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

France Diplomatie indicates that entry to the territory of the Comoros requires a visa, issued on arrival at Moroni airport for about €30. For a tourist stay, a return ticket, a daily allowance of €30 and the address of the place of stay are requested. The page does not specify the length of the visa, the required validity of the passport, or the conditions of stay beyond tourism.

No official page consulted describes a residence permit reserved for retirees or for pension income. A settling-in project is therefore prepared with the French embassy in the Comoros (boulevard de Strasbourg, BP 465, Moroni) and the Comorian authorities, who specify the applicable category, the documents, the proof of resources and the timescales. For a trial stay of a few weeks, without paid activity, the visa on arrival may be enough.

• Visa: issued on arrival in Moroni, about €30; conditions of the tourist stay: return ticket, €30 a day, address.
• Identity checks: a morals brigade checks identity documents from 11 p.m. near nightclubs, bars and kebab stalls; by car, the gendarmerie checks the licence, registration document, insurance and plates.
• Connections: prefer arriving by air, after checking that the airline complies with international safety standards; kwassa-kwassa (small fast boats) between the islands are prohibited.
• Money: cash needed, cash machines in Moroni erratic, euro cheques not accepted.
• Consular registration: register of French nationals living abroad and the Ariane system for alerts.

See also the page on living in the Comoros.

The page on international agreements on impots.gouv.fr lists no tax treaty in force between France and the Comoros: the only mention appears under Mayotte, for a treaty signed with the former territory of the Comoros, with the note ‘Terminated with effect from 01/01/2014’. French domestic law therefore 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 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 Comorian 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.

The S1 form, which allows a retiree to be treated at France’s expense in the European Union, does not apply in the Comoros: 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), reserved for retirees of a French basic scheme, 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.

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 the Comoros.

French residents live mainly in Moroni, on Grande Comore, where the embassy, the French lycée and the emergency services cited by the embassy are located. The ‘Economic indicators’ block above presents inflation and the Comorian franc exchange rate; the DG Trésor (the French Treasury’s economic directorate) specifies that the franc is pegged at a fixed rate to the euro and that the country imports all its fuel, whose supply is subject to occasional tensions. 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, well-located housing and cautious travel: France Diplomatie describes roads in poor condition, with no street lighting at night, and advises limiting air travel to essential journeys after checking the airline. In the event of an accident outside the capital, it reports violence against drivers and recommends going to the nearest police station.

France Diplomatie places the whole archipelago under heightened vigilance and describes relatively rare crime, with increased vigilance in markets and on the beach. The Karthala volcano (2,361 m) is still active, and maritime piracy is reported near the archipelago. Dengue and chikungunya can cause epidemics during the rainy season; malaria and Zika are also cited.

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 to La Réunion: see Comorian healthcare system and insurance for retirees abroad. In the event of a permanent return to France, see returning to France.