Living in Honduras as a French Citizen: Cities, Vigilance Zones, Cost of Living and Formalities

Honduras covers 112,492 km² and has about 11 million inhabitants (World Bank). Spanish is the official language, the currency is the lempira, and GDP is around 40 billion dollars, or about 3,600 dollars per inhabitant. Services account for 61.9% of GDP, industry 26% and agriculture 12.1% (World Bank), and remittances from the diaspora, mainly from the United States, account for about 30% of GDP (France Diplomatie). The “Economic indicators” block of this page updates the indicators.

The advantages of a stay lie in the diversity of sites (Bay Islands, the Maya site of Copán, the Caribbean coast) and a growing economy. The points of caution are documented precisely by France Diplomatie: classification of entire zones as advised against except for compelling reasons, public hospitals of mediocre standard, French health insurance schemes not recognised locally, and no social security or tax agreement with France in the lists of CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) and impots.gouv.fr (the French tax authority’s website). A move is prepared with the checklist for the first 90 days and the guide to expat insurance in Honduras.

Tegucigalpa, the capital, is home to the French embassy (Colonia Altos Lomas del Guijarro Sur, +504 2235 7275); San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba are the two other main cities cited by France Diplomatie. The ministry’s safety sheet places in a zone advised against except for compelling reasons the departments of Francisco Morazán (peri-urban area and centre of Tegucigalpa) and Cortés (San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortés), the department of Atlántida with La Ceiba, the Bajo Aguán, the department of Olancho, notably the Juticalpa–Catacamas axis, and the departments of Yoro, Santa Bárbara and Ocotepeque.

The heightened-vigilance zones, compatible with tourism subject to precautions, are the Bay Islands, notably Roatán, served daily by scheduled and charter flights, the department of Valle and Isla del Tigre in the Gulf of Fonseca, and the department of Copán, with the Maya site of Copán near the Guatemalan border. These classifications change: check them on the official sheet before each trip.

A tripartite agreement sets the minimum wage (agreement of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with a table of the minimum wage and the education bonus); the amounts appear in PDF documents of the ministry that could not be read when this page was written, and no figure is therefore given here. They are read on the website of the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security (Dirección General de Salarios).

For a settling-in budget, the method is to start from the actual rent in the target zone, health cover, home security and travel. France Diplomatie indicates that the euro can be exchanged for local currency at most banks and that many Western Union branches allow emergency transfers. The guide to budgeting for health abroad helps you cost the health item, which is central in a country where public hospitals are judged mediocre.

French nationals need a passport valid for at least six months on the date of entry and fill in the value declaration online with Honduran customs. When travelling from or to a country of the C4 agreement (Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador), you must present your passport and fill in the migration form at the border posts. The total length of a continuous stay without a visa in these four countries cannot exceed 90 days; an extension of up to 90 days is possible from the General Directorate of Immigration, and, beyond that, a fine is applied with a single 30-day extension for 20 dollars. The airport tax, about 35 dollars, is included in the ticket price.

France Diplomatie’s entry and stay sheet does not deal with residence permits. Residences (temporary, permanent, by work contract, for people of independent means or pensioners) fall to the National Migration Institute, whose website was not accessible when consulted: the conditions, supporting documents and fees are confirmed directly with the institute or the Honduran consulate before any step. On the French side, consular procedures fall to the consular section of the French embassy in Guatemala (+502 2421 7370), which is also responsible for Honduras.

The Agency for French Education Abroad publishes job offers for an establishment in Tegucigalpa. The exact name of the establishment, its accreditation, its tuition fees and its places could not be verified on an official page: they are requested from the French embassy in Tegucigalpa or on the AEFE website. Families who send their children to the Honduran system work in Spanish.

The children of a resident need their own health cover: see expat family insurance. France Diplomatie recommends always accompanying children.

The French embassy in Honduras is located in Tegucigalpa, Colonia Altos Lomas del Guijarro Sur (+504 2235 7275; during office hours, +504 3148 6632). It has limited means to help French citizens in a crisis, and it is the consular section of the French embassy in Guatemala (5A Avenida 8-59, zone 14, +502 2421 7370) that is responsible for consular procedures. In the event of a lost or stolen passport, an emergency laissez-passer can be issued, solely to return to France.

France Diplomatie recommends checking your insurance contracts and having financial resources for hospitalisation or evacuation costs, knowing the procedures for blocking bank cards and registering with the Ariane service. The guide to medical repatriation details the steps.

France Diplomatie reminds readers that the homicide rate has fallen sharply and that the country remains among the most exposed to crime. It describes gangs linked to drug trafficking and extortion, sometimes with kidnapping, indicates that foreigners can be targeted and that crime rises before Christmas and Easter. The advice in the event of an assault is to keep a small sum easily accessible, not to resist, to leave the scene and take shelter, then to call the police (911), to report the assault to the embassy and to file a complaint.

For getting around, the sheet advises favouring a daytime arrival flight, preferring the plane for intercity journeys, advising against buses (the company Viana is cited for Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba), taking taxis at hotel or shopping-centre ranks with a negotiated price, because there is no meter, not driving at night and limiting travel on foot, which is advised against even by day in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. It also advises limiting cash, withdrawing money at a bank or shopping centre and keeping a low profile. For boating, attacks on yachtsmen took place on the Caribbean coast in 2017: check with the port authorities before sailing.

The rainy season, from May to June and from September to November, causes floods, landslides and road damage; between September and November, it is advisable to follow cyclones through the National Hurricane Center and the Honduran national contingency commission (COPECO). The seismic risk is judged moderate, the last earthquake felt in Tegucigalpa dating from 2009.

The main road network is of average to poor quality, and secondary roads are often dirt; night driving is strongly advised against. In the event of an accident, do not move the vehicle, call the traffic police on 911 and wait for them to arrive. The sale and consumption of narcotics, cannabis included, are prohibited and punishable by imprisonment. Insurance covering care, hospitalisation and repatriation is essential; see the expat health insurance comparison. Expavy helps you weigh these options against your situation.