Andorra Endavant proposes stricter migration rules and higher passive‑residency investment thresholds

The Andorra Endavant parliamentary group has submitted 13 amendments to the government’s omnibus bill on sustainable growth seeking tighter migration controls, higher investment thresholds for passive residency, and closer links between residence permits and measurable economic contribution.

Led by Carine Montaner, the group proposes adding three new “very serious” offences to the migration regime: fictitious hiring intended to circumvent passive or self‑employed residency requirements; simulation of residence where the claimed activity or presence is not real; and owners who rent homes or commercial premises to undocumented people or to operations lacking proper authorisations. The package would also make the authorisation of a sponsoring person and all family members automatically void where family reunification is found to have been obtained improperly or illegally.

On passive and self‑employed residency, Andorra Endavant would remove the current €50,000 deposit held at the Andorran Financial Authority (AFA) and replace it with a €50,000 payment to the Tax Office (Tributs) recorded as a tax credit to be offset against future taxes. The group seeks to redesign passive residency as a “responsible investment” route by raising the minimum investment to €1 million and, if the investment is in real estate, setting a minimum of €600,000 per unit. The amendments recognise family investment and require proof of minimum annual income held in an Andorran bank account to cover household expenses, measures the group says aim to protect housing access and limit speculative pressure on the market.

To guard against shell operations and ensure self‑employed residents run genuine businesses, companies linked to self‑employed residence permits would have to generate at least €10,000 in annual tax collection from their third year of activity; failure to meet that threshold could lead to revocation of the permit.

For temporary and seasonal workers, the amendments would tie permits to the sponsoring company and bar seasonal workers from changing employer during the season, while permitting mobility within the same corporate group. The proposals also mandate creation of a digital recruitment platform within one year to verify documents at source, improve traceability, detect forgeries and support firms that rely on temporary labour.

The package introduces an independent three‑expert committee — academic, financial and technological — to assess digital project applications before any relaxation of economic criteria for self‑employed residency is extended to tech companies. The committee is intended to provide transparency and professional assessment where decisions might otherwise be discretionary.

Administrative changes include a requirement that any municipal or government refusal be technically justified and the introduction of positive administrative silence at the commune level so that, in the absence of a reply, an activity would be considered authorised. One amendment seeks to correct Article 5 of the bill to avoid discrimination contrary to double taxation agreements, ensuring an Andorran tax resident is not penalised on grounds of nationality where bilateral non‑discrimination clauses apply.

Andorra Endavant frames the amendments as technical and constructive, aimed at combating fraud, protecting the productive fabric, modernising the migration model and ensuring that those who settle in Andorra bring clear, measurable benefits. The proposals have been lodged for parliamentary consideration.