Working in Monaco: the job offer comes before the residence card
A Monaco employer has to choose you over local priority candidates before any permit or card is possible. Here's the hiring rule, the French visa step, what it costs, and who this route fits.
Written for U.S. citizens with a job offer, or a serious lead, from a company based in Monaco. Fees and wages are current as of September 2026.
How hiring works
Your employer has to clear a priority list first
No foreigner can hold a private-sector job in Monaco without a work permit, and your employer can't simply pick you. It declares the job to the Employment Office, which gets 4 clear days to send candidates with priority: Monégasques and their families, then Monaco residents, then people in four neighboring French towns who've already worked in Monaco.
Only if none of them fits can the employer put you forward. So this route suits people with skills an employer will wait for, and it needs a Monaco employer. Self-employment runs through a separate business authorization.
Costs and deadlines at a glance
$112
French long-stay visa
€99 full rate; dollars at September 2026 rates
$91
First Monaco residence card
€80; each renewal €40 (about $45)
4 days
Head start for priority candidates
before your employer can propose you
8 days
To file for your card after arriving
set by Monaco's 1964 ordinance
Our data
Employment-Based Residence Permit
Available if a Monaco employer sponsors the applicant and can prove the position cannot be filled locally. Rarely granted due to Monaco's small job market and preference for local hires.
- Processing time
- ~90 days
- Timeline
- Varies
- Difficulty
- Hard
Key requirements
- Job offer from a Monaco-based employer
- Employer must demonstrate the role cannot be filled by a local resident
- Valid Type D visa
- Proof of accommodation
- Clean criminal record
- Health insurance
The process
From signed offer to residence card
1. Work permit
Once the job clears the priority check, your employer files for your work authorization and you take a mandatory medical exam.
2. French visa
Monaco's long-stay visa is issued by France. Apply at the French consulate for where you live, with the documents approved by Monaco's Employment Service, a form filled in online then printed and signed, and recent criminal records covering the past five years.
3. Arrival and card
File for residence within 8 days of arriving, with a Monaco home big enough for your household. Bring originals to the police interview. Your work permit counts as your proof of means, and the first card is temporary, valid one year.
Timing
There's no official total. One guide puts work authorization at 2 to 6 weeks, the consulate at 20 to 40 working days, and the residence card at 1 to 3 months.
Help with the paperwork and the U.S. side
Hunter Schultz
Healthcare Coach
A healthcare coach for Americans overseas, Hunter Schultz works through where you'll get care and what coverage to carry.
ExpatInsure
Global Health Insurance
ExpatInsure brokers international health insurance plans for people living outside the U.S.
MyExpatTaxes
U.S. Expat Tax Service
MyExpatTaxes prepares U.S. returns for Americans living abroad, including the foreign earned income exclusion and FBAR reports.
Legalize That Doc
Document Preparation
Legalize That Doc handles document preparation for paperwork you'll use in another country.
Most people with Monaco jobs live in France
Nine in ten private-sector employees in Monaco live somewhere else. In 2024, more than 48,000 of them lived in France. With a central one-bedroom at $8,600 a month in our data, it's easy to see why. Living in France means French income tax and a separate French residence process. We couldn't find an official route spelled out for Americans, so get advice before you plan on it.
After you arrive
Living on a Monaco paycheck
Pay
The minimum wage is €12.31 an hour, or €2,080.39 a month for 169 hours (about $2,360), as of June 2026, on a standard 39-hour week. Our data puts a single person's monthly budget at $10,900, so your salary needs to sit far above the floor.
Your family
Your spouse can't work on your permit and needs their own. A spouse and children living in Monaco or France can share your CCSS health coverage, which starts once you've worked at least 120 hours in a month.
Changing jobs
A new employer means a new work permit, and you have to report the change for your residence card.
Taxes
Monaco doesn't tax residents' income, but the U.S. still does. For 2026 the foreign earned income exclusion shelters up to $132,900 of salary, and foreign accounts over $10,000 in total need an FBAR.
The long run
Renew the one-year card through your first three years, then move to the three-year ordinary card and, after 10 years, the privileged card. Naturalization takes 10 years' residence after age 18 and renouncing your other nationality, U.S. included.
Other ways to live in Monaco
Monaco's ordinary residence card: the 3-year step after your first cards
What Americans already living in Monaco pay, file and prove to move from a one-year card to a three-year one, and keep it.
Monaco's privileged residence card: the 10-year card you earn with 10 years of living there
After a decade on one- and three-year cards, Monaco can grant a card that lasts ten years. Here's the fee, the residence check behind it, and what it still means for a U.S. citizen.
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.
Monaco's long-stay visa: the French stamp Americans need first
Monaco doesn't issue visas. France does, through its consulates in the U.S., and without that visa Monaco won't open your residence file. Here's what goes in it, what it costs, and the deadlines that trip people up.
Monaco work permit questions
What happens to my Monaco residence if I change or lose my job?
A new job needs a new work permit, filed by the new employer, and you must report the change for your residence card. Monaco's residence rules accept either a work permit or proof of enough money to live on, so without a job you'd need to show other means.
Can I live in France and work in Monaco?
Many people do: nine in ten private-sector employees in Monaco live outside it. You'd still need a Monaco work permit, you'd pay French income tax, and as a non-European you'd need the right to live in France, which is a separate French process to check before you commit.
How long does it take to move to Monaco for a job?
Monaco publishes no total. One relocation guide puts the work authorization at 2 to 6 weeks, French visa processing at 20 to 40 working days, and the residence card at 1 to 3 months. Once you arrive, you have 8 days to file for the card.
How much does a Monaco residence card cost?
The first temporary card costs €80 (about $91 as of September 2026) and each renewal €40 (about $45). The three-year ordinary card you can move to later costs €100 (about $114), then €50 to renew.
Do I pay income tax on a Monaco salary?
Monaco doesn't tax residents' income, but U.S. citizens still file and owe U.S. tax, and there's no U.S.-Monaco tax treaty. For 2026 the foreign earned income exclusion covers up to $132,900 of wages. If you live in France instead, French income tax applies.
Can my spouse work in Monaco if I have a work permit?
Not on your permit. A spouse needs their own work authorization, which means their own Monaco employer and the same hiring priority check. A spouse and children living in Monaco or France can share your Monaco health insurance.
Can an American get a job in Monaco?
Yes, but the employer has to clear Monaco's hiring priority rules first. The job goes to the Employment Office, which has 4 clear days to send priority candidates such as Monégasques and Monaco residents. If none fits, the employer can propose you and apply for your work permit.
Who applies for a Monaco work permit, me or my employer?
Your employer files the work authorization request with Monaco's Employment Service. Your part is the mandatory medical exam, then the French long-stay visa and your Monaco residence card.
Do Americans need a visa to move to Monaco for work?
Yes. To stay longer than three months, Americans need a long-stay visa for Monaco, which France issues through the French consulate for where you live. The full-rate fee is €99, about $112 as of September 2026.
Got a Monaco offer on the table?
Walk through the hiring rules, the French visa and the U.S. tax side with an Expatsi advisor before you sign.
Why not you?