Buying a home in Andorra: a permit in advance, at most one house or two flats, and 6 percent extra for the first three years
As a foreigner you may buy a home in Andorra, but only with a permit in advance, and at most one single-family house or two flats. As long as you have lived in Andorra for less than three years, you pay, on top of the 4 percent transfer tax, a tax on foreign property investment of 6 percent, and 10 percent on anything beyond the first home. Buying gives no right of residence. Andorra has no inheritance tax.
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As a Dutch national you may buy a home in Andorra, but not just like that. You need a permit in advance from the government, you may own at most one single-family house or two flats, and as long as you have lived in Andorra for less than three years, you pay an extra tax of 6 percent on the purchase price. That comes on top of the ordinary transfer tax, the ITP: 1 percent for the state plus 0.5 to 3 percent for the comú, 4 percent in total in Andorra la Vella. Buying a house also gives you no right to live there. For most people, renting in Andorra is therefore the first step, and buying something for later.
Why do you need a permit?
Andorra is small, and the housing market is tight. Since Llei 5/2025, the sustainable growth act of March 2025, foreign property ownership has therefore been capped. The law calls you a foreign investor as long as you are not a resident, or are a resident but have not yet lived in Andorra for three years within the past ten. For each purchase you then first apply for a permit (autorització prèvia) from the ministry. With that permit you may own at most (article 9):
- One building plot for one single-family house, or one single-family house.
- Or two flats or studios, with at most three parking spaces and three storage rooms per flat.
- Or six parking spaces.
Property development is prohibited for foreigners, with one exception for rental homes let affordably for at least ten years. The ministry decides on the permit within two months, extendable once by a month. If you hear nothing, that counts as a refusal (article 10). You then complete the purchase itself within six months.
Once you have lived in Andorra for three years, you are no longer a foreign investor under the law. Then both the permit and the extra tax fall away.
What does buying cost besides the price?
| Cost item | Rate | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (ITP, impost sobre transmissions patrimonials) | 1% state + 0.5 to 3% comú; 4% in total in Andorra la Vella | everyone |
| Tax on foreign property investment, first home | 6% of the real value | non-residents and residents with less than three years' residence |
| The same tax, anything beyond the first home | 10% | idem |
| Reduction on that tax | 90% if you let the home as a main residence for ten years | idem |
| Permit in advance | required for every purchase | idem |
The tax on foreign property investment (impost sobre la inversió estrangera immobiliària) has existed since February 2024. The rate was then 3 percent for a first home. Since 13 February 2026, with Llei 2/2026, it is 6 percent for the first unit (one plot or single-family house, or one flat with at most three parking spaces and three storage rooms) and 10 percent for anything beyond that.
A worked example. If you buy a flat of €500,000 in your first year, you pay €20,000 transfer tax and €30,000 investment tax: €50,000 on top of the price. If you wait until you have lived in Andorra for three years, it is €20,000. That difference is exactly why many newcomers rent first.
The rates of 6 and 10 percent were introduced in 2026, after two earlier changes within two years. Andorra adjusts these rules quickly. Have the notary confirm the rates before you make an offer, and do not rely on what an estate agent's website wrote in 2025.
Does a house give you a right of residence?
No. The law says so literally: a foreign investment in itself gives no right of residence (article 6, paragraph 6). You first need a residence permit through work, your own business, your partner, passive residence or the permit for remote work. Read residence routes in Andorra.
A house does play a role in passive residence, the route for those who do not work. Since 13 February 2026 you invest at least €1,000,000 in Andorran assets for that, and with property only a unit of more than €800,000 counts. On top comes a non-refundable deposit of €50,000, plus €12,000 per family member. Anyone buying such a home also pays the 6 percent on it: at €850,000 that is €51,000. An ordinary pensioner does not reach this route; we would rather say so beforehand than afterwards.
What happens on death, and on sale?
Andorra has no inheritance tax, no gift tax and no wealth tax. They do not appear in the official overview of tax laws. But the Netherlands does not let go of you straight away: under article 3 of the Successiewet, as a Dutch national you are deemed to live in the Netherlands for inheritance and gift tax for another ten years after you leave. If you die within those ten years, your heirs pay Dutch inheritance tax on everything, including the house in Andorra. Read inheritance tax after emigration and AOW, pension and tax in Andorra.
If you later sell the home at a profit, Andorra does have a tax on the capital gain on property transactions (impost sobre les plusvàlues). We have not researched its rates; ask the notary before you buy.
Two more things to know. A gift of property between living persons falls under the transfer tax, with an exemption for spouses and close family. And Llei 5/2025 contains a temporary scheme under which the government can force empty homes to be let. A second home that you leave empty is therefore not a matter of course in Andorra.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Andorra or go straight to step 5.5 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Llei 5/2025, articles 6, 9 and 10 — the permit in advance, at most one single-family house or two flats, a two-month decision period, and no right of residence through an investment — documents.bopa.ad
- Llei 2/2026, articles 10 and 29 — the tax of 6 and 10 percent on foreign property investment since 13 February 2026, and passive residence with property above 800,000 euros — documents.bopa.ad
- Govern d'Andorra — overview of the Andorran tax laws, including the ITP and the tax on foreign property investment, without inheritance or wealth tax — govern.ad
- Successiewet 1956, article 3 — ten years of Dutch inheritance and gift tax after emigration — wetten.overheid.nl
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