Immigration to Mauritius : the new rules, active from 2 September 2020

Following enactment of the new laws governing Immigration, precisely Occupation and Residence permits, the following new conditions are now applicable to those who want to invest work or retire in Mauritius. We bring you the major changes and remain at your service for any question you might have.

What is an Occupation permit (OP) ?

The Occupation Permit (OP) is a combined work and residence permit which allows foreign nationals to work and reside in Mauritius under 3specific categories namely:

Investor including Investor for innovative start-ups
Professional
Self-Employed
Retired residence permit (Foreign nationals, above the age of 50 years, may also choose to retire in Mauritius under a Residence Permit (RP).)

An Occupation Permit (Investor and Self-employed) and a Retired Residence Permit shall be issued for a maximum period of ten years, renewable thereafter as per established criteria.



INVESTOR OP

An Investor, as defined under the Immigration Act, is a shareholder and director in a company incorporated in Mauritius under the Companies Act 2001. Three options are now available to Investors:



Option 1 :

Transfer of USD50,000 or its equivalent in freely convertible currency in the bank account of the company under which the application will be made.



Option 2 (Net Asset Value):

Net asset value of at least USD 50,000 or its equivalent its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency, for existing businesses and businesses inherited and a cumulative turnover of at least 12 million rupees during the 3 years preceding the application.



Option 3 (High Technology Machines & Equipment) :

An initial investment of USD 50,000 or its equivalent in freely convertible currency, of which:

(a) a minimum transfer of at least USD 25,000 to the bank account of the company under which the application will be made.

And

(b) the equivalent of the remaining value in high technology machines and equipment, subject to such criteria as the Chief Executive Officer may determine, such as:

The high technology machines and equipment will be evaluated based on the invoice issued by the supplier and a report from a recognized Chartered Valuator in the country of origin.
In case the high technology machines and equipment is yet to be shipped to Mauritius, the investor should submit the bill of lading to the Occupation Permit Unit at time of submission of the application.
Investment in high technology machines and equipment must be in a qualifying activity including but not limited to agro-industry, aquaculture, healthcare, ICT-BPO, fin-tech, life sciences, biotechnology, manufacturing, ocean economy and renewable energy.


Investor for Innovative start-ups

Foreign nationals are eligible to apply for an innovator OP under the following 2 options:



Option 1:

No minimum investment required and submission of an innovative project to the Economic Development Board.



Option 2:

Registered with an incubator accredited with the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council.



Eligibility

The business plan should clearly depict all expenditures related to R&D activities.

The scheme applies to companies conducting R&D in qualifying sectors including but not limited to life and health sciences, technology, ICT, fintech, biotechnology, nano technology, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and design. The R&D expense component should constitute of at least 20% of total operational expenditure during the research phase.

The Economic Development Board will assess, on a case to case basis, each project on its own merit to determine its eligibility to the scheme



Qualifying Expenditures

The following costs may qualify as Research and Development:

Direct R&D staff costs
Subcontracted R&D costs
Externally provided R&D staff
Clinical trial volunteer costs
Prototypes
Software directly used in R&D
Consumable items
Any other expenditure deemed to have been incurred with the prospect of gaining new scientific or technical knowledge and understanding
For greater clarity, the following costs will not be considered as R&D expenditure:

The production and distribution of goods and services
Capital expenditure
iii. The cost of land
Expenditures incurred for the use and the creation of patents and trademarks, as these are the cost of protecting the completed R&D
An investor who invests at least USD 375,000 in a qualifying business activity is also eligible to apply for the 20-year residence permit. Qualifying activities: Agro-based industry, Audio-visual, Cinema and Communication, Banking, Construction, Education, Environment-friendly and green energy products, Financial Services, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Freeport, Information Technology, Infrastructure, Insurance, Leisure, Manufacturing, Marina development, Tourism and Warehousing, Initial Public Offerings.



PROFESSIONAL OP

A Professional, as defined under the Immigration Act, is an expatriate employed in Mauritius by virtue of a contract of employment.

A Professional should earn a monthly basic salary of at least MUR 60,000.

For Professionals in the sector of information and communication technologies (ICT), business process outsourcing (BPO), pharmaceutical manufacturing and food processing, the monthly basic salary should be at least MUR 30,000.

Professionals may also apply for a Short-term Occupation Permit for a period not exceeding 9 months. The OP may be extended only once for a period not exceeding 3 months.



Right to Invest by Professional

A holder of an Occupation Permit as Professional may invest in any business provided that: –

he/she is not employed in the business
he/she does not manage the business
he/she does not derive any salary or employment benefits from the business
Notwithstanding the above, a Professional may hold shares in a business where he/she is employed provided that the Occupation Permit holder is not a majority shareholder.



Note:

An application for a Professional should be submitted by the Employer (either Director or HR representative) on behalf of the Professional.


The contract of employment, duly signed by both parties, should clearly mention the following: applicant’s full name as per the birth certificate, company’s name, Job Title, Duration of the contract of employment and Monthly basic salary.


The Employer is also required to sign the Undertaking form as per section 5 of the Occupation Permit application form.


The Professional should be accompanied by the Employer (either Director or HR representative) on the appointment date.


SELF-EMPLOYED

A Self-Employed is defined as a non-citizen engaged in a professional activity under the services sector only and registered with the Registrar of Businesses under the Business Registration Act 2002.
A Self-Employed should operate a one-person business activity, working exclusively for his/her own account.
A Self-Employed should make an initial transfer of USD 35,000 or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency to his/her local bank account in Mauritius.
For renewal, the business activity should generate a business income of 800,000 rupees per year as from the third year of registration.


RETIRED NON-CITIZENS

A Retired Non-Citizen is defined as a person who is not a citizen of Mauritius and aged 50 years or above.
A Retired Non-Citizen should make an initial transfer of at least USD 1,500 or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency to his/her local bank account in Mauritius.
Thereafter, the Retired Non-Citizen should transfer at least USD 1,500 monthly or the aggregate of at least USD 18,000 per year or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency during the 10 years’ validity of the residence permit.
At the end of each year, the Retired Non-Citizen should submit to the Economic Development Board, the evidence of transfer of funds into his/her local bank account.


Right to Invest by Retired Non-Citizen

A holder of Residence Permit as Retired Non-Citizen may invest in any business provided that:

he/she is not employed in the business
he/she does not manage the business
he/she does not derive any salary or employment benefits from the business


Note:

The Retired Non-Citizen should also provide information on other residences that he/she may have in other jurisdictions, including tax residences. This information will be shared with the Mauritian Tax Authority to be in line with the prevailing Common Reporting Standard (CRS) adopted by the Republic of Mauritius

PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMIT (PRP)

A holder of an Occupation or Residence Permit is eligible to apply for a 20-year Residence Permit provided the following specific conditions are met:

Investor: Holds an OP for at least 3 years with:
a minimum annual gross income of at least MUR 15M; or
an aggregate turnover MUR 45M, for any consecutive period of 3 years.
Professional: Holds an OP for at least 3 years with a basic monthly salary of at least MUR 150,000 for 3 consecutive years.
Self-Employed: Holds an OP for at least 3 years with an annual business income of at least MUR 3 million for the 3 consecutive years.