Studying. Working.

Hello Sarah,

Welcome to Mauritius. I am also a student here (from Kenya) but will be finishing in five months after being here since 2013. Unfortunately, foreign students are no longer allowed to work in Mauritius. The Cabinet passed a decision on 27 March 2015 that barred us from working. They said it was temporary in order to fix the some issues with the permit work permit issuance system. Prior to that we were allowed to work the normal 20 hours a week for students.

Regarding living and working after you finish studying, I think that will be possible after your employer files an application for work permit for you after you are done with studies.

I hope this was helpful. If you need more info you can contact me privately on inbox.

Best

If i recall correctly (from past info I've read), as long as you get an approved job (I assume it will also need to be over 40/60K rupees per month to meet the minimum-foreigner-salary requirement), you will then need to apply for a work-permit, leave Mauritius and then return once it is approved.

In your case, you could return back to S.Africa until it is approved and then come back here, although (some) other expats choose to go to Reunion instead.

Things may be a bit different for you though, as you've been (and still are) a student here. I suggest speaking to the guidance/career counsellor at your university, as they may have a better option for you.

Also, please come back and share the feedback It will likely be useful to other students 

Hello Rushikay,

I guess your response or advice only applies after she is done with studies in Mauritius immediately before expiry of her student visa. As long as she is on a student permit, students are no longer allowed to work unless their is a loophole in the system. Or maybe she does it illegally. I have been studying here since 2013 when students were allowed to work for 20 hours. After work ban, the only students who can work are those that already had the student work authorization letter (read permit), and they can only use it till its expiry after which they will also not be allowed to work.

I am a representative of foreign students at UoM and we have been trying to fight that ban but so far nothing has been done. They say its temporary and that it will be reversed once the system is fixed, as it was previously being misused by scrupulous employers to bring in foreign workers from Bangladesh by disguising them as students.

Sarah, if you are already in Mauritius we can meet and have a chat on this or you could inbox your Skype details for an online chat.

Thanks for the helpful information. Yes i had my visa before the ban of working happened, although my university had told me that i cannot continue working. Obviously internships are allowed as it is not paid.

Most of the institutions relayed similar information to their students. From what I know...anybody who already had the work authorization letter could continue using it until it (the letter) expires. Even with internships, you can still have a paid internship, where payment is in term of a stipend. I am glad it's been helpful..feel free to contact me again for any clarifications or any similar issues.

Foreign students  can work now if one reads this:
Les étudiants étrangers qui suivent des cours à Maurice pour au moins une année dans les universités privées et autres institutions tertiaires pourront travailler à temps partiel, sauf dans le domaine de sécurité, pour une durée de 20 h par semaine.

May be it would be a good idea to check with the ministry since it was announced before the year end  holidays.

Dear Sarah

I think the right place for you to enquire on the work permit / residence permit would be the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) ... in any case just check the link below and contact them :-

http://pmo.govmu.org/English/PmoService … fault.aspx

Good luck

Cheers

Sonny ...

Its true. I concur, the temporary ban has been reversed and foreign students can now work the 20 hours per week as they used to. Seems like the ministry took note of all the letters we sent to them asking for the reversal of the ban. Its an achievement for some of us.

Sarah.. this is the official communication from the Tertiary Education Commission to that effect. http://tec.intnet.mu/pdf_downloads/comm … 070116.pdf