Retiring in Anguilla as a French National: Stay, Taxation of the Pension and Health

The official pages consulted (Immigration Department, visa portal, tourist board) describe neither a visa nor a residence permit specific to retirees. A French national is listed as “visa not required” by the government’s visa portal at the date of consultation; the tourist board requires a passport valid beyond departure and return or onward tickets. The length of stay for a visitor was not read: an extension is requested with form 1-1 (EC$150, i.e. about €50, rate shown on the official page), and the visitor leaves the island when the extended period expires. For a residence project, the Immigration Department (264 497 3994, immigration@gov.ai) is the contact.

Three routes to lasting settlement emerge from the sources read. Belonger status is obtained by descent, by five years of marriage to a belonger or by fifteen years of residence; the last route requires a notarised affidavit on time spent in Anguilla, two testimonials, a criminal record, a health certificate and proof of activity. The resident stamp is for people married to an Anguillian or a belonger. The residence by investment programme, presented on the Select Anguilla portal linked from the government website, provides a right to reside for US$150,000 paid into a development fund, plus US$50,000 per dependant, or for a property investment of US$750,000 for a family of four; verification fees of US$7,500 per adult and processing fees are added, and approval is announced within three months. The spouse and children up to 26 in full-time study can be included.

The portal also presents a “High Value Resident” tax status (US$75,000 a year, a property of at least US$400,000, a minimum of 45 days’ presence) reserved for people prepared to no longer be tax resident elsewhere. These programmes are a major financial choice: the detailed conditions should be checked with the official body before any commitment.

The BOFiP list of tax treaties in force does not include Anguilla, and the entry devoted to the United Kingdom mentions no extension to a territory. The BOFiP list of tax information exchange agreements mentions an agreement of 30 December 2010, in force since 15 December 2011, on the exchange of information; it does not replace a double taxation treaty. Tax domicile remains defined by article 4 B of the CGI (French General Tax Code; home or main place of stay, professional activity, centre of economic interests); a single criterion is enough to be domiciled in France.

For a retiree who has become a non-resident, impots.gouv.fr indicates that income of French source is taxable in France, subject to the treaty concluded with the state of residence, and that pensions are of French source when the pension fund is established in France. As no treaty exists here, no text read limits this taxation. The pension fund applies a withholding tax: after a 10% allowance, under a scale of 0%, 12% and 20% whose brackets are revised each year; the first two bands are final and the 20% withholding is creditable against tax. The pension is declared every year online. Without the average rate option, a non-resident’s tax cannot be lower than 20% up to €29,579 of net taxable income, then 30%; the average rate applies if the tax rate calculated on worldwide income is more favourable. The thresholds change every year.

On the local side, the Inland Revenue Department’s list of taxes includes no personal income tax (GST, Universal Social Levy, property tax, accommodation tax, licences); the individual situation should be confirmed with the IRD (264 497 8334). The French administration reminds us to also check the obligations of the country of residence, which may require the declaration of all income. A retiree who is no longer tax resident in France pays neither CSG, CRDS nor Casa, according to CLEISS; a health insurance contribution remains withheld from the pensions of people attached to a French scheme.

To receive your pension abroad, the guide receiving your pension abroad details the procedures.

The S1 form exists for European Union countries and equivalents; Anguilla is not one of them, and CLEISS lists no agreement. CLEISS indicates that it is for the retiree to check with local institutions to what extent the local scheme covers their care, and that they can join the CFE voluntarily or take out private insurance. As no compulsory public health insurance scheme was identified in the local sources read, these two options are the usual routes. The CFE retirees’ plan has a contribution (that depends on country, age and family situation), with no health questionnaire: it covers only care abroad, and care in France remains covered by the French compulsory scheme. The guide retiree health insurance abroad and the page healthcare reimbursement in Anguilla detail the cases.

The territory offers public care through the Health Authority of Anguilla and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, but complex cases are transferred abroad (more than 400 patients over one year, Health Authority annual report). Insurance that covers evacuation is therefore the central element of the arrangement. During a temporary stay in France, cover is for holders of a French pension who show at least 15 years of insurance in France; the accompanying spouse is not covered and must take out their own insurance, and a hospital stay of more than a month requires prior recognition.

The Social Security Board pays an old-age pension at 65 to insured people who have paid 500 weeks of contributions, with a lump sum from 150 weeks for those who do not meet the pension condition, and a minimum pension of 165 dollars a week (the page does not specify the currency). A French national who has not contributed in Anguilla draws no right from it, and CLEISS specifies that, without an agreement, local insurance periods do not count towards the French pension. The 2018 national social protection policy notes that a pension scheme exists for civil servants, but that the private sector is not required to establish one. The Board also lists a non-contributory old-age pension (NCOAP) whose conditions were not read.

The statistics department publishes a quarterly price index. The government's budget speech notes a fall in prices, supported by the removal of the goods and services tax (GST) on food at the end of 2024 and then by a reform of this tax in August 2025. Rents, property prices and a retiree’s spending basket are not published in the sources consulted: these figures are therefore not given here. The cost of health insurance, decisive for a retiree, varies with age, insurer and contract.

For an owner, property tax is calculated at 0.075% of the value of the property, estimated by the land registry service and paid to the Inland Revenue Department. A non-belonger authorised to rent out their villa pays a fee of EC$6,750 (about €2,229) for the first 2,000 square feet. The conversions in this page are based on the ECB reference rate and on the parity of EC$2.70 to US$1 that emerges from minutes of the Executive Council of Anguilla. GDP and exchange rate figures appear in the “Economic benchmarks” block above.

The official sources consulted do not rank neighbourhoods. Benchmarks come from public services: The Valley concentrates the administration, social security and the Ministry of Health; the points of entry are Clayton J. Lloyd airport and the Blowing Point ferry terminal; each of the six districts (West End, South Hill, Welches, East End, The Valley, North Hill) has a hurricane shelter. Proximity to care matters for a retiree: the Princess Alexandra Hospital is the island’s public hospital and the HAA carries out more than 1,300 home visits a year to older people (annual report).

The climate is tropical, with an average monthly temperature of 80 °F (about 27 °C) according to the government. The France Diplomatie advice for Saint Lucia places in the region the risk of violent hurricanes from June to the end of November. The Department of Disaster Management publishes the list of shelters and a preparedness guide, and the emergency line is +1 264 497 5666. The language of procedures is English. The French Embassy in Saint Lucia (+1 758 455 60 60) is responsible for Anguilla; registration on the roll of French nationals living abroad is valid for five years.

Service-public indicates that a CFE member can keep certain expatriate benefits for the three months following their return, under conditions. A retiree who returns to settle in France with no activity must show three consecutive months of residence before their rights to universal health protection open (form S1106). See the page return to France.