Moving to Monaco

VERIFIED on monservicepublic.gouv.mc (page last updated 26/05/2025; archived copy re-read 2026-09-25): anyone aged 16 or over staying more than three months a year needs a residence permit. (1) accommodation in Monaco large enough for the household - owned, owned through a company you direct or hold units in, rented (tenancy registered with the Department of Tax Services), or staying with a close relative, spouse or partner; (2) sufficient financial resources - salary, professional income, savings (a bank reference from a MONACO bank less than 1 month old; the sum judged sufficient depends on the bank), or support by a relative, spouse or partner; (3) good character - criminal records less than 3 months old from the countries of residence in the past 5 years. NON-EEA nationals must FIRST obtain a French type-D long-stay visa from the French consulate nearest their last residence (after more than a year in France, a transfer of residency through the French Embassy in Monaco instead). A first 'temporary' card is valid 1 year; EUR 80 issue fee, paid on issue. NOT ON THE CITED PAGE, kept as flagged market practice: Monaco banks commonly want ~EUR 500k+ on deposit before issuing the reference letter, and the later 'ordinaire' and 10-year 'privilege' cards (PR: de-facto long-term via renewals). NOTE: this is RESIDENCY only - Monaco has no citizenship-by-investment.

Same core requirements (accommodation, means, good character, and for non-EEA nationals the French long-stay visa first), with means shown through work in Monaco: an employee needs an Employment Office certificate authorising the employment (an undertaking of employment, an application for permission to hire, or the work permit and latest payslip); a self-employed person or company manager a Trade and Industry Directory entry (or French Kbis) less than 3 months old; someone setting up a business a receipt from the Business Development Agency confirming that the application to start it is admissible.

10 years ordinary residence AFTER age 18; application addressed to the Sovereign Prince, who decides personally by Sovereign Ordinance - NO right to naturalisation even if all criteria met (fewer than ~20 grants in a typical year); integration (French language, ties to the Principality); naturalised citizens must effectively give up their other nationality (Monaco does not accept dual citizenship for naturalisation; marriage-declaration route differs). Realistically: Monaco = residency product, not a citizenship product.