Monaco Residency by Investment: An Investor’s Guide to Residency and Citizenship

If you’re an investor searching for a tax-efficient jurisdiction with beautiful weather and exceptional infrastructure, few places can seem as appealing as Monaco. The European city-state that regularly tops the lists of cities with the most millionaires per capita offers all the factors a high-net-worth individual would appreciate, while being positioned close to the world’s major financial centers. 

In this guide, we’ll examine your prospects for obtaining Monaco’s residency by investment. You’ll learn: 

• Whether the country has a Golden-Visa type residency program
• How being an investor can help you secure residency in Monaco
• What types of permits you can obtain
• What the citizenship pathway looks like for residents of Monaco
• How Monaco compares to other countries that attract investors for residence

Does Monaco Have a Residency by Investment Program?

Monaco doesn’t have a dedicated residency by investment program like the United Arab Emirates’ Golden Residency program or Panama’s Qualified Investor Visa. Instead, the country’s migration regulations are built around three core requirements: 

1. Economic self-sufficiency: You must be able to prove that you can support yourself financially in Monaco, either through your own means or salary or through the support of a spouse, partner, or relative
2. Accommodation: You have to be able to arrange accommodation in the country on your own, through a company, or with a spouse, partner, or a relative
3. Good character: You have to prove a lack of a criminal record in the five years preceding your application

Since it doesn’t operate a regular residency by investment program, Monaco doesn’t have some of the thresholds and mechanisms that other similar residency or citizenship programs have, such as: 

• A minimum investment amount when starting your business
• Points-based assessment
• Significant government fees 

Bonus read: To learn more about European residency by investment programs, read our guides on Portugal, Latvia, and Greece.

How To Meet Monaco’s Residency Requirements as an Investor

Monaco’s regulations allow you to meet the residence requirements without making any kind of investment in the country, as long as a Monaco resident is willing to support you financially and provide you with a place to live.

However, the more likely scenario is that you’ll have to make some form of investment in the country to be eligible for residence. The types of investments you can make include:

1. Real estate investment
2. Bank deposit with a local bank
3. Company formation

Real Estate Investment

You can make an investment in real estate in Monaco to meet the accommodation criteria. The same investment cannot be used to satisfy the economic self-sufficiency requirement—you will have to make a separate investment for it.

The regulations allow for two types of eligible ownership: 

1. Personal ownership, when you purchase an apartment or house in your own name
2. Company ownership, when a company in which you’re a director or owner of a share unit owns property

You can also meet the accommodation requirement by renting a house or apartment in Monaco. 

You should note that purchasing a property in Monaco requires significant funds, and that it might cost even more in the future: 

Type of Property	Average Price in 2025 (in millions)	Year-on-Year Average Price Increase
New property	EUR 40.8 (USD 47.4)	11.9%
Previously owned	EUR 7.6 (USD 8.8)	26.8%

The difference in the average price can be accounted for by the size of the property sold in each type. The vast majority of new properties sold were apartments with three or more rooms, while the previously owned property segment included smaller apartments.

Bank Deposit With a Local Bank

Placing a deposit with a bank in Monaco is an acceptable way to satisfy the economic self-sufficiency criteria. 

The government of Monaco doesn’t prescribe the required amount you should transfer to your Monégasque bank account. Instead, the amount is determined by the bank with which you have an account, and which will issue a reference confirming you have sufficient savings when you apply for residence. 

In practice, you should consider transferring at least EUR 500,000 (USD 580,000).

Company Formation

Establishing a business in Monaco is another way to meet the economic self-sufficiency requirements when applying for a residence permit. You will have to submit the business application to Monaco’s Business Development Agency and obtain confirmation of its admissibility before applying for a residence permit.

Even though the residency regulations don’t mandate a specific value for a business investment, other Monégasque laws do. They might also specify the number of partners you need to establish a business, depending on the type of company: 

Type of Company	Minimum Share Investment	Minimum Number of Shareholders
Société à responsabilité limitée (SARL)	EUR 15,000 (USD 17,500)	Two
Société anonyme monégasque (SAM)	EUR 150,000 (USD 175,000)	Two
Société en commandite simple (SCS)	/	Two
Société en nom collectif (SNC)	/	Two
Sole trader	/	One

Monaco Residency Permit Types and Application Process

Monaco’s residency permits allow you to stay in the country for more than three months. The permit’s validity and the required time spent in the country before being eligible to apply depend on the type of permit: 

Type of Permit	Validity Period	Previous Residence Requirement
Temporary permit	One year	None
Ordinary permit	Three years	Three years
Privilege permit	10 years	10 years

The temporary permit is the initial residence permit issued to new residents of Monaco. After renewing it twice, you become eligible for an ordinary permit, which you can renew until you qualify for the privilege permit. 

Obtaining the privilege permit is equivalent to obtaining permanent residency in Monaco, since it’s the longest-lasting permit and is also renewable. 

