Retiring in the Faroe Islands: Stay, Taxation of the French Pension and Access to Care

A French national enters the Faroe Islands without a visa for less than three months with a valid passport or national ID card (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). Beyond that, a residence permit is needed, including for an EU citizen, as free movement rules do not apply to the archipelago (Faroese government). The permit categories published by the Faroese immigration office (Útlendingastovan) are the visa, family reunification, work permit, higher education, doctorate, accompanying family, basic and youth education, internship, au pair, permanent residence and religious work. None targets retirees, and no resources condition for pensioners is published: the office’s FAQ indicates that non-Nordic nationals settle with a family reunification or work permit. A retirement project should therefore be confirmed in writing with the office (info@utlendingastovan.fo) before any housing commitment.

Family reunification concerns in particular the spouse or partner of a resident, with conditions on the sponsor: Nordic citizen, refugee or holder of a Faroese permanent residence permit for at least three years, suitable housing and, in some cases, a declaration of financial support; normal processing is seven months. Parents over 60 may be concerned when the child residing in the Faroe Islands is a Danish or Nordic citizen, or a refugee, and undertakes to support them financially. Permanent residence is obtained after three years (family reunification) or seven years (work, study) on the same basis, with an integration interview and no overdue public debt above a threshold revised every year. The permit can lapse in case of prolonged absence from the territory.

On the French side: the France-Denmark tax treaty signed on 4 February 2022 defines Denmark as a territory that “does not include the Faroe Islands and Greenland” (article 3). Its article 28 allows the treaty to be extended to an excluded territory by exchange of diplomatic notes, but the list of tax treaties in force on 1 January 2026 published in BOFiP (the official French tax doctrine) mentions none for the Faroe Islands. The treaty articles on private, social security or public pensions described by BOFiP for Denmark therefore do not apply to the Faroe Islands.

In the absence of a treaty, domestic law rules apply. According to impots.gouv.fr, a non-resident must declare in France their French-source pensions when the pension fund is established in France, even if withholding tax is deducted. The withholding, after a 10% allowance, is 0%, 12% and then 20% according to thresholds revised every year; the 0% and 12% bands are final, the 20% band is creditable against tax. The progressive scale applies with a minimum rate of 20% up to a net taxable income threshold revised every year, and then 30% beyond; the average rate can be requested if it is more favourable. These amounts are revised every year: the page for the current year prevails.

On the Faroese side: a person who lives in the Faroe Islands for more than 180 days in twelve months is fully taxable on all their income, wherever it is received (TAKS). Without a treaty, the risk of double taxation of the same pension exists; the TAKS pages consulted do not describe the treatment of foreign pensions or a mechanism for crediting French tax, and the TAKS page on pension taxation concerns Faroese pension plans. Impots.gouv.fr recommends enquiring with the tax services of the country of residence, which may require the declaration of all income. The Faroe Islands do appear, according to the BOFiP annex, among the territories that have concluded an administrative assistance agreement with France, which facilitates the exchange of information but does not settle double taxation. Individual tax advice is recommended before departure.

The S1 form is an instrument of European law, which does not apply to the Faroe Islands (EURAXESS); it therefore cannot open rights to local health insurance on behalf of French Sécurité sociale. CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) indicates that, in a country with no social security agreement with France, a retiree has three routes: the local scheme, the CFE (voluntary membership) or private insurance. Ameli (the Assurance Maladie website) reminds us that after departure, health costs are no longer covered by French Assurance Maladie.

• Local scheme (Heilsutrygd): all residents holding the Faroese identity number (p-tal) are covered by it; the contribution (fixed monthly part plus a low percentage of income) is published every year by TAKS. A foreign retiree’s access first requires lawful residence: see the section on stay, and the Faroese healthcare system.
• CFE: voluntary membership; the retirees’ plan has a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen (read on cfe.fr on 21/10/2026). The CFE presents worldwide cover; its application to the Faroe Islands should be confirmed with it. See the guide retiree health insurance abroad.
• Private insurance: CLEISS keeps no list of companies. Ameli recommends an assistance contract covering medical repatriation.

For temporary stays in France, care is covered if the retiree receives a pension from a French basic scheme, shows at least 15 years of insurance in France and has no professional activity; Cnarefe handles the general scheme files. The accompanying spouse is not covered and must take out their own insurance. A health insurance contribution may be withheld from the pension, generally 3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension and 7.1% for self-employed workers’ pensions; a tax non-resident pays neither CSG, CRDS nor Casa (CLEISS). See also retiree insurance abroad and the page healthcare reimbursement in the Faroe Islands.

The official EURAXESS portal describes the Faroese pension system. The state public pension is for Danish citizens residing in the Faroe Islands who have lived at least three years in the Kingdom of Denmark between ages 15 and 67, as well as foreigners married to a Danish citizen; a full pension requires 40 years of residence in the Kingdom, and the retirement age is 67.5, rising gradually. The labour market pension is open to permanent residents who have reached retirement age, with at least 15 years of residence between age 15 and retirement age for a full payment, and at least three years for a fraction of one fortieth per year of residence. A French retiree reaching retirement age therefore does not necessarily meet these residence-length conditions: their pension remains in principle that of their French schemes.

Payment of the French pension abroad and the supporting documents requested should be checked with the pension fund (see the guide retirement abroad). Bank charges for a Faroese account depend on the banks; opening a local account requires the p-tal number, and therefore a residence permit.

The currency is the Faroese krona, exchanged at par with the Danish krone (Danmarks Nationalbank). No official comparison of the cost of living between France and the Faroe Islands was read for this page. The rental market is limited, often with housing fitted out in a family’s house; the deposit can reach three months’ rent and notice is three or five months (EURAXESS). Buying generally goes through an estate agent: an average house in Tórshavn costs around DKK 4 million, i.e. about €550,000 at the ECB rate, houses outside Tórshavn being cheaper; the State refunds 35% of mortgage interest on a main residence. These benchmarks do not replace a local estimate.

For a retiree, proximity to a public hospital and a general practitioner matters as much as the price of housing; the page living in the Faroe Islands details the formalities and the climate.

Tórshavn, the capital, gathers more than 40% of the population (Hagstova Føroya) and the main public hospital, the Landssjúkrahúsið. Klaksvík, in the north, has a public hospital (Klaksvíkar Sjúkrahús); on the island of Suðuroy, in the south, the public hospital is in Tvøroyri (Suðuroyar Sjúkrahús). The official sources consulted do not rank localities by their appeal to retirees: the most objective criterion is distance to hospitals and general practitioners, the archipelago being divided into nine primary care areas. France Diplomatie also flags weather that changes very quickly, with dense fog and strong winds, and limited sea rescue resources in polar and subpolar waters: an assistance contract with medical evacuation should be checked before settling.