Retiring in Cabo Verde: Right of Residence, Taxation of the Pension, Health

France Diplomatie describes for Cabo Verde a visa exemption up to 30 days, then a tourist visa of 30 to 90 days, extendable for the same length at most, to be requested from the consulate or on arrival. A 180-day temporary visa is provided for international volunteers and for work, followed by a residence authorisation from the Directorate of Foreigners and Borders (DEF). For other purposes, the page refers to a suitable visa issued by the competent consulate.

The page describes no residence permit reserved for retirees or for pension income. A settling-in project is therefore prepared with the competent consulate and the DEF, who specify the applicable category, the documents, the proof of resources and the timescales. For a trial stay of a few weeks, the 30-day exemption or the 30-to-90-day tourist visa is enough, without paid activity.

• Passport: French, valid for three months after the planned end of the stay, including for French-Cape Verdean dual nationals.
• EASE: pre-registration on ease.gov.cv at least five days before arrival, with an airport security tax of 3,400 escudos (€30.83); holders of a residence card in Cabo Verde are exempt.
• Driving licence: French licence valid for 185 days after entry, then exchanged for a Cape Verdean licence.
• Consulate: the embassy in Praia does not issue ordinary passports; the Consulate General of France in Dakar is responsible for Cabo Verde.
• Consular registration: register of French nationals living abroad and the Ariane system for alerts.

See also the page on living in Cabo Verde.

The social security agreement of 15 January 1980 provides, for old age and survivors, that each State pays the pension for the periods completed under its legislation, and that these benefits are exportable. A French retiree settled in Cabo Verde therefore continues to receive their French pension, with payment procedures handled with their pension fund.

On the tax side, the page on international agreements on impots.gouv.fr mentions no tax treaty between France and Cabo Verde: French domestic law applies to pensions of French source paid to a non-resident. impots.gouv.fr describes a withholding tax calculated after a 10% allowance, under a scale of 0%, 12% and 20% (bands revised each year). The 0% and 12% bands are final, the 20% withholding is credited against the tax, and 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 Cape Verdean side, taxation of a resident should be confirmed with the tax authority, whose scales could not be read; individual advice makes it possible to check that there is no double taxation before departure.

CLEISS (the French liaison centre for social security abroad) specifies that the Franco-Cape Verdean agreement contains no provision allowing reimbursement of care received in Cabo Verde by a retiree under their French pension. The S1 form, valid in the European Union, does not apply: the retiree joins the CFE, takes out private insurance or asks the Cape Verdean INPS about the conditions of local affiliation. The CFE offers its retiree offer (with a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen), reserved for retirees of a French basic scheme, with no medical questionnaire; a waiting period is avoided if joining before departure or within three months of settling abroad.

During a temporary stay in France, coverage requires a pension from a French basic scheme paying for at least fifteen years of insurance; a hospital stay of more than one month requires the prior agreement of the local health insurance office (caisse primaire); an accompanying spouse is not covered; 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 Cabo Verde.

French nationals live mainly in Praia (Santiago), the seat of the embassy, in Mindelo (São Vicente) and on the tourist islands of Sal and Boa Vista. The ‘Economic indicators’ block above presents inflation and the escudo exchange rate; France Diplomatie converts 3,400 escudos to €30.83, or about 110 escudos to €1. 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.

International cards are increasingly accepted, Visa being more widespread than Mastercard; on Sal and Boa Vista, some tourist businesses accept euros, often at an unfavourable rate. There is no public coach network between towns: private shared taxis fill this role and sometimes drive dangerously; inter-island ferry links are long and delays frequent.

France Diplomatie places the whole territory under heightened vigilance and reports a recent rise in violent armed assaults, by day as well as at night, notably in Praia, on the trails of Santiago and outside the urban centres on Boa Vista and Fogo. It recommends not walking alone outside busy areas, avoiding going on foot at night and preferring taxis. The harmattan, from mid-December to the end of March, disrupts flights, and the rainy season, from August to October, can make tracks impassable without a 4x4.

For a retiree with a chronic condition, the choice of contract takes into account the handling of pre-existing conditions, the annual ceiling and evacuation, as France Diplomatie describes weak local medical capacity and the absence of a helicopter for mountain evacuations. See Cabo Verde healthcare system, insurance for retirees abroad and, in the event of a permanent return, returning to France.