residence clearly established (France or not)?
2. Who will actually decide, and from where?
3. What real activity justifies the company?
4. Does my foreign investment file fit into one consistent document?
5. Do I have an identified banking contact before incorporating?

If you want to go through your case, use the company cost simulator and then talk to us.