Business establishment help

Hi ajace,

You may have a look at the How to set up a business in Mauritius article. This might help you.

ps: We will contact the BOI to get more information and will get back to you.

I wish you good luck
Christine

Hi ajace,

Here are informations given by the BOI:

1. Visa

Any expatriate wishing to do business in Mauritius need to take up a Business Visa. Depending on their nationality/country of residence, they may need to either apply for a visa before arriving to Mauritius or they may obtain their visa at the immigration at the airport. The expatriate also needs to hold a valid return ticket.


2. OP guidelines

The guidelines relating to the OP can be access through the link http://www.worknlive.mu/Resources/Guidelines_OP.pdf. The guidelines includes all the documents that the foreign nationals need to bring with them when applying for an OP. Though we cannot refer applicants to any holder of an OP, we, at the BOI guides foreign nationals step by step to apply for the OP.


3. Transfer of funds

Kindly note that any foreign national wishing to set up activity in the country needs to firstly incorporate a company and open a bank a/c in Mauritius to transfer the funds according to her business plan.

Thanks for the helpful info,
I want to share with you something & maybe you have some experience about that,
I heard that the BOI do not approve occupation permit unless I know someone from the inside and I have to pay him some bribe,, is that true?? is it like this in Mauritius? things doesn't happen unless we pay under the table?? if that is the case then how can I know to whom I have to pay??

Thanks

Hi ajace.

This is not true!
The permit is given on the prime minister's office anyway ...

Regards
Armand

Thanks,

One more very confusing thing to me,
What is the different between GBC-1 company & a domestic company?
which one is better to go for?
I've seen many comparisons online but it's only between GBC-1 & GBC-2, but there is nothing clear about the difference between GBC-1 & Domestic Company!!!

Some clarification will be highly appreciated

thanks

Hi ajace,

You can find some useful informations on the links below:

http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/compdivsi … 4e2b521ca/http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/ncb/fsc/global.htm

I wish you luck and just to tell you that many foreigners already been here in the same state you are in. I wish you luck and I know you will succeed.

Thx

Dear Ajace

I would, first of all, like to wish you best of luck in your venture in Mauritius.

Well, it would, in my opinion, be advisable that, in the first place, you enquire whether there is an interesting market for the product or the service you would like to provide in Mauritius.

May be for evident reasons, you would not like to reveal them on the forum. Still, I believe you need to do some preliminary works in this direction.

There are quite some areas which are booming in Mauritius, and those who venture now would be happy!

Cheers

Vayid

Hello Ajace,
I know a company who can help you through all the process. If you need any help kindly let me know.

Thanks

GBC-1 company = is for an offshore company license (a platform where business is done through Mauritius)

a domestic company is a local mauritian company dealing with local people.

Hi Ajace

I trust you are well.I am a South African currently living in Mauritius for the past two years and I am currently in the process of opening a Home based travel agency.I read comments above about paying someone to get an OP...that is false as I found people living in mrt to be honest.I dnt believe such things.I have a dependant visa at the moment and found the BOI to be efficient.There are other ways to start a company in mrt,i suggest you contact Knights & John should you require further assistance as they are a management company in mrt and they are excellent.I wish you all the best in your new venture.Hope this helps.

michellek22 wrote:

Hi Ajace

I trust you are well.I am a South African currently living in Mauritius for the past two years and I am currently in the process of opening a Home based travel agency.I read comments above about paying someone to get an OP...that is false as I found people living in mrt to be honest.I dnt believe such things.I have a dependant visa at the moment and found the BOI to be efficient.There are other ways to start a company in mrt,i suggest you contact Knights & John should you require further assistance as they are a management company in mrt and they are excellent.I wish you all the best in your new venture.Hope this helps.

Mauritius has its black and white sides. Some people have had to pay something "extra" (to be politically correct) to have their permits.Any permits.

Thanks to all of you for the advice,

I would like to check if anybody heard about a Service company called "Cer-Service" in Mauritius, they are also listed in the directory of Expat.com under the relocation section I guess, I've been in touch with the guy and he's very helpful and kind,
I just need to know if anybody else used his service before and is he really good & professional or not
I feel very comfortable to use their service but yet I don't know them & it's good to ask if anybody else used their service before

By the way, I agree with "alisa_ram" she's totally right, every country has the black & white sides, however for me the most important thing is to know the very small details about the country I'm planning to move to, even if these facts are black ones!!!

I don't really care if the BOI rejected my application if they think I'm not qualified, there is always China as an option and expats are always welcome to start their business there easily & smoothly,
so If Mauritius didn't work out then China let's rock & roll

Cheers to everyone

Ajace

maybe you can start a topic with subject Can anyone give some feedback on this company (the one mentioned above). It might help to attract the ones who have been involved with that particular company.

Good idea!!! thanks

Hi Ajace,

you can even apply OP before coming to Mauritius.Sid

Hello everybody & specially Ajace.

The situation with the BOI has been very confusing since the beginning of the year.  There was, at some point, the question of bribe - and I would say that you can't have smoke without fire somewhere.  I'll leave that to the observation and appreciation of those who know what it's all about.

I have to say that I've been in the service for the past 16 years and been a priviledged witness of the changes in the law and 'attitude' that has affected Immigration so far.  The situation is now more understandable than it was for the past months. 

Ajace, to answer your main questions:
1.  You can come on a tourist visa if you are applying for an Occupation Permit.  If your application file is complete, the BOI will recommend Passport office to convert this visa into business.  AT this stage, you shouldn't assume that your permit is obtained.  This will be under the PMO's supervision and will be reviewed by the monitoring and licensing committee.

2.  A GBC is an offshore company which is not allowed to trade on the local market.  You have to have a licensed management to manage the legal side of things in Mauritius

Sids: your advice is wrong! We cannot apply for an OP while not being in MAuritius.  You have to be present in Mauritius to apply for an OP. You can apply for a Work Permit while not being in MAuritius, and that's a different thing compared to OP.

If this could help: my blog talks about the black, grey and white sides of the sunny island. you can check it on relocationmauritius.blogspot.com

Hi Ajace,

You can rely on Nadeem, he knows this field very well.Sids

Oops Sids! Do we know each other?  Thanks for your comment anyway

Thank all for your help,

I already got the required information and now I have clear idea about the situation and how things works,

We will end this topic here and we still can share our knowledge on other topics,

Thanks again!!