A comfortable retirement works out cheaper in Morocco — around £1,900/month for a couple, versus £2,500 in France (about 24% more).
Cost of living, side by side
| France | Morocco | |
|---|---|---|
| Modest (couple/mo) | £1,700 | £1,200 |
| Comfortable (couple/mo) | £2,500 | £1,900 |
| Premium (couple/mo) | £3,800 | £3,000 |
Indicative monthly estimates for a couple — real costs vary by location, lifestyle and exchange rates.
France: There are no nationality restrictions on owning French property: non-residents can buy freehold (pleine propriété) apartments, houses and land on the same basis as citizens. Every sale is completed by a notaire, who guarantees legal title and collects taxes.
Morocco: Foreigners can buy urban residential and commercial property freehold, registered in their own name through the land registry (Conservation Fonciere) via a notary. Agricultural land is generally off-limits unless officially reclassified, and properties in military or security zones are restricted. There are no caps on foreign ownership of residential units.
France: EU/EEA nationals need no visa; others (including UK citizens) generally use the long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur), requiring stable income of roughly €1,400+ a month, private health insurance and accommodation, renewed annually.
Morocco: Morocco has no dedicated retirement visa; most retirees enter on a long-stay (type D) visa then apply for a residence card (carte de sejour) within 90 days, showing stable pension income and health cover.
France: France's public health system is excellent; after three months' residence you can join it (PUMA), and UK state pensioners use an S1 form so the UK covers their care. Most residents add a top-up mutuelle policy, often EUR 50-150 a month, to cover the balance the state does not.
Morocco: Expats rely on private clinics in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Agadir, where doctors speak French and increasingly some English and care is good value; Rabat's Cheikh Zaid and Marrakech's Clinique du Sud are well regarded. Private insurance runs roughly MAD 500-1,500 (about GBP 40-120) a month depending on age.
France: Under the UK-France treaty most UK pensions, both state and private, are taxed in France at progressive rates after a 10% allowance, while UK government-service pensions stay taxable in the UK. S1 holders are exempt from France's social charges on pension income, a valuable saving.
Morocco: Foreign pensions transferred to Morocco in dirhams have long enjoyed a large reduction of around an 80% abatement, and recent reforms move further toward exempting basic pension income for residents. It is a genuinely favourable regime, but confirm your own position with a local adviser.
France: Temperate in the north and west with mild, wet winters and warm summers, turning Mediterranean and hot in the south. Late spring and early autumn are especially lovely. France is safe and well-run, with petty theft mainly a big-city concern; they drive on the right, and while English is spoken in cities and tourist spots, some French is important for rural life and officialdom.
Morocco: Warm and sunny with regional variety: hot inland summers in Marrakech above 35C, milder Atlantic coasts, and mild winters, with Agadir enjoying 300+ sunny days a year. Spring and autumn are ideal. Generally safe and hospitable with a large established expat community; French is the key second language and English less so outside tourism, driving is on the right, and life is affordable and comfortable for British retirees.
France: Budget around 7-8% of the price in frais de notaire on an existing home (much less, 2-3%, on a new build), mostly transfer duty of up to 5% plus the notaire's fee and registration; agency commission is often already in the price. Completion typically takes about three months.
Morocco: Budget roughly 8-10% of the price in one-off costs, comprising about 4% registration tax, 1.5% land-registry, notary fees of 0.5-1% and agency commission around 2.5%; a purchase usually completes in a couple of months.
France: The Dordogne for its long-established British community and countryside; Provence and the Occitanie south for sun and Mediterranean life; Brittany for a familiar green coast close to the UK; and the Riviera for glamour at a price.
Morocco: Marrakech for culture and a big expat scene, Agadir for the best year-round sunshine and modern comforts, Essaouira for a breezy artistic coastal town, and Rabat for a calm, green capital.
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