Setting Up a Business in Monaco

An in-depth guide for foreign entrepreneurs and companies looking to enter the Monégasque market — a compact principality known for a favorable personal tax regime and a genuinely interconnected wealth ecosystem, though corporate activity remains more tightly regulated than the reputation suggests.
This guide covers legal structures (SARL versus SAM), business taxation — a 25% corporate rate applying once turnover generated outside Monaco exceeds 25% — company formation, residency requirements, and the cost of labor. Includes a dedicated chapter on Monaco’s zero personal income tax (with the specific French-citizen exception under the 1963 bilateral treaty), its ultra-secure environment, its private banking, private equity, yachting, and luxury ecosystem, and an honest account of the real barriers — among the world’s highest real estate costs and a discretionary, multi-month government authorization process requiring solid financial guarantees and genuine local value. An operational checklist and useful contacts round out the guide.
Available in English and French.