Living in Saint-Martin (French Side) When You Come from Mainland France: Housing, Prices, Taxation, Schooling and Formalities

The organic law of 21 February 2007 created the overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin, “endowed with autonomy” within the meaning of Article 74 of the Constitution, which 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). It sets its own rules on taxes, duties and levies, road traffic, roads, public property law, foreigners’ access to work and tourism, and, since 1 April 2012, on town planning, construction, housing, accommodation and energy.

With regard to the European Union, Saint-Martin has been an outermost region since 2009: it is the only Article 74 overseas collectivity in this case, the others coming under the category of overseas countries and territories (IEDOM, the overseas issuing institute). The Dutch part, Sint Maarten, is on the other hand an overseas country and territory. For a French citizen, no visa or residence permit needs to be requested from mainland France: the entry and residence rules concern foreigners and only apply to the island where expressly stated.

The Treaty of Concordia of 1648 established free movement of goods and people across the whole island, and cooperation between the two parts covers security, health, social affairs, education and planning (IEDOM). In daily life, crossing from one part to the other is common, but the rules on social protection, education and taxation differ: the Dutch part belongs to another country, with another administrative currency and another healthcare system.

The strengths noted in the official sources:

• The French setting in daily life: national minimum wage (SMIC), general social security scheme, national education, euro.
• A full public hospital for an island of this size: emergencies, surgery, a level 2b maternity unit and, since November 2021, chemotherapy on site (IEDOM).
• Lighter consumption taxation: TGCA of 4%, fuel taxed at a flat 12 cents a litre, alcohol and tobacco prices 33% lower than in France excluding the overseas departments (IEDOM).
• A tropical climate drier than Guadeloupe’s, with an average annual temperature of 28 °C.
• Living bilingualism: many bilingual classes and strong spoken English skills among young people.

The points to plan for:

• Cost of living: prices 12% higher than in mainland France and a “double insularity” that heightens imported inflation (IEDOM).
• Housing: a stock under strain, high private rents and a shortage of social housing.
• Employment: an unemployment rate of about 29%, far above the 7.3% for France as a whole (Insee, via the IEDOM); see the guide to working in Saint-Martin.
• Climate hazards: Hurricane Irma of 6 September 2017 destroyed or seriously damaged 31% of buildings.

The island of Saint-Martin is volcanic and mountainous in nature, with Pic Paradis, at 424 metres, as its highest point. The coast alternates beaches, coastal lagoons, rocky areas and mangroves; the uninhabited islets of Tintamarre and Pinel lie to the east (IEDOM). The average annual temperature is 28 °C and it very rarely falls below 20 °C or rises above 32 °C. The low rainfall, which has favoured tourism, also explains occasional water shortages.

• Marigot: main town of the French part, home to the education service of the Northern islands and a lower secondary school; an administrative and judicial complex is planned there (€38.8 million).
• Grand-Case: airport on the French side, which receives about 105,000 air arrivals a year out of nearly 580,000 for the whole island, most passing through Sint Maarten airport.
• Quartier d’Orléans and La Savane: building sites for two lower secondary schools (600 and 900 places).

Cruises land more than a million passengers on the island, almost all on the Dutch side. The French part is less densely populated than its neighbour: about 42,000 inhabitants on the Dutch side (IEDOM).

Saint-Martin does not publish its own price index. Insee (the French national statistics institute) included it in its spatial price comparison survey: consumer prices there are 12% higher than in France excluding the overseas departments (+15.8% in Guadeloupe, +8.9% in La Réunion). The biggest gaps concern food (+47%) and communication services (+43%), partly because of import costs. Conversely, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-33%) and transport (-13%) cost less, thanks to particular taxation: only the 4% TGCA applies to them, and fuel is taxed at a flat 12 euro cents a litre whereas taxation represents about 60% of the final price in mainland France.

To contain the high cost of living, an observatory of prices, margins and incomes has been in place since 2019 and a quality-price shield since 2020 (IEDOM). The inflation seen in Guadeloupe and in Sint Maarten is generally higher than in France.

On taxation, the collectivity’s tax code includes in particular:

• income tax, progressive like the national tax, with a 40% flat-rate allowance;
• the property tax, to which the general household waste tax is attached;
• the lease duty, of 3% of rents received for lettings of more than 90 days, with an exemption for annual rents below €2,400;
• registration duties on sales of buildings, transfers of company shares, inheritances and gifts;
• the general turnover tax of 4%, which resembles VAT.

