Andorra residency cancellation. Can I get my bond back?
Cancellation of Residency and Recovery of the Bond.
Bonds for new applicants paid after January 2026 under the new law are treated as Government application fees and are non-refundable. For the old bonds / deposits paid before that date they remain refundable subject to the conditions below.
For those existing passive residents (not active residents), since 26th of September 2024, there is a 0.2% annual administrative charge which will be discounted from the final bond refund.
The following applies to both active and passive residents who have paid a bond to the Government before January 2026 upon initial application. If you were one of the lucky active residents in the past who did not pay a bond, there is no requirement to complete the process below.
Under the laws of Andorra upon departure you are required to cancel your residency and may apply for a return of the initial bond paid to the Government on application. The cancellation process is complicated but procedural for me. Please do not just think that they will refund the bond to you upon surrender of the residency card. In fact, what they do if you choose to voluntarily go to Immigration is take your card and you sign a cancellation agreement. Sadly, this document makes no mention of any bond refund nor how to apply for it. I advise not to go voluntarily to Immigration, speak to me first.
The actual cancellation of residency at Immigration and surrender of the residency card must now be done before the no debt certificates start to be collected.
Timing can be of the essence with the following examples of "too early" notice of cancellation may include:
- Selling you property, you need to be clear about interpretations of what constitutes a passive resident versus fiscal resident. Please make sure that you read here if you own property and will sell on or before departure.
- Where you are changing category for example to Category D active residency: If you have notified Immigration and have cancelled your residency then they will make you undergo foreign investment approval for company formation since you are no longer a resident but classed as a foreigner. If you are changing categories there is a specific sequence to be followed.
- Ski passes, maybe you would like a last season on skis so no need to cancel that part just yet
- Driving licenses and car exports all need to be considered
- Insurances need to be cancelled at the right time in case of a change of circumstances where you now need to continue the residency but have failed to keep medical insurance.
Overall, cancellation can be a minefield, so please seek advice from me in the first instance.
Documents that are required for cancellation are aimed at proving you are leaving no debts around the country before the file can go to Immigration and then on to the Ministry of Finance for a bond refund. This entails certificates of no debt from all of the Parishes, all FOUR electricity companies (YES, there are four !!), numerous Government departments, hospital, CASS (strangely as you would have had private medical insurance), the Courts, College of Lawyers, SAIG (the three Andorra Government debt collectors), and other entities. This process can take 2- 4 weeks or so. Once we have those documents then we approach Immigration to request the refund.
Once Immigration have processed the paperwork and be advised it is not one of their priorities over new applications and renewals, it is passed to the Ministry of Finance for refund payment.
The refund can ONLY be made to an account in the principle applicant´s name IN Andorra. Alternatively, you personally can collect the cheque once available at Immigration or you can grant powers to me to collect on your behalf if you have already left Andorra. The refund time is a lottery and can be from 1 month to 3 months.
Please be advised that once the residency is cancelled at Immigration you have irreversibly cancelled your residency. That means for those of you who are under the old law, where the bonds were 30,000 euros, if you wish to or need to re-apply you will require the new 1.000,000 euros, so for something you originally had for 30,000 euros, make sure the decision will not come back to haunt you!
Cancellation should be a last resort; residency can still be retained in most cases regardless of your physical location!