Retiring in Tunisia: Residence, Pension Tax, Healthcare and Cost of Living

The climate, the proximity to France, widely spoken French, accessible private healthcare and a cost of living that is often gentler than in France make Tunisia a popular retirement destination. The 1988 France-Tunisia agreement on residence and work contains no provision specific to retirees: they fall under ordinary Tunisian law, with a residence permit beyond 3 months.

A trial stay of a few weeks, in summer as well as in winter, helps you choose the city, the type of housing and the distance to a clinic. A retirement project is prepared in three parts: residence (residence permit), money (taxation, transfer of the pension) and health (CNAM, top-up insurance, repatriation). The following sections detail them; the page living in Tunisia completes the picture with housing, safety and schooling.

A French national enters Tunisia without a visa for 3 months at most, with a passport valid for at least 3 months. Beyond that, a residence permit is issued by the Ministry of the Interior. There is no permit reserved for retirees: the application is submitted to the national security sectors with, for a retiree, a certificate of periodic and regular transfer of the retirement pension, proof of address, passport, identity photographs and the completed form. The ministry processes a complete file within one month at most.

• Arrange the transfer in advance: have your pension transferred to a bank account in Tunisia as soon as you arrive in order to obtain the transfer certificate required.
• Respect the deadlines: overstaying the authorised period gives rise to penalties and departure from the country may be deferred until the situation is regularised (France Diplomatie).
• Register on the register of French citizens living abroad as soon as your stay exceeds 6 months: it makes consular procedures easier.

Two texts frame the tax of a retiree settled in Tunisia: the France-Tunisia tax treaty of 28 May 1973 and the Tunisian personal income tax code.

• Tax residence: article 3 of the treaty designates as resident the State where you have a permanent home; if you have one in each State, the State of your centre of vital interests (closest personal and economic ties); failing that, the State of habitual abode, then nationality.
• Private pensions: under article 25, pensions, life annuities and similar remuneration paid in respect of past employment are taxable only in the State of residence. A retiree who is tax resident in Tunisia therefore declares their pension in Tunisia.
• Former civil servants: public remuneration comes under article 26 of the treaty. Have the treatment of your pension confirmed by your pension management centre before leaving.
• Property income: article 10 taxes income from a property in the State where it is located. Rent from a home kept in France remains taxable in France, and article 29 organises the elimination of double taxation (Tunisia deducts the tax paid in France, up to the corresponding Tunisian tax).
• 80% allowance: Tunisian legislation applies a flat-rate deduction of 80% on pensions and life annuities of foreign origin, provided they are transferred to Tunisia (bank or postal account, or currency import declaration). A pension kept abroad benefits from a 25% allowance. Only 20% of the transferred pension therefore enters the tax base, which is then calculated on the progressive scale.

This regime, which dates from the 2007 finance law, is carried over by the legislation in force; confirm the rate, the supporting documents to attach to the annual return and the deadline with the Tunisian General Directorate of Taxes or a tax adviser before you leave. Also inform the French tax authority of your change of residence. Our guide to receiving your pension abroad details the administrative side.

Your French pension is paid in euros by your pension funds; for a retiree of the general scheme living outside the European Union, the National Centre for French Retirees Abroad (CNAREFE) manages the files and payment. It is converted into dinars at the day’s rate: 1 euro was worth 3.3749 dinars on 1 October 2026 (Central Bank of Tunisia). The dinar is under a managed floating exchange regime and the exchange code was overhauled in 2024, with measures facilitating investment and liberalising certain foreign currency operations.

• Open an account in Tunisia and ask your bank how your pension will be converted, what fees apply and what type of account (dinars, foreign currency or convertible dinars) matches your resident status.
• Keep the transfer receipts: they are used for the residence permit and the tax allowance.
• Track inflation: 5.4% in August 2026 (INS), with a policy rate of 7%: the purchasing power of a fixed pension in euros moves with the exchange rate and local prices.

Remember the proof-of-life documents that pension funds periodically request from retirees living abroad, and report any new address or bank details.

The social security agreement of 26 June 2003 allows holders of a pension from the French scheme, of French or Tunisian nationality, to benefit from health cover in Tunisia if they have no rights of their own under the Tunisian scheme. The fund that pays the pension issues form SE 351-07 (for the general scheme, after a questionnaire sent to the CNAV, the French state pension fund; for civil and military pensions, via the DSFIPE in Nantes). It allows the pensioner and their dependants to be registered with the CNAM, on the same terms as an insured employee.

• Contribution: for a tax resident of Tunisia, 3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension and 7.1% for self-employed workers’ schemes, in place of the CSG, CRDS and Casa.
• Schemes: public scheme with a patient’s share capped at one and a half pensions a year, private scheme or reimbursement of costs. The detail is in our page healthcare reimbursement in Tunisia.
• Stays in France: the pensioner and their minor children are covered during temporary stays; for a hospital stay of more than one month, prior recognition with a medical check is required. The accompanying spouse arranges personal insurance.

To cover the gap between agreed tariffs and private clinic prices, as well as the spouse, repatriation and dependency, add a CFE (the French social security fund for expatriates) or international health insurance. Our guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad and the page insurance for retirees abroad help you compare.

To put local prices in context, the 48-hour SMIG (minimum wage) reaches 554.736 TND per month in 2026, or about 164 euros, and a GP consultation at the agreed tariff costs 40 to 55 TND (about 12 to 16 euros). These benchmarks do not indicate your budget: it depends mainly on rent or the home you buy, the car, private healthcare and how often you travel to France. Compare three comparable housing offers before renting and allow a margin for inflation.

• Hammamet: a Cap Bon resort popular with retirees, served by Enfidha-Hammamet airport.
• Sousse and Monastir: cities of the Sahel with an airport (Monastir), university hospitals and clinics, seaside and cultural life.
• Djerba: an island in the south with a mild climate, Djerba-Zarzis airport, a peaceful pace.
• Tunis and La Marsa: the most complete range of care, French consulate general, cultural life and flights from Tunis-Carthage.
• Bizerte and Sfax: more local settings, less oriented towards expats.

Preferably choose a city close to a university hospital or a clinic and to an airport with flights to France. The page Tunisian healthcare system lists establishments by city.

• Ask the pension fund for form SE 351-07 (CNAV, DSFIPE or other scheme) and check the treatment of the pension.
• Notify the tax authority, the health insurance fund, the family benefits fund and the bank of the change of residence.
• Rent first to test the city before any purchase, and have a purchase checked by a Tunisian notary.
• Have the pension transferred to an account in Tunisia and keep the receipts for the residence permit.
• Take out top-up insurance, including assistance and repatriation, for the retiree and the spouse.
• Update the vaccination schedule and bring prescriptions and treatments in their original packaging.
• Register on the register of French citizens living abroad and on Fil d’Ariane (the French foreign ministry’s alert service).

For a retirement project abroad, Expavy compares retirees’ health benefits; see also our page on the retirement-abroad offer and the checklist for the first 90 days.