Social levies are excluded from the collectivity’s competence: the CSG and CRDS apply under the general rules (Collectivity of Saint-Martin, tax department).

Insee counts more than 17,000 homes; main homes represent three quarters of the stock, second or occasional homes 10.5% and vacant homes 14.9%. Only 21.1% of main homes are occupied by their owner, against about 59% in Guadeloupe (IEDOM). The private rental market shows an average rent of about €22 per square metre (€16 on the national average), while the social stock offers an average rent of €6 per square metre excluding charges.

The social stock has about 1,700 homes, managed by three companies, and remains insufficient against demand. The collectivity adopted its local housing programme for the period 2025-2030, which aims at 1,800 new homes, mobilising available land and the vacant stock and, with the National Housing Agency, renovation aid and a programme to combat unfit housing. An agreement with Action Logement (the employers’ housing body) mobilises employers’ contribution to the construction effort.

For a newcomer, a few habits help: visit the home before signing, check its condition and exposure to hurricane risks, compare rents by neighbourhood and find out about the housing allowances paid by the Guadeloupe family allowance fund, which is competent for the island.

The education system is organised by the Guadeloupe academic region, with local management provided by the education service of the Northern islands, based in Marigot. The collectivity has 19 public establishments, 14 of them primary (6 nursery schools and 8 elementary schools) and 5 secondary (3 lower secondary schools and 2 upper secondary schools), the establishments destroyed by Irma not all having been rebuilt.

• Private education outside State contract: it educates nearly 20% of primary and secondary pupils; 14 establishments outside contract exist in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
• Priority education: more than 8 in 10 primary pupils and nearly 7 in 10 lower secondary pupils are in priority education (81.0% of public primary pupils and 71.1% of secondary).
• Bilingual classes: about 750 pupils in bilingual classes in the Northern islands, with equal French-English hours.
• Results: about 70% pass rate for the brevet in Saint-Martin, about 95% for the general and technological baccalaureate for the Northern islands.
• Building works: a digital lower secondary school of 900 places at La Savane, funded at €42 million by the State, Europe and the collectivity, and a 600-place lower secondary school at Quartier d’Orléans.

Higher education takes place off the island, in Guadeloupe, mainland France or North America. For families considering a course abroad, the page on insurance for students abroad presents the cover options.

1. Notify the former body: report the change of address and situation to your original Assurance Maladie fund (French public health insurance), the family allowance fund, France Travail (the French employment agency) and the pension funds.
2. Affiliation: the Guadeloupe general social security fund and family allowance fund are competent for Saint-Martin (Article L752-1 of the social security code). An employee opens their entitlements as soon as they take up their activity, a self-employed person from the start of their activity; a person with no activity completes form Cerfa S1106 with the fund of their place of residence (Assurance Maladie).
3. Tax residence: people coming from mainland France or the overseas departments are only tax-domiciled in Saint-Martin after five years of residence; until then, they declare their income to the public finance directorate (DGFiP) and, since 2010, also file a return with the collectivity for their Saint-Martin-source income alone (IEDOM).
4. Enrolment in school: contact the education service of the Northern islands, in Marigot.
5. Vehicle and housing: the collectivity sets the rules on road traffic and town planning; ask its departments before any purchase or works.
6. Insurance and assistance: a supplementary health policy covers the ticket modérateur (co-payment); assistance is essential for a stay on the Dutch side (see who pays what in Saint-Martin).

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 intense hurricane activity can develop. Hurricane Irma, category 5, hit both islands on 6 September 2017 with sustained winds of more than 300 km/h and killed 11 people in Saint-Martin, 2 of them on the Dutch side. According to Copernicus data cited by the IEDOM, 31% of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in Saint-Martin, against 5% in Saint-Barthélemy; 47% of the stock was little or not damaged.

Météo-France publishes a hurricane alert shared by Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, with graded levels (yellow, orange, red, purple) and instructions for each; behaviour measures are set by the prefecture. Santé publique France (the French public health agency) tracks dengue in its regional Antilles bulletin.

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 Louis-Constant Fleming hospital centre takes in general emergencies; its operation is detailed in the guide to the healthcare system in Saint-Martin.