How To Apply for Monaco Residency

The application process for a residence permit in Monaco can be broken down into the following steps:

1. Secure accommodation and meet the economic self-sufficiency requirement
2. Prepare the supporting documents required when submitting the application
3. Apply for a long-stay (type D) visa at a French consular office
4. Apply for a residence permit with the Monégasque Residence Section

For investors, the first step involves purchasing or renting an apartment, as well as submitting a business application or transferring funds into an account in Monaco. 

The documents you will need when submitting the application include personal documents such as a copy of your passport and your birth certificate, as well as the documents to prove you meet the requirements, such as: 

• Property deed or a tenancy agreement
• Confirmation from the Business Development Agency
• Certificate of sufficient funds issued by your bank
• Criminal record certificate from the last country you lived in

If you are not a citizen of an EEA country, Switzerland, or Andorra, you must first obtain a long-stay visa through a French consular office before applying for Monaco residency. Citizens of these countries can apply for residency directly.

Once you have the required visa, you can submit your residency application to Monaco’s Residence Section online, by mail, or in person. Given the number of documents involved and the administrative complexity of the process, professional assistance is often advisable.

Monaco Citizenship Requirements

Monaco has restrictive citizenship requirements and doesn’t operate a citizenship by investment (CBI) program. The main citizenship pathways include:

• Citizenship by filiation, by being born to a Monégasque parent
• Citizenship by declaration, after being married to a Monégasque for 20 years, or 10 years for marriages that occurred before July 1, 2022 
• Citizenship by naturalization, after being a resident in the country for 10 years and meeting additional requirements

In addition to the mandatory residence, you can meet the citizenship by naturalization requirements in Monaco if you: 

• Have integrated well into Monaco’s social and economic life
• Don’t have any military service obligations with any other country
• Renounce your other citizenships, since Monaco doesn’t allow dual citizenship

Even if you meet the requirements and are prepared to renounce your citizenship as part of the application process, it’s not guaranteed that you will be awarded citizenship. The whole process is highly discretionary, with the final decision depending solely on Monaco’s head of state, the Sovereign Prince.

Bonus read: For information on countries that operate CBI programs, read our guides on Grenada, Turkey, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

How To Obtain Monaco Citizenship

After ensuring that you’ve met all the requirements for Monaco’s citizenship, you should submit an application to the Department of Justice, the body responsible for processing citizenship applications. 

Your application then undergoes an examination, during which it can be reviewed by other parts of the government, including the Ministry of State. In addition to your alignment with the criteria, your application will also be judged on your familial ties to the country, if any, as well as your overall worthiness of Monégasque citizenship. 

The bodies that examine your application give a recommendation to the Sovereign Prince, who has the final say on whether or not you’re granted citizenship. Since the process is highly discretionary, you may be turned down without any explanation. 

If you are approved for citizenship, the French authorities will be consulted regarding the decision as the final step before you are officially granted citizenship. 

Benefits of Monaco Citizenship

The citizens of Monaco enjoy many of the same benefits available to residents of the country. As a resident of Monaco, you are allowed to live and work in the country, become a tax resident, and enjoy the country’s:

• Favorable personal tax policies, with no personal income, wealth, property, or capital gains tax, and no gift and inheritance tax on assets abroad
• Favorable corporate tax policies, with a corporate income tax only applicable if the company makes 25% or more of its income abroad
• Safety and security, with a very low crime rate, a strong police presence for the country of its size, and a well-developed network of security cameras
• Position and infrastructure, which make it easy to reach the rest of Europe and the world via land, air, or sea

As a resident, you can travel freely within the Schengen Area. However, as a citizen of the country, you can be issued a Monégasque passport, which can greatly enhance your global mobility with visa-free or simplified access to more than 160 countries in the world. 

With the high cost of the program and an unpredictable outcome, especially if you are looking for citizenship, applying for Monaco residency can easily turn into a very costly mistake. For assistance in determining how becoming a resident of Monaco fits your global strategy and guidance on making it happen, contact Nomad Capitalist. 

Secure Your Residency in Monaco With Nomad Capitalist

Nomad Capitalist is an advisory firm that has helped more than 1,500 high-net-worth individuals obtain a second residency, optimize their tax position, or invest abroad. We assist our clients with their wealth preservation and global mobility goals, covering every step from strategy development to implementation. 

We integrate all our services into our core Action Plan offering. Using your current circumstances as a starting point and your desires as a goal, we develop a step-by-step blueprint that aligns with your unique situation and follows your desired timeline.

Here’s what partnering with Nomad Capitalist looks like: 

1. We ask you to fill out a form to help us determine whether we’re a good match
2. We schedule a 45-minute onboarding call to learn more about your circumstances and needs
3. Our agents develop an Action Plan and present it to you for approval
4. We implement the Plan over a year-long period, managing all the administrative parts
5. You continue receiving lifelong support from us, even after the Plan was implemented

Nomad Capitalist can help you determine whether residency and eventual citizenship align with your global mobility and financial plans. We can assess your likelihood of success based on our experience and assist you in pursuing a residency in Monaco. Our agents can also provide other second residency options if you are looking for alternatives to Monaco. Get your Action Plan today!