Guide 28 · valid as of 22 October 2026 · getsahla.com
For exchange control, you stay an Algerian resident as long as your main centre of economic activity is in Algeria. A foreign address or a passport isn’t enough. Once the centre of your work really is abroad, the Algerian rules on assets abroad no longer apply to what you earn there.
Take Yacine, a data analyst in Algiers. In 2026 he gets a German Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte). He moves to Berlin, looks for work, and lands a permanent contract five months later. His centre of activity is now in Germany: he’s a non-resident for Algeria, and his income falls under the German tax office.
What the law says
- The test. Residents of Algeria are people “who have their main centre of economic activity there”; non-residents are those whose centre “is located outside Algeria” (Law 23-09, art. 143Loi 23-09 du 21 juin 2023 portant loi monétaire et bancaire (copie Banque d'Algérie), p. 36). The law sets no number of days.
- What changes once you’re a non-resident. The ban on assets abroad (Regulation 07-01, art. 8Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 2) and the duty to bring earnings home apply to residents. As a non-resident, you can have a bank account, a company or savings abroad, under the rules of the country you live in. Money you earned while still a resident and left abroad is another matter: article 8 targets assets built up “from their activities in Algeria”.
- What you keep in Algeria. Residents and non-residents alike can hold a foreign currency account at an Algerian bank (Regulation 07-01, art. 22Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 4).
- Tax is a separate question. Tax residence follows its own tests: each country’s, and those of tax treaties (between Algeria and France, for example). A tax adviser has to settle cases of dual residence.
One legal route: Germany’s Opportunity Card
Germany offers an “Opportunity Card” to look for a job on the spot.
- Who it’s for: people from outside the EU with a degree or vocational qualification. Either your qualification is fully recognised in Germany, or you need at least 6 points (qualification, language, experience, age and so on) plus A1 German or B2 English.
- Money: at least €1,091 net per month for 2026 in a blocked account, or a formal declaration of support.
- How long: up to one year to find a job.
- Work allowed: one or more part-time jobs up to 20 hours a week, and trial work of up to two weeks per employer.
- After that: a qualified job or self-employment lets you apply for another residence permit.
Other countries have their own talent or digital nomad visas: always check the country’s official website, never an agency’s page.
The methods
Move with a residence permit and set up your work there
- Choose an official route: a job, studies, the Opportunity Card, a self-employment visa.
- Once there, register with the tax office in your new country and open a bank account there.
- Keep proof of your new life: a lease, an employment contract, a tax certificate, consular registration.
- Close your auto-entrepreneur activity in Algeria if you no longer work under it (guide 5), or ask an accountant how to wind it up.
Splitting the year between Algeria and abroad
Six months in Paris, six months in Oran, with clients on both sides: the law has no simple answer. If most of your work and income stays in Algeria, you stay a resident and the rules in guides 17 and 21 apply. The regulations don’t clearly cover this situation: talk to a lawyer before you open an account or a company abroad.
Calling yourself a “non-resident” without leaving
Giving Wise, a platform or a bank a relative’s address abroad doesn’t change where you live. You’re still a resident, holding banned assets abroad, and you’ve made a false declaration on top (guides 15 and 17).
Key points
- Resident = main centre of economic activity in Algeria, whatever address you give.
- Centre of activity really abroad: Algerian rules on assets abroad no longer apply to your new income.
- Tax: a different test, to check with a tax adviser.
Sources
- Law 23-09 of 21 June 2023, monetary and banking law: art. 143, residence, p. 36, read on 22 October 2026.
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 07-01 of 3 February 2007: art. 8, assets abroad, p. 2; art. 22, foreign currency accounts of residents and non-residents, p. 4, original text read on 22 October 2026.
- Make it in Germany (German federal government), Opportunity Card: requirements, read on 22 October 2026.
- German Embassy Dublin, Opportunity Card: documents and funds, page dated 10 June 2026, read on 22 October 2026.