Living in Saint-Barthélemy When You Come from Mainland France: Housing, Taxation, Schooling and Formalities

The organic law of 21 February 2007 created the overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy, “endowed with autonomy” within the meaning of Article 74 of the Constitution. It replaced the commune, the department and the region of Guadeloupe on the island. National laws and regulations apply as of right, except in the matters entrusted to the collectivity (Légifrance, legislative drafting guide). The collectivity itself sets the rules on taxes, duties and levies, town planning, construction, housing, road traffic, roads, the environment, energy, tourism and foreigners’ access to work.

For a French citizen, this is very concrete: the entry and residence rules concern foreigners and apply to the island only where expressly stated. No visa, residence permit or work authorisation needs to be requested from mainland France. The useful steps are those of a move within France, completed by a few local particularities: the social security fund, taxation and housing.

Since 1 January 2012, Saint-Barthélemy has come under the category of overseas countries and territories of the European Union and has customs competence: external trade is not subject to European rules, and a large part of the island’s trade is with the United States (IEDOM). The amounts in this guide are expressed in euros, as in the IEDOM publications.

The strengths noted in the official sources:

• A dynamic labour market: the activity rate of 15-64 year-olds reaches about 88% and the unemployment rate below 2% (Insee census, as cited by the IEDOM).
• Light local taxation for tax residents: the IEDOM notes the absence of income tax for tax residents of the island.
• The French setting in daily life: national minimum wage (SMIC), universal health protection, national education and the euro as currency.
• A tropical setting: mild temperatures, ventilation by the trade winds, indented coasts lined with fine sand (IEDOM).

The points to plan for:

• Housing: rents and purchase prices “out of reach of a large part of the population” according to the IEDOM, which also notes that health professionals and teachers face growing difficulties in settling.
• Land: 70% of the territory is classed as “green zone”, wholly or partly protected from urbanisation (IEDOM).
• Care and study provision: no operating theatre at the local hospital and schooling on site limited to the first year of upper secondary school (details below).
• Climate hazards: Hurricane Irma of 6 September 2017 destroyed or seriously damaged 5% of the island’s buildings according to Copernicus programme data cited by the IEDOM.

The island measures 21 km²: an arid land, bristling with hills of volcanic origin, whose highest point, Morne de Vitet, rises to 286 metres (IEDOM). Two localities structure daily life in the documents consulted.

• Gustavia, the main town and port: the commercial port sees more than 1,000 cargo calls a year and more than 200,000 passenger arrivals, driven by inter-island traffic and yachting. It is home to the hospital centre, the public primary school spread over three sites and the CPS reception, at 13 rue Lubin Brin.
• Saint-Jean: a school complex is among the planned building projects and the collectivity had the location of a new hospital studied (feasibility study of May 2024), because of the difficult access to the Gustavia site (IEDOM).

The island’s airport welcomes more than 200,000 passengers a year and remains saturated in the tourist season; links connect the island to Pointe-à-Pitre and San Juan, and sea traffic links it to Saint-Martin. These benchmarks help choose the time of arrival: the high tourist season runs from November to May (IEDOM).

Saint-Barthélemy does not publish a price index: the IEDOM states that the island certainly experiences the persistent inflation seen in Guadeloupe, without being able to measure it. Tensions are concentrated on freight and energy. To contain prices, a “quality-price shield” was set up in 2023 between the prefecture of the Northern islands and a supermarket chain: it covers about fifty products for a total basket of €80 (IEDOM); its duration and whether it has been renewed should be checked with the prefecture.

A few local taxes, established by the collectivity’s contributions code, directly affect a household’s budget (IEDOM):

• the quay duty of 5% on goods brought onto the island, raised to 8% for motor land vehicles;
• the electricity tax, of 15% for subscriptions up to 12 kVA and 30% above, since 1 January 2023;
• the waste disposal tax, flat-rate, due by the owner or usufructuary of a home (the owner can pass it on to their tenant);
• the fuel tax, capped at €0.23 per litre and set at €0.08 per litre;
• the tourist tax of 5% on overnight stays, from which tenants under a rental contract of more than six months and seasonal workers are exempt.

In terms of income, the distribution of tax households under the State’s authority comes close to that of mainland France: nearly a third of households declare between €20,000 and €30,000 of reference taxable income (against about a fifth excluding overseas departments), and about 13% less than €10,000 (DGFiP, the French tax administration, via the IEDOM).

