How to move to Andorra with your children: a guide to preparing your family relocation

Moving to Andorra with your children is not simply a matter of changing countries and finding a new home. For a family, the project affects almost every aspect of daily life: residency, school, languages, healthcare coverage, housing, and the children’s integration. It is often when preparing the move in practical terms that questions arise. Which education system should you choose? Will a child who does not speak Catalan be able to adapt? When should you start looking for accommodation? How does healthcare coverage work? And above all, in what order should all these procedures be carried out?

Andorra has an interesting feature for expatriate families: several cultures and languages coexist within a relatively small territory. This diversity can make certain aspects of settling in easier, but it also requires parents to make choices that will have a direct impact on their children’s daily lives and education. Here are the main points to understand before preparing a family move to the Principality!

Preparing your residency in Andorra when you have children

The first step is to determine under which status the family will be able to reside in Andorra. The procedures are not exactly the same depending on whether one of the parents comes to work in the Principality, develops a professional activity there, or settles under another residence scheme. This distinction should be established before preparing the family application. It determines, in particular, the supporting documents to be provided and the conditions that the main applicant must meet.

Preparing the necessary documents

In practice, you will need documents establishing the identity of the family members, their family relationship, and their personal circumstances. Passports or identity documents, the children’s birth certificates, and, depending on the situation, a marriage certificate or document establishing the parents’ union are generally among the documents to prepare in advance.

Documents relating to accommodation, financial resources, and healthcare coverage may also be required. Adults should also expect to provide certain documents relating to their background, including a criminal record certificate when this is required as part of the relevant procedure.

One point deserves particular attention: a document that is valid in its country of origin cannot necessarily be used as is in Andorra. Depending on the country that issued it and the procedure being followed, an official translation, apostille, or legalisation may be required.

It is therefore better to check the requirements applicable to your own application before ordering and translating all the documents. This precaution avoids paying for an unnecessary translation or, conversely, discovering at the last minute that an essential document is not acceptable.

Keep track of changes to immigration requirements

As immigration requirements may change, it is also preferable not to organise your move based on imprecise information. First-hand accounts are useful for understanding how a relocation works, but the final list of supporting documents and residence requirements should be checked with the relevant Andorran authorities at the time of application.

With children, this preparation becomes particularly important. A missing document does not simply delay an administrative procedure: it can affect housing, social security coverage, or the organisation of the school year.

Choose the school before moving, not afterwards

Schooling is probably one of the decisions that deserves the most consideration when a family moves to Andorra. The Principality has the particularity of having Andorran, French, and Spanish education systems operating alongside one another. There are also private schools offering other educational or language approaches. The choice should not be based solely on the language the child speaks today.

You should also think about how long you intend to stay and what will happen afterwards. A family planning to remain in Andorra permanently does not necessarily have the same priorities as a French family considering returning to France a few years later. Similarly, parents who want to encourage strong local integration may approach the issue differently from those whose main priority is maintaining continuity with the curriculum the child is already following.

The child’s age also matters. A new language may feel relatively natural to a young child, whereas changing the language of instruction at a more advanced stage of schooling requires greater support.

Before choosing a school, it would be preferable to speak directly with the school. Beyond the curriculum, parents can ask how new students are supported, which languages are actually used on a daily basis, how language support is organised, and how the school manages the arrival of a child partway through their education.

For enrolment, schools generally require documents to verify the child’s identity, family situation, and previous schooling. Depending on the school and the level concerned, the application may include proof of residence, previous school records, and information relating to health or vaccinations. As procedures and deadlines are not necessarily the same across the different systems, contacting the chosen school sufficiently early remains the safest approach.

Catalan, French and Spanish: how do children experience the transition?

The question of languages often worries parents more than children. Catalan is the official language of Andorra. French and Spanish also play an important role in the country, while the chosen education system largely determines the languages the child will encounter during their school days.

