Working in the Comoros as a French National: Visa, Contract, Tax and Economy

France Diplomatie indicates that entry to Comorian territory 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 specifies neither the length of the visa, nor a work permit, nor a long-stay residence permit: these conditions should be confirmed with the French embassy in the Comoros (boulevard de Strasbourg, BP 465, Moroni) and the Comorian authorities.

An employee recruited by a local employer or by an international organisation in practice has the work and residence authorisations arranged by the employer, who knows the procedure in force. As the exact documents, timescales and fees could not be read in an official text, they are not detailed here: it is better to ask the employer for a written summary of the permits to obtain before departure. For settling in, see the page on living in the Comoros.

An employee on a local contract signs a contract under Comorian law. The official pages consulted publish neither a minimum wage in force nor a pay scale: these amounts fall under the Comorian authorities responsible for labour and should be checked with them or with the employer before any signature. A figure not read on an official source is not reproduced here. The DG Trésor (the French Treasury’s economic directorate) stresses that the informal sector is estimated at close to 60% of GDP, which makes pay practices uneven.

An expatriate recruited from France generally negotiates a more complete contract: pay in euros, housing, children’s schooling, return tickets and health cover with evacuation. The latter is crucial, as France Diplomatie describes a weak healthcare system on all three islands. Reading the contract carefully covers the applicable law, the length of the secondment, the health cover clause and repatriation at the end of the assignment. For the statuses, see seconded or expatriate.

The page on international agreements on impots.gouv.fr lists no tax treaty in force between France and the Union of 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’. The domestic law of each country therefore applies and a risk of double taxation cannot be ruled out; tax residence is determined by French criteria and Comorian rules. The Comorian income tax scales and the contribution rates of the local scheme could not be read in an official text: they should be requested from the tax authority, the social security fund and the employer.

The Comoros are not on the list of social security agreements published by CLEISS: there is no totalisation of insurance periods between the two schemes. See healthcare reimbursement in the Comoros for health.

A seconded employee of a French employer comes, in the absence of an agreement, under secondment outside an agreement. According to CLEISS, the duration is three years, renewable only once, so six years at most, and a new secondment in the same country for the same company is possible only after two years. Beyond that, the employee becomes an expatriate and comes only under the local scheme. A seconded employee remains affiliated to the French scheme and, if the host country’s scheme is compulsory, to that one as well; formalities are handled with the international mobility service of Urssaf (the French social security contributions collector). Sickness-maternity is reimbursed within the limit of the benefits that would be paid in France, and family benefits are paid only for children living in France.

A self-employed person has no employer to handle their file: the authorisation to practise and the residence permit are prepared with the Comorian authorities. A remote worker coming to work for a foreign employer must also check the applicable visa, the visa on arrival being described for tourism. See digital nomad insurance.

According to the DG Trésor record, the Comoros’ macroeconomic fundamentals strengthened: growth is sustained, driven notably by investment linked to the 2027 Indian Ocean Island Games. The country has about 910,000 inhabitants and GDP per capita of the order of USD 1,800; services represent about 50% of GDP. Inflation is moderate.

The Comorian franc is pegged at a fixed rate to the euro. Public debt represents 33% of GDP, judged sustainable by the IMF but with a high risk of debt distress; reserves cover 7.6 months of imports; the financial sector is underdeveloped, with a non-performing loan ratio of 13.8%. The vulnerabilities are poverty, above 38%, exposure to cyclones, deteriorated infrastructure and occasional tensions on fuel imports. The ‘Economic indicators’ block above gives the growth, population and inflation indicators.

A professional project in the Comoros is prepared with the family: the Lycée Français International Henri-Matisse in Moroni takes 441 pupils, from the youngest nursery class to the final year (record of the AEFE, the Agency for French Education Abroad). France Diplomatie places the archipelago under heightened vigilance and describes non-existent healthcare provision on Anjouan and Mohéli: the choice of island and housing takes these constraints into account. The page on the Comorian healthcare system details the care, and the guide to health insurance in the Comoros presents the cover requirements.