Retiring in Burundi: Right of Residence, Taxation of the Pension, Health

France Diplomatie specifies that a visa is mandatory to enter Burundi: a single-entry visa, requested online on the immigration authorities’ website, issued at the airport for USD 90 and valid for one month at most, with an extension that may be requested on the spot. The certificate received by email after each validation should be printed. The page specifies neither the validity of the passport, nor a residence permit, nor a work permit.

Neither France Diplomatie nor the home page of the General Migration Commission describes a permit reserved for retirees or for pension income. A settling-in project is therefore prepared directly with the Commission (avenue de l’OUA, Kigobe, Bujumbura; contact@migration.gov.bi), which specifies the applicable category, the documents, the proof of resources and the timescales. For a trial stay of a few weeks, without paid activity, the one-month visa may be enough, with an extension.

• Visa: online application, printed certificate, payment of USD 90 at the airport; extension on the spot with the authorities.
• Vaccination: yellow fever mandatory, preferably ten days before departure; up-to-date French schedule.
• Land borders: border with the DRC closed except at the Gatumba post, open in daytime; border with Rwanda likely to be closed, to be checked before any trip.
• Flights: no direct Paris-Bujumbura flight; daily connections via Nairobi and Addis Ababa, and weekly rotations via Brussels and Kigali according to France Diplomatie.
• Consular registration: register of French nationals living abroad and the Ariane system for alerts.

See also the page on living in Burundi.

The page on international agreements on impots.gouv.fr mentions no tax treaty between France and Burundi. French domestic law therefore applies to pensions of French source paid to a non-resident. impots.gouv.fr describes, for salaries and pensions paid to a non-resident, a withholding tax calculated after a 10% allowance, under a scale of 0%, 12% and 20% (brackets revised each year). The 0% and 12% bands are final, the 20% withholding is credited against the tax, and the withholding applies only to income of French source taxable in France.

Several payers may lead to insufficient withholding, with a correction provided for by Article 197 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI). On the Burundian side, taxation of a resident should be confirmed with the Burundi Revenue Authority, whose scales could not be read; individual advice makes it possible to check that there is no double taxation before departure.

The S1 form, which allows a retiree to be treated at France’s expense in the European Union, does not apply in Burundi: no social security agreement links the two countries (CLEISS list; CLEISS is the French liaison centre for social security abroad). The retiree should find out what the local scheme covers, join the CFE or take out private insurance. The CFE offers its retiree offer (with a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen), with no health questionnaire, with a waiting period avoided if joining before departure or within three months of settling abroad, and otherwise three or six months depending on age. The Burundian health insurance card (BIF 3,000), mandatory for people aged 18 or over not affiliated to a mutual scheme according to the Burundi Revenue Authority, does not replace cover with evacuation.

During a temporary stay in France, coverage requires a pension from a French basic scheme paying for at least fifteen years of insurance; CNAREFE (the French health insurance centre for retirees living abroad) handles the files of general-scheme retirees outside the European Union. Outside France, the CSG, CRDS and Casa (French social charges and a solidarity contribution on pensions) are no longer deducted; a health contribution of 3.2% (basic pension) and 4.2% (supplementary pension) applies if attached to a French scheme. See the guide to health insurance for retirees abroad and the page on healthcare reimbursement in Burundi.

French residents live mainly in Bujumbura, where the embassy, the French school and the few rescue services are located. The ‘Economic indicators’ block above presents inflation and the Burundian franc exchange rate. The DG Trésor (the French Treasury’s economic directorate) notes that the dual exchange rate feeds shortages of foreign currency and fuel. The official pages consulted do not publish a rent scale: amounts should be requested from local agents and checked in writing before signing a lease.

For a retiree, the budget includes health insurance with evacuation, guarded housing and cautious travel. France Diplomatie indicates that credit cards are generally not accepted: payments are made in cash, and transfers and currency exchange are possible in Bujumbura and in the large centres. Withdrawing money and managing banking from France therefore need to be prepared.

France Diplomatie classes the whole border with the DRC, the Uvira road beyond the Rusizi reserve, the north of the Kibira and the western border with Rwanda north of the RN10 as zones formally advised against; the rest of the country is under heightened vigilance. In Bujumbura, it reports rising ordinary crime and recommends not travelling at night: after 6 p.m., roads are generally no longer policed. Fuel shortages are recurrent, shared minibuses are not recommended and the rainy season, from October to May, damages the roads.

On the health side, malaria circulates all year round, meningitis has epidemics from November to June and yellow fever requires vaccination. A retiree with a chronic condition chooses a contract according to the handling of pre-existing conditions, the annual ceiling and evacuation: see Burundian healthcare system and insurance for retirees abroad. In the event of a permanent return to France, see returning to France.