Property an expat can buy

@ricsman2

Yes, as far as i know the min amount is the same for everyone (just double checked). However, you do not need to buy to get residency. Everyone who is fifty plus can apply for retiree visa w very few requirements.

Maybe consider that first, then come and live here a while, travel around and then invest /buy. Application via edb mauritius, see webpage.

@ricsman2

if you also want to have a permanent residence permit yes 375k would be the price. But there are also a few schemes where foreigners can buy an apartment but it comes not with the permit. But if you're Pension is high enough to qualify for a premium visa I would go this route and save more than half the price.

If you want to have more information I can write you a pn with some sample projects available for foreigners.

Please do not confuse the Premium Visa (available for digital nomads to come and live in MU for upto 12 months renewable while earning income to sustain themselves from a Foreign source) with the residence permit as a Retired non-Citizen (RNC) which requires the main applicant to be over 50 and bring in only USD 1500 per month = USD 18 000 per year from a foreign source to sustain himself and his dependants. He can RENT anywhere on the island and there is no requirement to BUY property.

For as many years as he brings USD 18000 into his Mauritian bank account, he retains the Residency Permit for him and his dependants (spouse and any children under 24).

According to the latest Mauritius budget announced June 2023 (separate thread on this forum), there is also the possibility for over-50's to purchase a unit in a PDS for Senior Living for just USD 200 000 (as compared to the USD 375 000 for under 50's in the various other PDS/IRS/RES/G+2/SCS schemes).

Speaking to different estate agents on the island this week though, this has not yet been formalised (written into law) and at this stage there is apparently only 1 property in Moka in the centre of the island that is a purpose-built PDS for Senior living that would qualify;

others will no doubt be built in the next year or 2 should this option be formalised into law.

@ricsman2

once you have the RP/OP as Retired non-Citizen (USD 1500 every month = USD 18 000 every year if you decide to go that route**) then you already have your Residency Permit and you are then open to buy any advertised PDS/IRS/RES/G+2/SCS property and not only those above USD 375 000 that people younger than 50 require to obtain their Residency Permit.

look at the websites below and tick the box ✔️ available to foreigners, then sort by price from low to high:

propertymap.mu

propertycloud.mu

lexpressproperty.com/en/

For example L'Express Property currently has 11336 properties for sale in Mauritius

when you tick the box Accessible to foreigners, the number of properties reduces to 4754

when you look for prices below USD 375 000 the number reduces again to 1041

and when sorted by Least Expensive, the Residential properties begin at USD 121 145 for a 1 bedroom 50 sq m Smart City appartement in Tamarin.

** also note that the USD 1500 per month = USD 18 000 per year that you bring into your Mauritian bank account is not a donation to the government as in some other residency schemes in the Caribbean or Central America.

It remains your OWN money to do with as you like, e.g. to rent a bungalow or villa, or as the monthly repayment of a mortgage loan that you made to buy an appartement in the example above.

@Ceresiet good advice. If I do invest and buy a property in a G+2 I should get residency as long as that property is in my name. What other rights would I then have regarding buying further property? Can I then purchase a cheaper property and rent it out? Or can I rent out the original property but spend only a few months in Mauritius? Even with a retirement visa do you know how many months/days I can spend outside Mauritius per year as long as I am bringing in the required money?

@Tookays

I think you missed the point that if you need the Residency Permit through buying a G+2 then you HAVE to spend USD 375 000 or more.

You can then just as well buy a larger property (PDS/IRS/RES/SCS) for the same USD 375 000.

Once you have the residency permit, then you are not obliged to live in the property that you bought.

You are free for example to rent it out to tourists as an AirBnB at a daily rate, or put it into a rental pool through your estate agent, and then you yourselves can rent something cheaper elsewhere on the island to stay in during times that the property you bought is occupied.

Once you have the residency permit through the purchase of a property for USD 375 000, there is also no minimum or maximum number of days per year that you are required to stay on the island.

If however you want to break away from being a taxpayer in your country of origin and benefit from Mauritius' lower taxes (on their new sliding scale system from 0% to 20%) then this differs from country to country and whether your previous country has a Double Taxation Agreement with Mauritius but from South Africa for example there are a lot of formalities and red tape, and it is more complicated than just this, but one requirement is that you then stay in Mauritius for more than 183 days per year (6 months and a day) for 3 consecutive years.

@Tookays to answer your other 2 questions:

Q1:

Yes, once you have bought 1 property for USD 375 000, your family benefits from the Residency / Occupation permit for as long as you own that property.

