Mauritius immigration shifting to younger working professionals

The incoming expatriate mix in Mauritius is shifting from being primarily driven by retirees looking for an exotic place to drop anchor that offers significant wealth preservation benefits. It is now attracting a new generation of younger working professionals who are looking to further their careers or build a business in a multinational, entrepreneurial environment that offers excellent opportunities for wealth creation, as well as being a good place to raise a family.

Why has Mauritius become that much more attractive for younger, working-age adventurers as well as corporate executives the world over? The reasons are many, but key attractions include:

1. Opportunities

Mauritius has always been a welcome home for professionals and foreign skills and talents. From dynamic sectors like technology and innovation, information and communication, healthcare, and tourism to finance, trade, real estate, Mauritius offers opportunities to expatriates to explore the Mauritian job market.

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

• Investor
• Professional
• Self-Employed

The Investor and Self-employed permits are issued for a maximum period of ten years and are renewable subject to conditions. The Professional permit is issued for a maximum period of three years depending on the duration of the contract of employment and is renewable subject to conditions.

Occupation Permits can be converted into a 20-year Permanent Residency Permit only three years after issue, provided that the holder meets the relevant criteria. Dependants of an OP or Residence Permit holders may also apply for residence permit for a duration not exceeding that of the main holder.

In addition, non-citizens who have acquired a residence permit through a real estate investment under the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS), Real Estate Scheme (RES), Property Development Scheme (PDS) or Smart City Scheme (SCS) are exempted from the requirement to hold an Occupation or Work Permit to invest and work in Mauritius.

2. The tropical climate

For someone who has spent all his life in Europe, between very harsh winters and heat waves, Mauritius is an ideal place to live with two seasons and a pleasant year-round tropical climate. Summer runs from November to April with a hot and humid climate. Temperatures can exceed 30°C on the coast but the sea is never too far away to cool down! The southern winter between May and October is warmer and drier with very pleasant temperatures that vary between 17°C and 25°C.

3. Favourable tax system

Mauritius offers a low-tax jurisdiction and a number of other fiscal incentives, including a flat corporate tax rate of 15%, 100% foreign ownership, no minimum foreign capital requirement, no tax on dividends or capital gains, free repatriation of profits, dividends, and capital, accelerated depreciation on acquisition of plant, machinery, and equipment and exemption from customs duty on imported equipment.

In terms of personal income tax, Mauritius operates a progressive tax system that is also highly attractive, according to the following income bands:

• Income up to MUR650,000 (USD14,000): taxed at 0% (tax-free).
• Income from above MUR650,000 to MUR1.5 million: taxed at 10%.
• Income from above MUR1.5 million to MUR3 million: taxed at 15%.
• Income above MUR3 million: taxed at 20%.

Additionally, the government offers tax credits and deductions for various expenses, including insurance premiums, pension contributions and donations, which can lower the overall taxable income.

Mauritius also offers access to an extensive network of double taxation avoidance treaties (DTAAs). It has DTAAs in place with 46 countries, including the UK, France, South Africa, India, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. It is also party to a series of treaties under negotiation.

4. Ease of Doing Business

Mauritius is ranked on latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report and the top place to do business in Africa and 13th out of 190 countries worldwide, up alongside jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and the US.

The Mauritian government recognises the importance of a good business environment to attract investment and achieve a higher growth rate. In 2019, the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act introduced provisions for streamlining of business licences, expediting trade fee payments, reviewing procedures for construction permits and implementing numerous trade facilitation measures.

5. Cost of living

As an island, many products are imported and Mauritius currently ranks third in the ranking of African countries with the highest cost of living, just above South Africa and Nigeria. However, it is ranked 74th in global terms, meaning that the cost of living is typically much lower than in all the world’s advanced economies. One euro is equivalent to approximately 50 Mauritian rupees, so Europeans arriving in the country or Mauritian residents paid in foreign currency generally enjoy strong purchasing power and a highly affordable standard of living.

