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Monaco residence card – who gets the carte de séjour, which visa you need and what each card costs

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Every foreigner over 16 who stays more than three months needs a Monaco residence card, the carte de séjour, and the fees have not moved since 2021. What has changed is the road to it: Brexit, the EU's new border system and a hiring route that is now fully digital. Here is who needs what.

A woman on a bench outside a stone public building in Monaco reads her passport and a folder of documents, the hillside of apartment blocks and the sea behind
Illustration: Relocate in Europe

The Monaco residence card, the carte de séjour (formerly carte de résident), is issued under the Franco-Monegasque Neighbourhood Convention of 18 May 1963 and Sovereign Ordinance 3.153 of 19 March 1964. The rules are stable: the ordinance was last amended in June 2021, the fees have been unchanged since 1 January 2021, and Legimonaco's index of legislative work lists no bill on residence cards. The news is around the card: the EU Entry/Exit System, and UK citizens as third-country nationals.

Who needs a Monaco residence card?

Anyone aged 16 or over who stays in Monaco more than three months a year, or settles there, must apply – French and EU citizens included – within eight days of arrival, and may stay only with a valid provisional receipt until the card is issued. Children under 16 get no card but a free Document de Circulation pour Étranger Mineur (travel document for foreign minors), valid up to five years but no longer than the child's 16th birthday or the parent's card; a child already in Monaco applies within eight days of turning 16.

Three conditions apply to everyone: housing in Monaco suited to the household (as owner, tenant, or hosted by a close relative, spouse or partner); sufficient resources (a salary, business income, savings, or support from a relative, spouse or partner); and good character, shown by a criminal record extract under three months old from each country of residence in the previous five years.

The four cards, what they cost and how long they last

CardWhoValidFirst cardRenewal
Temporaire (temporary)Newcomers – no prior residence required1 year€80€40
Ordinaire (ordinary)After 3 years of residence3 years€100€50
Privilégié (privileged)After 10 years of residence with effective presence10 years€160€80
Conjoint de Monégasque (spouse of a Monegasque)After 1 year of residence5 years€80€40

Source: MonServicePublic and Ministerial Order 2020-814 on Legimonaco, read 24 September 2026.

The fees come from Ministerial Order 2020-814 of 30 November 2020, in force since 1 January 2021, which also sets €50 for a late renewal, €80 for a duplicate and €30 for a new card after a change of civil status, family situation or address. The ten years for the privileged card fall to one for a foreign parent of a Monegasque child. Part 15 covers it.

A temporary card can never outlast the visa that let you enter, is renewed only if you still meet the conditions – a work permit or sufficient means – and can be withdrawn if you do not. The fee is paid at handover; no official processing time is published.

Which route: EU/EEA, French, UK or non-EU citizen?

You are a citizen ofBefore you arriveWhere the file goes
An EU or EEA state, Switzerland, Andorra, San Marino or the VaticanNothing – a valid identity card or passport is enoughThe Monegasque authorities, who inform the French Ambassador in Monaco
FranceFree entry and settlement under the 1963 convention, with your French identity cardThe Section des Résidents, like everyone else
The United KingdomSince 1 January 2021 the non-EEA route; relatives of a British resident have no special statusFrench consulate nearest your last home, then the Section des Résidents
Any other countryA long-stay establishment visa (type D) for MonacoFrench consulate nearest your last home, with Monaco's agreement
Any other country, settled in France for over a yearA transfer of residenceThe French Embassy in Monaco

Source: MonServicePublic and the Neighbourhood Convention on Legimonaco, read 24 September 2026.

The visa is French, not Monegasque – Monaco is neither an EU member nor a Schengen member – but it is issued only with the Monegasque authorities' agreement. According to the France-Visas page for Monaco, the file includes a CV explaining why you want to settle, a legalised or apostilled and translated birth certificate, proof of housing, financial proof such as a Monaco bank certificate, a criminal record extract and, for employees, a work contract endorsed by the Service de l'Emploi. No visa fee appears on the official pages read. Without the visa you cannot lodge a card application; only a foreigner already in Monaco with accommodation may ask the Département de l'Intérieur to complete the formalities at the French Embassy in Monaco.

Anna, a British designer of 27, has another option: the Youth Mobility Scheme lets UK citizens aged 18 to 30 with at least €2,000 in savings stay up to 12 months, each job limited to six months, for a €150 fee. She still needs the French long-stay visa, which the Government warns can take up to four months.

Family, students, retirees and entrepreneurs: the extra documents

The core file is the same for everyone: passport (with the visa where required), a birth certificate under three months old, the criminal record extracts, the signed sworn statement, the electricity contract or bill, and a title deed, a registered lease or a free-hosting certificate. Documents not in French, English or Italian need a sworn translation.

SituationAdd to the file
MarriedMarriage certificate
Children under 16Each child's passport or identity card; custody or adoption papers
Hosted by family or partnerFree-hosting certificate signed by the host, with the host's lease or title deed
Supported by a relative, spouse or partnerSupport letter plus proof of that person's resources
StudentProof of student status
RetireeProof of pension
EmployeeService de l'Emploi document: promise of employment, hiring request, or work permit and latest payslip
Self-employed or company managerTrade register (RCI) extract under three months old
Future company founderReceipt from the Direction du Développement Économique that the creation request is admissible
Living on savingsCertificate from a Monaco bank, less than one month old; the bank sets the sufficient amount

Source: MonServicePublic, read 24 September 2026.

A hosting certificate is not a formality: the dwelling must offer a living room of at least 25 square metres, a separate sanitary room and 15 square metres of bedroom per person, and it can be refused. The residence-card page still names the Direction de l'Expansion Économique for the founder's receipt; that body became the Direction du Développement Économique in 2023 under Ordinance 9.827. Health insurance is not on the list – part 8 explains cover for non-working residents.

Renewal, travel and the EU border system

Every resident must renew at the latest on the card's expiry date; for the ordinary card the request is lodged during the month before expiry. Missing the deadline without valid excuse means the fine under Article 29 §1 of the Penal Code, €15 to €75, on top of the €50 late-renewal fee. You bring your passport, the sworn statement, the latest electricity bill, the latest rent receipt if you rent and proof of means. Any change of address or job must be reported within eight days.

For travel, a non-EEA resident carries a valid passport plus the valid card, which serves as a short-stay Schengen visa and is required to return to Monaco; the card is not an identity document. EEA residents do not need it to travel within the EU. Because all four Monaco cards are on the Schengen list of residence permits, residents with a valid card are not registered in the EU Entry/Exit System, in force since 12 October 2025 and at every border post since 10 April 2026. Lose the card abroad and you ask the section by email for a carte de secours (emergency card).

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Find your row in the nationality tableBefore you plan the move
2Non-EEA and UK citizens: apply for the establishment visaBefore any step in Monaco
3Secure housing; order criminal record extracts and a fresh birth certificateNothing may be older than three months when you file
4File the application and keep the provisional receiptWithin eight days of arrival
5Interview with originals, then enrolment; pay €80When invited
6Diary the expiry date; report changes of address or jobRenew by expiry; report within eight days

Source: MonServicePublic and Legimonaco, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.