You are then free to buy more properties, but as a Resident (non-Citizen) all your properties have to be in one of the G+2 / PDS / IRS / IHS / RES / SCS schemes.

Because you already have a Residence Permit through your first property, you can buy any other properties for less than the amount of USD 375 000 but they HAVE to be in one of the schemes above.

Exception - announced in the latest Mauritius Budget of June 2023 (proposed and not yet written into law):

Once you have already purchased 1 property for USD 375 000 or more and are now a Resident (non-Citizen), you are now allowed to buy 1 property OUTSIDE of the G+2 / PDS / IRS / IHS / RES / SCS schemes but at the minimum of USD 500 000 for residential purposes, and there is also a maximum restriction on the size of that property, so it cannot be a farm for example.

Q2:

If you choose the Residence Permit as a RNC (Retired non-Citizen) for as long as you keep paying USD 1500 every month or USD 18 000 every year into your Mauritian bank account, then there is no restriction on how few or how many days per year you spend on the island.

@Ceresiet Thank you. I thought an approved G+2 apartment could be bought for residency purposes as long as the value was at least 6.5 million MUR. At least that was what the EDB said the last time I asked. I must find out again.

@Tookays hmmm, just looked at the EDB website. Slightly conflicting information on it. As mentioned above, approved G+2 residence should be more than 375k USD. However, it also mentions that foreigners can also purchase G+2 apartments outside the approved ones for at least 6 million MUR. This is what I find confusing now. So, if this also gives me residency for 10-20 years, the options are different.

I coud apply for a retiree permit, rent for a year or 2 to make sure I like it, and then invest in a cheap apartment to save rental money, but this residency needs to be renewed periodically. Or initially buy an apartment outside approved G+2 for 6m MUR and get residency for more than 20 years anyway as long as I own the property; in addition, the property value should appreciate in 15-20 years. However, the EDB website does not confirm if I can get residency if I buy a non-approved G+2 apartment for 6+Million MUR.

A decent rental property is about 30k monthly at the moment. Renting for 20 years is 7.2m with nothing to show at the end, and rental may increase over the years anyway. Buying for 6+m now then makes more sense. This is just the way I am seeing things.

Thank you for clearing this up Candice.

One option when renting, or buying a property that does not qualify for Residency Permit / Occupation Permit (i.e. Less than USD 375 000), and wanting to stay for longer than 6 months at a time, would be to apply for the Premium Visa which is free of charge, valid for 12 months, and easily renewable after that.

https://residency.mu/live/mauritius-premium-visa/

The exception to the USD 375 000 rule that you do not mention, Candice, is the PDS for Senior Residence that can get a buyer over 50 and his dependants Residency for over USD 200 000 (cf Mauritius 🇲🇺 budget June 2023) - separate thread on this forum

Thank you all for the interesting and sometimes confusing discussions.

Life may be easier for seniors who want to retire in Mauritius. I can apply for the retirement visa with all its requirements including transfer of $1500 per month. This will give me a residence permit for at least 10 years, or even 20 years. With this permit, I can buy a residential property of less than $375K.  I think there is still a minimum value of MUR 6 million.

@Vanessa2909

Please I would appreciate same information (projects for foriegners) as well since I'm currently in the same situation.

Thanks

Sam

    Thank you for clearing this up Candice.
One option when renting, or buying a property that does not qualify for Residency Permit / Occupation Permit (i.e. Less than USD 375 000), and wanting to stay for longer than 6 months at a time, would be to apply for the Premium Visa which is free of charge, valid for 12 months, and easily renewable after that.

https://residency.mu/live/mauritius-premium-visa/

The exception to the USD 375 000 rule that you do not mention, Candice, is the PDS for Senior Residence that can get a buyer over 50 and his dependants Residency for over USD 200 000 (cf Mauritius 🇲🇺 budget June 2023) - separate thread on this forum
   

    -@Ceresiet

One more question - often related to real estate purchases - is when the citizenship application process can start and complete.  If you are investing in real estate, you may want to bequeathe the property to your children - as there are no inheritance tax, getting the citizenship would be very beneficial.

Has anyone gone through this process of getting citizenship and give the pros and cons?

Thank you.

PS:  I am going through the same process but in Brazil.  Information from local expats is very helpful.

@ricsman2 Hello. My name is Kauser and am in a similar situation. I have looked extensively at the options. It is relatively easy for retirees to move to Mauritius. If you are in decent health, and can show that you can transfer the equivalent of $1500 per month, you should be able to get a retirement visa for 10 years at least. Make it £1500 for safety. You can rent an apartment for about £500 per month and expenses at £1000 per month is OK. Not luxury obviously. the EDB website has decent information, and I would not believe anything any agencies say. You do not need to purchase at $375k.