6. Healthcare

Mauritius healthcare is recognised for its quality internationally and is available to all residents. The health system is split into two sectors: public and private. The island has a variety of different hospitals and clinics, with some specialising in specific medical issues and treatments. The public healthcare is completely free, available via dispensaries and hospitals throughout Mauritius, and is capable of handling most medical conditions and emergencies.

Around 73% of the population’s healthcare needs are managed for free by the public sector. The remaining 27% is dealt with by the private sector. Generally, for specialist treatment or a more advanced procedure, patients will be treated in a private clinic or, in rare cases, may have to travel overseas to South Africa or India. Private healthcare options are well-funded, with excellent facilities that meet European standards, and their quality attracts lots of medical tourism.

Expats will need to pay to use public or private health facilities in Mauritius. Most expats take out medical insurance in Mauritius which provides access to the island’s private health facilities.

7. Education

Mauritius offers a high-quality education system with various options that cater to the educational needs of expatriate families. These schools offer various curricula, including the British, French, and International Baccalaureate systems.

International schools in Mauritius offer several benefits for expatriate families, such as experienced teaching staff and modern facilities, curriculum continuity to ensure smooth transitions for students who have moved from other countries or plan to continue their education abroad, a multicultural environment and a wide range of extracurricular programmes.

8. Time zone

The Mauritius time zone is UTC+4, which makes it an ideal location for doing business with Europe, Asia and Africa. This business-friendly time zone has made Mauritius a popular choice for global shared services centres (SSCs), global business services (GBS), back offices, business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centres.

9. Connectivity

Despite its relatively remote location, Mauritius has many non-stop flight connections. Mauritius Airport, also known as Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, is the main international airport and has non-stop passenger flights scheduled to 27 destinations in 18 countries, with Paris, London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Dubai, Mumbai, Nairobi, Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur being the most frequented hubs.

In terms of digital connectivity, Mauritius is currently served by four international submarine cables – South Africa Far East (SAFE) cable which entered service in 2002, Lower Indian Ocean (LION) cable in 2009, METISS (MElting poT Indianoceanic Submarine System) cable in 2021, and the troisième cable (T3) in 2023 – with a fifth now under planning.

In May 2024, Mauritius Telecom announced that it was exploring the development of a new T4 submarine cable with partners to connect Africa with Asia to replace the aging SAFE cable by 2027. The proposed T4 cable boasts 1,000 times greater capacity than its predecessor and will deliver faster, more reliable and higher-bandwidth internet.

10. Conclusion

While Mauritius remains an ideal place to retire, there are now more young professionals wishing to relocate, bring up families and build their wealth in Mauritius.

• Mauritius has established a business ecosystem that offers opportunities for employment and career progression across a wide range of business activities. It has developed a well-regulated and robust financial services sector, while the large legal and accountancy firms have also entrenched themselves on the island.
• The ability to earn and save in hard currencies such as USD, GBP and EUR. In Mauritius the local transactions are done in Mauritian Rupee (MUR), but there is no restriction on what currency your employment contract or invoices are denominated in.
• Mauritius is an attractive place to bring up families. The island offers a diverse range of educational options and is low in crime and high in outdoor activities.
• With the advent of digital nomads and the changed perception of the workspace, many companies are now more flexible as to where their employees are based. Mauritius offers a Premium Visa that allows the holder to stay for up to a year in Mauritius while working for a foreign employer.
• Mauritius offers a low tax environment and a laid-back lifestyle, an enticing combination that is ideal for saving or investing. Personal taxation is lower than in many parts of the world and the absence of capital gains tax means wealth can be generated more quickly.

“The attractiveness of Mauritian residency through investment for retirement continues unabated,” said Sovereign Trust (Mauritius) managing director Richard Neal, “but we are also seeing more and more clients who are moving to Mauritius for professional and family reasons.”

If you are interested in moving your business and / or family to Mauritius, please contact Richard Neal of Sovereign Trust (Mauritius) Limited for a free, no obligation consultation below.