Mauritius is fast becoming a hot spot of property investment among foreigners and expatriates in the African island. Mauritius is a beautiful island country known for beaches, lagoons and reefs in the Indian ocean. Mauritius has attracted over $10 billion foreign direct investment. Mauritius is offshore center for financial services, trading and shipping companies.
A non-citizen is eligible for a residence permit upon the purchase of a villa under the Property Development Scheme when he has invested more than USD 500,000 or its equivalent in any freely convertible foreign currency.
According to International Investment, the country has become a hot bed for investment and has attracted large number of South Africans.
James Bowling, chief executive officer of residency and citizenship by investment facilitator Monarch & Co, said that non-Mauritian citizens are now eligible for residency permits upon the purchase of a property under the government’s Property Development Scheme (PDS) with a minimum investment value of $500,000. Mauritius has no Capital Gains Tax, dividends or inheritance tax and a universal tax rate of 15%.
According to Mauritius Economic Development Board, foreign investors can qualify for permanent residency by investing.
Investor: An investor having held an Occupation Permit for three years immediately preceding the date of application for Permanent Residence Permit and whose company’s turnover exceeded MUR 15 million (US$ 450,000 annually; or
An investor having invested USD 500,000 in a qualifying activity. The list of qualifying business activities are: 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, Warehousing.
NATURALIZATION FOR INVESTORS
Under section 9(3) of the Mauritius Citizenship Act an investor may be naturalized as a citizen of Mauritius if:
(i) he has invested a sum of not less than 500,000 US dollars in Mauritius;and
(ii) he has resided in Mauritius for a continuous period of not less than 2 years preceding the date of his application
Mauritius Passport
According to Henley Passport Index 2018, Mauritius passport is ranked 28th powerful passport in the world with visa free access to 145 destinations.