Please feel free to message me.

Regards,

Kauser

@ricsman2 ***

Retired foreigners can also buy property in Mauritius for over USD 200,000. They can buy property under the Property Development Scheme, which has projects that specifically cater for senior living. This will automatically give them permanent residency as long as they own the property.

@Canadian_ExpatLawyer

Hello and welcome !

May I ask what is your source of information ? In particular in regards to the figures you are mentioning : Over 200,000 USD ?

Thank you in advance

Bhavna

It was according to the new budget, but can't seem to find wether it's in force or not : [link moderated]

@Canadian_ExpatLawyer

Hello, I don't see this info on the official residency website. Might be worth checking with competent authorities first.

There is the senior living residence program for eligible retirees but there is no minimum acquisition price : https://residency.mu/retire/senior-living-residence/

For the rest, foreigners can buy property for a minimum of 375,000 USD in one of the property/residency programs (IRS. PDS, RES, Invest Hotel Scheme, Smart City Scheme)

https://residency.mu/acquire/

And Ground +2 apartments for minimum MUR 6 million or equivalent (no residence permit is attached to this investment)

Regards

Bhavna

Hello, I am from Canada and I would like to buy  something in Mauritius.

I learned about investing  over 500000 USD and after 2 years of living in Mauritius, is possible to have cotizenship. It is real possible, or only on papers?

Daniela

    Retired foreigners can also buy property in Mauritius for over USD 200,000. They can buy property under the Property Development Scheme, which has projects that specifically cater for senior living. This will automatically give them permanent residency as long as they own the property.
   

    -@Canadian_ExpatLawyer

@dumbravd

Hello, following official sources, it is correct. Please contact the PMO to enquire : https://dha.govmu.org/Pages/ContactUs.aspx

Citizenship

​

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

Application under section 9(3) of the Mauritius Citizenship Act shall be submitted to the Secretary for Home Affairs in the form set out below. The application shall be subscribed in the presence of a Judge or the Master and Registrar of the Supreme Court or a District Magistrate.

An applicant for Naturalization under section 9(3) of the Mauritius Citizenship Act shall in addition place an advertisement in two daily newspapers in the form set out at the bottom of page 4 of the application form referred to above.

Regards

Bhavna

I am British and have just moved to Mauritius - June of 2023.  I applied and got a Retirement Visa in around 4 months, I send US$1500 per month to Mauritius and use it for living expenses.

To clarify, this is a VISA!!! It allows you to do multiple entries and exists for 10 years.  You are not part of the tax system, you are not required to buy a property.  This has NOTHING to do with residency.

I have bought a property.  To do this I applied for "Permission to buy a G+2 under the non-citizen act" I purchased a property cost Rs9,750,000 or around US$217,000. 

The bottom line is if you are not Mauritian there is only certain properties you can buy and you need the Governments approval.  The price you pay is only relevant if you want to use the property purchase to get a residency.

My personal opinion is that as a Brit you don't want to give up your passport or British citizenship (as many South Africans want to do) and as a retiree it depends on where you pension/income is coming from in regard to tax implications. 

I am happy to answer any questions if you want to contact me directly,

@wenris

Hello and welcome

The retirement visa you applied for, is it this one > https://residency.mu/retire/retired-non … -50-years/ ?

Regards

Bhavna

@Bhavna yes it is.

@wenris

Great !

Thank you for the feedback ! It is very much appreciated.

Have a nice day

Bhavna

    I am British and have just moved to Mauritius - June of 2023.  I applied and got a Retirement Visa in around 4 months, I send US$1500 per month to Mauritius and use it for living expenses.
To clarify, this is a VISA!!! It allows you to do multiple entries and exists for 10 years.  You are not part of the tax system, you are not required to buy a property.  This has NOTHING to do with residency.

I have bought a property.  To do this I applied for "Permission to buy a G+2 under the non-citizen act" I purchased a property cost Rs9,750,000 or around US$217,000. 

The bottom line is if you are not Mauritian there is only certain properties you can buy and you need the Governments approval.  The price you pay is only relevant if you want to use the property purchase to get a residency.

My personal opinion is that as a Brit you don't want to give up your passport or British citizenship (as many South Africans want to do) and as a retiree it depends on where you pension/income is coming from in regard to tax implications. 

I am happy to answer any questions if you want to contact me directly,
   

    -@wenris

I've seen source that state you don't need to give up your British passport.