Monaco's first residence card: one year at a time, starting at a French consulate
The €80 temporary card is where every American's Monaco move begins. Getting it means a French long-stay visa, a home in Monaco, and a Monaco bank willing to vouch for you.
Written for U.S. passport holders who plan to live in Monaco, not just visit. Fees are as of September 2026, with dollars at that month's exchange rate.
Who gets approved
Money decides this, not paperwork
Unless you're married to a Monégasque, your first card is this one-year card. What gets you approved is how you'll support yourself: a Monaco job, a business authorized there, or savings and pension income.
For most Americans, it's the last one. The law names no figure, but Monaco's banks follow a common bar of €500,000 (about $568,000) on deposit for applicants without work in Monaco, and that bank's reference letter goes in your file.
Here's the catch: the card is for people who'll actually live in Monaco. It won't work as a tax address, it isn't a work permit, and citizenship later means giving up your U.S. passport.
Four figures to plan around
$91
First temporary card
€80; each renewal €40 (about $45)
$568,000
Usual Monaco bank deposit
€500,000, the banks' shared bar
$6,070
Average price per sq ft, 2025
€57,569 per m², IMSEE
1 year
Card validity
renewed yearly until year three
The process
From consulate to card, in order
- Set up the Monaco side first. You need a lease or deed for a home big enough for your household, and a Monaco bank that will write you a reference. Some smaller banks turn away Americans because of FATCA reporting.
- Get the long-stay visa for Monaco at the French consulate nearest your U.S. home. The fee is €99 (about $112). You can't arrive visa-free and file from Monaco: you need the visa to apply.
- Gather the file: passport with the visa, a birth certificate under 3 months old, a criminal record extract under 3 months old from every country you've lived in for the past 5 years (an FBI check for most Americans), proof of housing, the bank reference, and a signed declaration of honor.
- File with the Residency Section, online or on paper. After review, they call to set up a personal interview.
- Pay €80 and collect your card.
There's no official processing time. Relocation firms report two to five months overall.
Three months, and what counts as living there
Three months a year is when you need a card, not a legal minimum for keeping one: in July 2022 Monaco's Tribunal Suprême ruled that three months' presence isn't a renewal condition. Renewals still check that you genuinely live there, starting with the recent electricity bill you hand in each year. A residence certificate, used for many local paperwork tasks, normally takes six months in Monaco.
Work, family, health and taxes on this card
Work takes a separate permit
Your employer applies to Monaco's Department of Employment and must consider Monaco residents, then French residents, then EU citizens before an American. Self-employed? You need authorization from the Direction de l'Expansion Économique.
Family members file too
Anyone 16 or older in your household needs their own card. Children under 16 get a document de circulation instead.
Bring private health coverage
Monaco's public insurance is tied to work, so retirees and people living on savings buy private coverage. The hospital is Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace.
The IRS still expects a return
Monaco has no personal income tax and no tax treaty with the U.S., so you file on worldwide income. The 2026 foreign earned income exclusion ($132,900) covers earned income only, and foreign accounts over $10,000 in total mean an FBAR.
Staying on
Renewals, then the longer cards
Renew every year, on or before the expiry date. It's €40 (about $45), and there's a €50 (about $57) late fee if you miss the date. Bring your passport, a sworn statement, a recent electricity bill, a rent receipt if you rent, and fresh proof of means. While it's valid, the card also lets you travel in the Schengen area without a separate visa, but the government warns that traveling on an expired one can keep you from getting back in.
After three years in Monaco, you can move up to the ordinary card, valid three years. After ten years of genuine residence comes the privileged card, valid ten.
Ten years after age 18 also lets you ask the Prince for citizenship. It's discretionary, and you'd have to renounce U.S. citizenship first.
Help with the parts Monaco's file doesn't cover
Hunter Schultz
Healthcare Coach
Hunter Schultz is a healthcare coach for Americans abroad, working through how you'll get care and what coverage to carry.
ExpatInsure
Global Health Insurance
ExpatInsure brokers global health insurance, lining up international plans side by side for people living outside the U.S.
MyExpatTaxes
U.S. Expat Tax Service
MyExpatTaxes prepares U.S. returns for Americans living abroad, including FBAR filings.
Moneycorp
Currency Exchange
Moneycorp handles currency exchange and international transfers, useful when dollars need to become euros in a Monaco account.
Monaco temporary residence card questions
Can Americans apply for Monaco residency after arriving visa-free?
No. Americans need a long-stay visa for Monaco, issued by the French consulate nearest their U.S. home, before they can apply for a Monaco residence card. Monaco's government says the visa is required to file.
How long does it take to get a Monaco temporary residence card?
Monaco publishes no official processing time. Relocation firms report two to five months overall, with the French long-stay visa adding several weeks before the Monaco file starts.
Can you work in Monaco on a temporary residence card?
Not on the card alone. A Monaco employer has to apply for your work authorization, and priority goes to Monaco residents, then French residents, then EU citizens. Starting your own business needs authorization from the Direction de l'Expansion Économique.
How much money do you need for a Monaco residence card?
Monaco's law sets no fixed amount; it asks for proof of sufficient means. In practice, Monaco's banks follow a common bar of €500,000 (about $568,000 in September 2026) on deposit for applicants who won't be working in Monaco, and a Monaco bank reference is part of the application.
Do Americans living in Monaco still pay U.S. taxes?
Yes. Monaco has no personal income tax, but the U.S. taxes citizens on worldwide income and there's no U.S.-Monaco tax treaty. Americans keep filing U.S. returns, and foreign accounts over $10,000 in total require an FBAR.
Do children need their own Monaco residence card?
Children under 16 get a travel document called a document de circulation instead of a card. From age 16, each family member applies for a residence card of their own.
Do you have to live in Monaco three months a year to keep a residence card?
Not as a fixed legal rule. In July 2022 Monaco's Tribunal Suprême ruled that three months' presence isn't a condition for renewal. The authorities can still refuse a card if you don't genuinely live in Monaco, and renewals ask for a recent electricity bill.
Can an American become a citizen of Monaco?
Only after at least ten years of residence in Monaco after age 18, and only at the Prince's discretion. Naturalization also requires renouncing your previous nationality, so an American would give up U.S. citizenship.
Lining up the bank, the lease and the consulate?
An Expatsi advisor can help you put the Monaco steps in the right order before you book anything.
Why not you?