According to the IEDOM, the collectivity faces a housing crisis that has accelerated since the 2017 reconstruction work: high prices on one side, too few homes on the other. Insee counts nearly 5,900 homes; 72.7% are main homes, 23.3% second or occasional homes, and the share of vacant homes is about 4%. Renting a room can exceed €2,000 a month and purchase prices can exceed €15,000 per square metre.

Several local rules govern property projects. The collectivity can make inter vivos transfers of land located on its territory subject to declaration (Article LO 6214-7 of the general code of local authorities). Any construction or modification requiring a permit gives rise to a development tax at a rate of 5%, with a 50% allowance on the first hundred square metres of a main home; the rate can reach 20% in certain areas. Sales of buildings, leases, gifts and inheritances bear registration and land registry duties, the collectivity’s first tax resource with more than a third of taxes and duties collected.

For people coming to work in Saint-Barthélemy, the employer is often the first point of contact: national education staff have seen their rents rise by more than 50% in recent years (education service of the Northern islands, cited by the IEDOM), and the collectivity is acquiring land to house seasonal workers and public staff. It is prudent to secure housing before arrival and to check the lease and charges.

The education system is organised by the Guadeloupe academic region, with local management entrusted to the education service of the Northern islands, based in Marigot. The island has four public and private establishments under contract: a public primary school (nursery and elementary) on three sites in Gustavia, a public lower secondary school that also hosts two general and technological first-year upper secondary classes, and two private primary schools under contract.

• Numbers: about 1,200 pupils, about 390 of them in public primary, 400 in private primary and 420 in secondary.
• Beyond the first year of upper secondary: further study necessarily takes place outside the territory, in Saint-Martin, mainland Guadeloupe, Martinique, mainland France and sometimes Quebec; half of lower secondary pupils continue outside the Guadeloupe academy after year 9.
• Bilingual education: bilingual classes with equal French-English hours exist in the Northern islands (about 750 pupils in bilingual classes, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy combined).
• Results: about 94% pass rate for the brevet and 95% for the general and technological baccalaureate (national education service, as cited by the IEDOM).
• Vocational training: an apprentice training centre, housed in the lower secondary school, takes in 51 apprentices; the multi-trade economic chamber carries the continuing training offer.

A teenager leaving after the first year of upper secondary implies accommodation and costs to plan for. When studies continue abroad, the page on insurance for students abroad presents the cover options.

1. Notify the former body: the CPS asks you to inform the CPAM (local health insurance office) and the CAF (family allowance fund) or the MSA (agricultural social insurance) of the change of situation for an automatic transfer of data, then to affiliate to the CPS (CPS booklet). An employee is affiliated by their employer when the pre-hiring declaration is made.
2. Social security number and carte Vitale: with an existing number, the transfer request is made to the CPS; the carte Vitale is updated at least once a year or at each change of situation.
3. Tax residence: households that settle after 15 July 2007 are only tax residents of the island after five years; until then they continue to declare their income to the French tax administration (see the taxation section of the guide to working in Saint-Barthélemy).
4. Vehicle and licence: issuing a driving licence gives rise to a tax fee, and both registration and holding a motor land vehicle are subject to a local tax (IEDOM).
5. Enrolment in school: contact the education service of the Northern islands for the placement of pupils.
6. Insurance and assistance: a supplementary health policy covers the ticket modérateur (co-payment); an assistance policy covering evacuations off the island completes the arrangement (see who pays what in Saint-Barthélemy).

The climate is tropical maritime. Two seasons stand out: a dry season, the “carême”, from December to May, and a rainy season, the “hivernage”, from July to October, during which tropical depressions, storms or hurricanes can form. The 2017 season was particularly destructive: Hurricane Irma, category 5, hit Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin on 6 September 2017 with sustained winds of more than 300 km/h (IEDOM).

Météo-France publishes a hurricane alert shared by Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, with graded levels: yellow (stay informed, check your supplies), orange (prepare the home, fill up, plan for cash), red (go to your home or a shelter) and purple (stay sheltered). Behaviour measures are set by the prefecture.

On public health, Santé publique France (the French public health agency) tracks dengue in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy in its regional Antilles bulletin. Protection against mosquito bites remains the reference prevention measure.

National emergency numbers: 15 for the SAMU (emergency medical service), 17 for police rescue, 18 for the fire service, 112 for the European number and 196 for sea rescue (Ministry of the Interior). The details of hospital provision are in the guide to the healthcare system in Saint-Barthélemy.