Retiring in Togo: Residence, Taxation of the Pension, Health and Cost of Living

A French retiree enters Togo with a visa requested online on the official voyage.gouv.tg platform at least 5 days before departure, with a passport valid for at least 6 months after the return date and the yellow fever vaccination certificate (France Diplomatie). Beyond 90 days, a long-stay visa with a residence card is required. The residence card is requested from the Directorate General of National Documentation (DGDN) in Lomé: the public services portal gives a processing time of 30 to 45 days, an application completed online, a valid passport, an identity photo, a criminal record extract less than three months old, a medical certificate and proof of sufficient resources.

The temporary card (1 year) costs 200,000 CFA francs, the ordinary card (3 years) 500,000 CFA francs and the privileged card (5 years) 800,000 CFA francs. The sources consulted describe no category specific to retirees and no quantified income threshold: the DGDN specifies, through the online procedure, the supporting documents expected, and a pension statement is a useful document to have ready. Finally, remember to register on the register of French nationals living abroad. The checklist for the first 90 days helps you put the move in order, and the page on living in Togo details the formalities and daily life.

France and Togo are bound by a tax treaty signed in Lomé on 24 November 1971, approved by the law of 23 December 1972, in force since 1 April 1975 and published by the decree of 23 July 1975. It avoids double taxation and organises assistance between administrations. Its article 21 lays down a simple rule: pensions and life annuities are taxable only in the contracting state where the recipient has their tax domicile. A retiree who moves their tax residence to Togo is therefore taxed under Togolese law on their French pension, and is no longer taxed on it in France; a retiree who keeps their tax domicile in France remains taxed in France.

CLEISS specifies that, with no tax residence in France, the CSG, the CRDS and the Casa no longer apply to the pension and are replaced by a health contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension and 4.2% on the complementary pension. The treaty makes no special rule for civil service pensions: have your case checked by the tax office for non-resident individuals before fixing your residence. On the Togolese side, the Togolese Revenue Office publishes the general tax code. The guides to receiving your pension abroad and quarters worked abroad complement these benchmarks.

French pension funds pay the pension into an account, in France or abroad. Each year they may ask retirees living outside France for a life certificate, a single certificate being valid for all funds. It must be returned within one month of the notice of availability in the personal space, failing which payment of the pension may be suspended (service-public.gouv.fr). Several routes exist: biometric recognition with the “Mon certificat de vie” app, installed using a QR code received by post or email, an automatic exchange of data with the civil registry of the country of residence, a check by an approved trusted third party or a certificate endorsed by the consular service. From 1 January 2028, proof will have to be provided by biometric recognition.

As the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at the fixed parity of 655.957 CFA francs to €1, euro transfers are converted with no exchange-rate surprise. Keep an account in France for French direct debits and a local account for everyday spending.

A retiree’s budget varies with the city, the housing and the level of comfort sought. The official sources consulted publish neither a rent scale nor a standard budget: two benchmarks help build your own. The fixed parity of 655.957 CFA francs to €1 makes conversions stable. The SMIG of 52,500 CFA francs a month since 1 January 2023, or about €80, gives the level of local wages, and therefore of personal services.

As proposed in the guide to budgeting for health abroad, set aside a separate line for the health insurance premium (CFE or private insurance), one of the largest items in a retiree’s budget abroad. Renting for the first few months lets you test the neighbourhood before any purchase; for a property purchase, have the title deed checked by a local notary or lawyer.

CLEISS points out that the France-Togo social security agreement of 1971 offers a French retiree no coverage of care in Togo. Form S1, which lets a retiree transfer their rights to the cover of another European country, does not apply (service-public.gouv.fr). Two solutions, which can be combined, exist:

• voluntary enrolment in the CFE, which reimburses under French health insurance rules and offers a plan dedicated to retirees (see the glossary entry on the retirees’ plan), with immediate cover if you enrol before departure or within 3 months of settling;
• private insurance, with a medical questionnaire, ceilings and evacuation depending on the policy (see medical questionnaire and history).

The Togolese universal health insurance (AMU) includes holders of private-sector pensions, with a contribution of 5% of the monthly pension according to the general conditions of the CNSS (the National Social Security Fund), 80% cover and a 3-month waiting period; its conditions of access for a foreign retiree receiving a French pension are not detailed, and care abroad is excluded unless otherwise provided: confirm your situation with the CNSS. Details are on the page on healthcare reimbursement in Togo and in the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad.

During temporary stays in France, care is covered if the pension reflects at least 15 years of insurance in France, comes from a French basic scheme and the retiree carries out no activity; hospitalisation beyond one month requires prior medical recognition, and the spouse who accompanies them is not covered (CLEISS). See also retirement insurance abroad.

France Diplomatie states that an assistance or insurance policy covering all medical costs, hospitalisation and medical repatriation is imperative, as the embassy cannot bear any of them. For a retiree, age and medical history increase the likelihood of a transfer: check the ceiling, the transfer destination, the accompanying person and the coverage of any prolonged hospitalisation.

See the guide to how a medical repatriation works, the page on repatriation and assistance and the organisation of care described in the Togolese healthcare system guide.

Lomé, the capital and port, concentrates the French embassy, the French schools and the reference hospitals; France Diplomatie advises walkers against the seafront, the surroundings of nearby hotels and the border with Ghana, particularly in the evening. The other main cities are Kara, Sokodé, Kpalimé, Atakpamé and Dapaong. French, the official language, makes daily procedures easier.

For the rest of the territory, read France Diplomatie’s Safety page: the whole of the Savanes region, including Dapaong, is advised against except for compelling reasons, with a written travel authorisation for foreigners and a state of emergency extended until 13 March 2027; the Triple Border zone and the border crossing at Sinkassé-Mandouri are formally advised against. The rest of the country is under heightened vigilance.