Visa to Monaco

Monaco is a small Mediterranean principality known for its Azure Coast, full of entertainment venues, the Monte Carlo area, a very high standard of living and the willingness of European investors to invest in local businesses.

You can come to this country with a Schengen visa or with a category D entry permit issued by France. To visit Monaco, you must submit the documents for verification together with the completed questionnaire to the French consulate.

Here are the advantages that open up to holders of a visa to this state:

• legal residence in a country from which you can freely fly or travel to any EU country, and a permit to travel to the USA, Canada or Australia will be issued faster than usual; 
• mild climate and proximity to the sea; 
• no taxes on income received from abroad, income tax and capital gains tax; 
• after ten years of stay in Monaco, it is allowed to apply for citizenship on a visa; 
• the crime rate tends to zero;
• all or almost all medical services necessary for an adult are available under an insurance policy; 
• first-class service and an active cultural life; 
• the quality of construction is in the first places according to the rating of EU countries.

The approximate time for obtaining a visa to Monaco through the French consulate is 5-12 working days for short–term permits (tourism, business trip) and up to 3 months for long–term permits (for studies, for legal employment).

Freelancer Visa

In 2024, the authorities of the principality do not offer special residence permits to remote employees of foreign companies. For foreigners interested in moving to Monaco on the basis of employment, a classic work visa is available for hiring in a local company and a residence permit for opening a new business or a branch of a foreign corporation.

How much does a visa cost?

The consular fee for obtaining a Schengen visa to Monaco for one adult foreigner is 90 €. If a person travels with a family where there are minor children, he must pay 45 € for each child. The French Consulate accepts the collection in cash. If a foreigner submits documents for verification through a private visa application center, the services of assistants must be paid separately.

Types of visas

There are four main types of entry permits:

• tourist visa (type C) – issued for a specific trip along an agreed route, allows you to visit other European countries; 
• business visa for business trips or to visit relatives/ acquaintances (type C or D) – issued for business trips and participation in professional events or to visit relatives, respectively; 
• for studies (type D) – it allows you to receive full-time higher education at universities in Monaco; 
• working (type D) – suitable for hiring a job in a local company. 

The authorities of Monaco offer a special residence permit to financially independent foreigners, their spouses and children under 18 years of age and a residence permit based on starting a business.

Student's

The registration period is 1,5-3 months.

Foreign students intending to study in the Principality under the Bachelor's or master's degree program in French, request a student visa from the French Consulate. An important condition: you need to enroll in the International University of Monaco, designed for future managers and ready to accept citizens of other countries.

To apply for a student visa, you need to have an electronic contract for studying at a university, provide an international certificate of proficiency in French at the B2+ level, rent a house and show your financial security before the end of the course. The latter means an extract from the bank, where funds are stored at the rate of 2,000 € for each month of stay in Monaco. A minor student additionally needs a sponsor, which may be one of the parents or both.

The student's visa is valid for 12 months, after which it is extended for the same period and ends with the receipt of a diploma of higher education.

A residence permit in Monaco for study allows you to legally stay in the country and visit all countries of the Schengen area. Holders of this type of residence permit are prohibited from working full-time within the EU.  

Tourist

The deadline for registration is 14 days.

To travel to Monaco to explore architecture, nature and local culture without the right to legally work in the EU, open your own company and go to university, you need to apply for a French Schengen type C visa. A single entry permit for a tourist is valid until the tour ends. You can move within the Schengen area, but you should stay in Monaco most of the time.

In addition to the standard set of documents, before issuing a travel permit, foreigners are checked for hotel reservations and asked to scan plane ticket receipts. A prerequisite is to show the route of the trip.

Business (for business trips)

The deadline for registration is 7 working days.

A business visa is suitable for business travelers from foreign companies who travel to Monaco to solve commercial problems. For example, conducting negotiations and concluding contracts. It is impossible to get a job in the principality or in another EU country with such a permit document.

The first business visa is given for a specific business trip, the subsequent ones are for multiple visits to Monaco for a certain period of time. For example, 90 days.

Important 

The French consulate will check the invitation from a company registered in the principality, ask to show a work certificate and documents for which the foreigner is flying to Monaco to sign.   

Working (to work legally in the country)

The review period is up to 60 days.

The basis for issuing such a visa to Monaco is an employment contract concluded with a company registered in the principality or with a local branch of an international company. The French Consulate will issue a residence permit in the country for as long as the contract is valid. If the company decides to renegotiate the contract, you will not need to leave Monaco to extend your visa.

The tasks of the receiving party include renting housing for an employee and issuing an invitation. The obligation of a foreign employee is to buy a medical insurance policy for 30,000 €, legalize and translate into French all documents, including a diploma and a work record.

Residence permit for financially independent foreigners and businessmen

The registration period is up to 4 months.

Those wishing to move to Monaco on the basis of financial independence from the local economy can request a residence permit after buying a property or depositing an amount of 500,000 € into an account with one of the principality's banks. Such foreigners will have to spend at least 183 days a year in the country in order to maintain tax residency.

To obtain a residence permit for starting a business, the applicant should draw up a business project and show it to a representative of the French consulate, create an authorized capital of 15,000 € for LLC and 150,000 € for JSC, buy or rent an office.

It is important to understand that the economy of Monaco belongs to the most developed in the world. Therefore, the entrepreneur will have to prove the need to open a new local company with foreign participation. 

Required documents

All applicants for an entry permit to Monaco must submit a list to the French Consulate in person or through the visa application center:

• consent to the processing of personal data;
• a copy of the national passport with translation, but without certification;
• a valid biometric passport with 3 blank sheets;
• photos in 35x45 mm color; 
• a bank statement with a French translation with an amount of at least 113 € per day per person entering;
• a receipt for paying for plane tickets;
• booking a room in hotel or apartment;
• medical insurance in the amount of 30,000 €.

Applicants for study, guest, business and work visas add other documents described earlier to the basic list of documents. The same applies to investors and businessmen.

Recent changes in the visa issue of Monaco

Providing a basic set of documents and a sufficient amount of funds in a bank account that is not on the EU and US «blacklist» is usually enough to make a positive decision on the application.

A short–term Schengen C visa issued by the French consulate for travel to France itself or to Monaco is the easiest way to Europe in 2024. Consideration of the application and decision-making takes up to 7 working days, if the documents are in order. According to statistics, even those who have faced refusals when contacting consulates of other European countries often receive a positive response. It is important to remember that without a history of travel to the EU, you should count on a short-term C visa issued for a specific trip. You will have to spend most of your time in the country that gave you permission to enter – that is, in France or Monaco.