Integrated Resort Scheme - IRS

Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS)  Mauritius

Live the resort life! Foreigners can buy residences such as villas, townhouses, apartments, penthouses, duplexes, and serviced plots (maximum extent 1.25 arpents or 5,276 square metres) in approved IRS projects in Mauritius.

Thanks to the Mauritian government’s approach to encourage real estate investment by foreigners, the interest in the acquisition of properties on the island has been sustained. Local government upped their game back in 2002 when they introduced the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) to foreigners willing to invest in Mauritius. Since then, it pursued further efforts to heighten foreigners’ interest in investing in island properties.

The IRS lists specific guidelines to be eligible to this scheme. Property developers and promoters shall not only build residential units, but they have to enhance the residences with commercial facilities and recreational amenities. As a result, foreigners benefit from recreational features such as golf course, marina, leisure areas & commercial amenities. Property developers should devote at least 10 per cent of the total investment costs to the leisure and commercial amenities of their IRS project.

The advantage of buying in an IRS is the prescribed inclusion of resort-style facilities for shopping and leisure pursuits. The land area must be at least 10 hectares and the development must be of some benefit to the neighbouring communities. In addition, developers must provide management services to homeowners such as security and maintenance.

One important ingredient to the success of the IRS scheme is the inclusion of VEFA (Vente en l’État Futur d’Achèvement). Through this agreement, the purchase of properties may start on the pre-construction or construction stage. This comes with the advantages in enabling staggered payments while the project is in progress.

Importantly, VEFA is backed by a performance bond called Garantie Financière d’Achèvement (GFA) that acts as an assurance of construction completion. This bond not only provides peace of mind to the foreign buyers of real estate in Mauritius, it also offers a guarantee in the quality of workmanship in IRS projects.

Buying a residence is already a complex process. More so, buying a real estate property overseas adds another layer of complexity to the process. As a leading real estate property developer in Mauritius, 2Futures supplements its developer role and provides assistance and support to foreigners.

Basically, 2Futures’s in-house consultants will help you choose the best residence according to your needs. With the extensive portfolio of real estate developments such as residential apartments, penthouses, villas and duplexes, it can be a little overwhelming especially for first-time buyers.

Properties developed under the IRS scheme in Mauritius are bundled with a residence permit for non-citizen buyers. The only requirement to be eligible to this permanent residence permit is to invest USD 375,000 or more in an IRS property for sale in Mauritius. Once you are a holder of this permit, you can also invest and work in Mauritius which will help you expand your wealth-building on the island. With it, you can also apply for a permanent residency of 20 years for yourself and your dependents.

Furthermore, you can become a tax resident in Mauritius where the tax regime is amenable to foreign investors. Local regulations do not impose a levy on capital gains. The government also exempts dividends and interest payment from withholding tax.

Mauritius pegs its corporate income tax at an attractive 15 per cent. It has an extensive tax treaty network with major countries, too, thus avoiding onerous double taxation for an investor.

Owners are allowed to rent their property. What’s more, there is no restriction on the repatriation of funds or revenue received from the property’s sale or rental.

Noncitizens with a residence permit under the IRS do not need an Occupation or Work Permit to invest and work in Mauritius. Registration duty on remaining IRS residential property for sale is levied at 5% or USD 70,000, whichever is lower.