Mauritius is widening its doors for expats and foreign investors via several new incentives that the country is adopting to help its economy rebound from the looming downtrend because of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of these incentives lowers the price threshold of properties foreigners can buy to qualify for a Mauritius permanent residence permit.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, disclosed the new measures on June 4, 2020, in his speech on Mauritius’s 2020-2021 Budget before the National Assembly.
A slew of perks for permit holders
Amongst other incentives for foreign investors, the minimum investment amount that a non-citizen needs to shell out in an existing real estate scheme to qualify for permanent residency will be reduced to USD375,000 from USD500,000.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
To encourage foreign talents to help the country’s local growth, non-citizens with Residence Permit, Occupation Permit, or Permanent Residence Permit will be allowed up to June 30, 2022 to acquire in smart cities one land parcel not exceeding 2,100 m2 for residential use. The residential construction has to be completed within a 5-year period.
Investors, professionals, and retirees are further encouraged to stay in Mauritius and contribute to its growth through several other measures that include:
Investors, professionals, and retirees are further encouraged to stay in Mauritius and contribute to its growth through several other measures that include:
Combining the Work Permit and Residence Permit into one single permit
Extending the validity of an Occupation Permit and a Mauritius Residence Permit for retirees to a renewable 10 years
The Economic Development Board tasked as the sole agency to process applications for Occupational Permit
Reduction of the minimum investment amount to USD50,000 from USD100,000 for obtaining an Occupation Permit
No permit requirement to invest or work in Mauritius for the spouse of an Occupation Permit holder and non-citizens under various real estate schemes
Allowing Occupation Permit holders to bring their parents to live in Mauritius
Permission for professionals with an Occupational Permit and foreign retirees with a Residence Permit to invest in other ventures without any shareholding restriction
Permit to invest and work in Mauritius no longer required for non-citizens with a residence permit under the various real estate schemes
Extension of the Mauritius Permanent Residence Permit to 20 years from 10 years
New conduit for investment
In a related development to mitigate the economic downturn because of Covid-19, the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) is establishing the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd. It will operate directly under the BoM to support the country’s banking sector and thus limit financial and macro-economic risks.
The MIC is coming up with a range of equity/quasi-equity instruments which may draw the interest of those holding a permanent residence permit and other foreign investors. The BoM hopes that these financial instruments will help keep local economic operators afloat and contribute to shoring up employment in Mauritius.
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