Monaco

There is no statutory or government-mandated deposit figure at all. The widely quoted EUR 500,000 comes from a May 2017 recommendation of the AMAF, the Monégasque banking association, not from law. Individual private banks now frequently require EUR 1,000,000 or more. The money is not a fee. It remains your capital, and the requirement is really a solvency test. You can also substitute a Monaco employment contract, an incorporated activity, or documented recurring income or support from a spouse or parent for the deposit entirely.

For most residents, yes, on personal income. Monaco has levied no personal income tax since an 1869 ordinance of Prince Charles III. There is no capital gains tax and no wealth tax for individuals. Inheritance is 0% between spouses and in the direct line, rising to 8% for siblings and 16% for unrelated parties, and it applies only to Monaco-situated assets. The major exception is French nationals. A corporate profits tax (ISB) of 25% also applies to companies earning more than a quarter of turnover outside Monaco. And the zero rate is worthless against a home-country residence test. If you keep ties elsewhere, you can still fail it.

Almost certainly not. Under the Franco-Monegasque convention of 18 May 1963, French nationals resident in Monaco remain taxable by France on worldwide income. The only way around this is to prove habitual residence in Monaco for the five years preceding 13 October 1962, meaning you were settled in Monaco before 13 October 1957. The common shorthand, resident before 1962, is wrong and understates the test in a way that matters. For any French national today, Monaco offers no income tax benefit whatsoever.

For the initial carte de sejour, you must intend to reside at least three months per year. For renewal, the Monaco Cour de Revision ruled on 12 July 2022 that the three-month minimum no longer applies. Renewal instead turns on a discretionary, case-by-case assessment of effective residence. Holders of the 10-year privilegiee card face stricter practical expectations, commonly described as around six months, though that is administrative practice rather than codified law. In short, this has to be a genuine move, and the authorities look at where you actually live.

Realistically, no. Treat Monaco as a residency play, not a citizenship one. In 2025, 170 people acquired Monégasque nationality. Only about 20 of those came by Sovereign Ordinance, against a total Monégasque population of 9,961 at 31 December 2025. Around 55% acquire it by filiation and 33% by marriage. Naturalisation requires 10 years' ordinary residence after age 18, and even then it rests entirely on the Sovereign Prince's personal discretion. There is no legal right to it, even if every condition is met. It also requires renouncing all prior nationalities, since Monaco does not permit dual citizenship. Anyone marketing Monaco citizenship as a product is selling something that does not exist.

Spouses and dependent children can be included, but each adult family member generally has to show their own accommodation and means. Given housing at roughly EUR 57,500 per m2 in 2025, and the separate solvency showing required, the real cost of bringing a family is considerable. Family reunification is possible in Monaco, but it is not automatic and it is not cheap.

Yes. Monaco has been on the FATF grey list since 27 June 2024 and remained listed as of the June 2026 plenary. In June 2026, the FATF determined that Monaco has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment. No date is set for that visit, and delisting is not confirmed. In the meantime, expect continued banking friction and enhanced due diligence when opening accounts and moving funds.

Yes. Monaco takes part in the CRS, and from 1 January 2026 it will apply the upgraded CRS 2.0 standard under a protocol signed with the EU on 13 October 2025. That extends reporting to digital assets and e-money. There is no banking secrecy benefit here. The zero income tax is a domestic feature, not a shield against information exchange.

The real cost is housing, not the refundable bank deposit. Monaco averaged about EUR 57,500 per m2 in 2025, and family-sized rentals run roughly EUR 10,000–45,000 per month. Budget EUR 150,000–500,000+ per year in rent alone, plus roughly EUR 10,000–30,000 in professional fees for the application. Rents are rising fast. They were up 6% in 2024 to about EUR 114.50/m2/month, with three-bedroom units up 56% to about EUR 142.30/m2/month. So you should model housing cost inflation rather than a flat figure. That housing commitment, not the deposit, is what actually filters applicants.