Retiring in Tanzania: Right of Residence, Taxation of the Pension, Health

France Diplomatie specifies that the visa is requested online or on arrival at the country’s main airports and ports, and that the tourist visa, at USD 50 or €50, cannot be used for professional or voluntary purposes. A retiree who wishes to reside long term therefore falls under a residence permit, issued by the Tanzanian immigration department. The pages of this department could not be read during this check: the permit classes, fees, duration and financial conditions applicable to retirees are requested from the Tanzanian embassy in Paris and the immigration department, before any plan to settle.

The list of documents to provide is requested from immigration before departure, as is the processing time. For a trial stay of a few weeks, the tourist visa is enough, provided no paid or voluntary activity is carried out. See also the page on living in Tanzania.

• Visa: application online or on arrival; payment by card or in cash, with no change given, and US dollars issued after 2006 only for a visa paid on arrival.
• Passport: valid for more than six months after arrival; French temporary passports are recognised.
• Length granted: it may be shorter than the period requested online; it is checked at the border.
• Consular registration: France Diplomatie recommends registering with the Ariane system to receive safety alerts.
• Zanzibar: travel insurance compulsory since 1 October 2024 (USD 44 for 90 days), valid for Zanzibar only, which most quality care facilities do not accept.

The international treaties page of impots.gouv.fr mentions no tax treaty between France and Tanzania. French domestic law therefore applies to the French-source pensions of a non-resident. For salaries and pensions paid to a non-resident, impots.gouv.fr describes a withholding calculated after a 10% allowance, under a scale of 0%, 12% and 20% (income bands revised each year). The 0% and 12% bands are final, the 20% withholding is credited against the tax, and the withholding applies only to French-source income taxable in France.

Several payers may lead to insufficient withholding, with a regularisation provided for by Article 197 B of the CGI (the French General Tax Code). On the Tanzanian side, a resident’s taxation and the residence rule are confirmed with the Tanzania Revenue Authority, whose pages could not be consulted. Individual advice makes it possible to check that there is no double taxation before departure.

Form S1, which allows a retiree to receive care at France’s expense in the European Union, does not apply in Tanzania: no social security agreement links the two countries (CLEISS list; the CLEISS is the French liaison centre for international social security). The CLEISS indicates that the retiree finds out what the local scheme covers, joins the CFE or takes out private insurance. The CFE offers its retirees’ plan (with a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen), with no health questionnaire, with a three- or six-month waiting period in case of late enrolment. The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) presents packages whose conditions for a foreigner are checked with it.

During a temporary stay in France, cover requires a pension from a French basic scheme corresponding to at least fifteen years of insurance; the CNAREFE handles the files of retirees of the general scheme outside the European Union. Outside France, the CSG, the CRDS and the Casa are no longer withheld; a health insurance contribution of 3.2% (basic) and 4.2% (complementary) applies in case of affiliation to a French scheme. See the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad and the page on healthcare reimbursement in Tanzania.

Retirees turn mainly to Dar es Salaam, which concentrates the embassy, the most extensive provision of care and the French school, to the Arusha and Kilimanjaro region, and to Zanzibar. France Diplomatie reports rising crime there, notably in Stone Town, Nungwi, Paje and Jambiani in Zanzibar, and recommends preferring secure accommodation to isolated villas. The deciding criterion for a retiree is proximity to a reliable care facility and access to medical evacuation.

The “Economic reference points” block above presents inflation and the exchange rate. The official pages consulted publish no rent scale: amounts are requested from local agents and checked in writing. The total budget includes health insurance with repatriation, secure travel (night driving formally advised against outside towns) and residence formalities.

France Diplomatie classes the Mozambique border and the Mtwara region as formally advised against, and the western regions bordering Burundi (Kagera, Kigoma), Lindi and Ruvuma as advised against except for compelling reasons. It recommends locking the doors in a car, preferring flying for long distances and not resisting in case of assault. Road accidents are numerous: Tanzania is among the countries with the highest road mortality.

On the health side, the French vaccination schedule must be up to date; hepatitis A, typhoid, meningitis and rabies are discussed with a doctor; malaria is prevented by protection against mosquitoes and preventive treatment. For a retiree with a chronic condition, the handling of medical history, medical evacuation and the return to France determine the choice of contract: see Tanzania’s healthcare system and expat health insurance.