For a child arriving without speaking Catalan or Spanish, the first few weeks may naturally require some effort. Two difficulties need to be distinguished: understanding lessons and being able to communicate spontaneously with other children. The second aspect is sometimes underestimated. A child may make good academic progress while still needing more time to feel comfortable enough to joke, play, or make friends in a new language.

Before the start of the school year, it can be useful to gradually familiarise the child with the words they will actually use: introducing themselves, asking for help, understanding common instructions, talking about their hobbies, or simply taking part in a game. The aim is not to make them follow an intensive programme before moving. A few basic reference points can already considerably reduce the feeling of losing control during the first few days.

Once there, the school can explain the support available for students learning a new language. These arrangements depend on the education system and the school. This is something to check directly when enrolling rather than assuming that all schools offer exactly the same level of support.

At home, it is important not to turn every conversation into a language lesson. A child who is simultaneously changing home, school, country, and circle of friends also needs to have a familiar environment.

Healthcare: understand the CASS before you need it

Healthcare coverage is another issue to address before moving. The Andorran social security system is based in particular on the CASS, the Andorran Social Security Fund. However, a family’s exact situation depends on their residence status and the parents’ affiliation.

It would be wise to check carefully, before leaving, who will be affiliated, from what date, under what conditions the children will be covered, and what proportion of expenses may remain the family’s responsibility. You also need to distinguish between access to healthcare and reimbursement. Being able to see a doctor does not necessarily mean that the entire consultation or treatment will be covered.

Supplementary insurance may be worthwhile depending on the household’s situation and the level of coverage sought. Here again, it is better to check the conditions applicable at the time of moving rather than relying on an isolated reimbursement percentage, which may depend on the treatment, the healthcare professional consulted, and the healthcare pathway followed.

For children, remember to bring their health records, medical history, current prescriptions, and vaccination records. If a child is undergoing regular treatment, arranging continuity of care before moving is much more comfortable than having to find a solution once the medication is almost exhausted.

As medical information and reimbursement arrangements may change, decisions regarding the family’s healthcare coverage should be based on official information from the CASS and the relevant healthcare organisations.

Where should you live in Andorra with children?

When you look at Andorra on a map, the distances seem tiny. This is true geographically, but it does not mean that the location of your home is secondary. With children, a few kilometres can change the entire organisation of a day. The right home is not necessarily the largest apartment your budget allows. It is the one that works with the family’s actual routine.

Before signing a lease, imagine an ordinary day. What time will you need to leave for school? Who will take the children? Where will you work? Are extracurricular activities nearby? Can you make the journeys easily when winter conditions are less favourable?

Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany allow you to be close to a large proportion of services and shops. Other parishes, particularly La Massana, Ordino, or Sant Julià de Lòria, may appeal to families looking for a different environment or wanting to be closer to a school, workplace, or certain activities.

A family with two teenagers attending a specific school will not have the same constraints as a couple with a child in kindergarten. This is why choosing the school first and then looking for accommodation can, in many cases, help avoid poorly planned daily commutes.

What budget should you plan for housing?

Housing represents a significant part of the relocation budget and should be assessed based on the market available at the time of the move. Rents can vary considerably depending on the parish, size, condition of the property, location, amenities offered, and time of year. A national average or a single rental example rarely provides enough information to prepare a realistic family budget.

The most useful approach is to look at listings that exactly match your criteria a few weeks or months before moving. Compare properties with the number of bedrooms you actually need, in parishes that work with your school and workplace. Then, add the other housing-related expenses to the advertised rents. In particular, you should anticipate the amounts required when moving in, any fees related to real estate intermediation, as well as ongoing charges and everyday expenses.

This analysis can also reveal an important point: gaining a few extra square metres is not always the best trade-off. A slightly smaller home that is close to the school and the children’s activities can make the week considerably easier to manage.

For a first move, some families prefer to start with a temporary solution. This may sometimes cost more over a short period, but it allows them to explore the different parishes before committing to a longer-term home.