Hello everyone.
My self, my partner and our 4-month old son are arriving in Mauritius from the UK at the end of November and we are expecting to stay for the full 60-day visa allowance. This is an exploratory trip in that we are looking to move permanently from the UK and would like to find work in order to extend our stay.
My partner has an Honours Degree in English from Oxford University and a decade of teaching experience and I am a musician and record producer with several decades of professional audio experience.
I may as well be honest here and state that one of our main reasons for leaving the UK is the current political climate, which has become frankly insane surrounding this Brexit nonsense. Whilst it is not Brexit per se that is making us leave, the political atmosphere and environment has become very toxic. It is now acceptable (and normal) for a large portion of the population to demonstrate their extreme right wing politics and casual racism. My son is likely to see the dawn of the 22nd Century and we are not prepared to bring him up in an environment which is deliberately shrinking and isolating itself from the rest of the world. He needs to grow up in an environment which is genuinely multi-cultural and we feel the need to be members of an inclusive society. We feel we would be doing both him and ourselves a massive disservice where we to stay here.
So! That said, we have booked flights and got passports sorted. We have been researching for several months and have come across a few stumbling blocks, which we are hoping that some of you may be able to help us with:
Accommodation
We need to rent a place with at least two bedrooms for a period of 2 months. What is the viability of Estate Agents renting long-term for that period; will most only want to rent on a daily/weekly basis (as in a holiday let) or longer term (6-12 months, etc)?
We are looking to rent somewhere quiet. Ideally, with direct access to the beach. We have seen some properties that fulfil our requirements that are also in our price range, but we are wondering whether it is best to book in advance, or spend the first few days hoteling and looking around to find the right place?
Work Visas
Is it possible to easily transfer from a tourist visa to a working visa? If either myself or my partner are offered employment while we are there on our tourist visa, will that allow for a longer extension to the visa for both of us?
Medical Insurance
How easy is it to access healthcare? We will have travel insurance, but is there anything we should know about regarding anything? Would we be better arranging local health care insurance when we arrive, rather than taking out a policy in the UK before we leave?
Car hire
Is there a cheaper way of hiring for the medium term, rather than standard tourist hiring? Also, (this may seem like an unusual point, but!) what is the availability of rear-facing child car-seats? I assume there is no problem for us driving as we both have full UK car licences.
Internet
This is a requirement for us. For various reasons we need to be able to access reasonably fast and reliable internet during our initial stay. How much coverage is there now away from the main areas? Is there 4G available in areas where broadband is not so good?
Other stuff
What is the attitude to young children like - welcome in restaurants for instance? Is breastfeeding considered acceptable and normal in public?
Is tap water safe to drink?
Is there anything else we need to know that we have likely not thought about? Are there any scams running that we should be aware of?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and, hopefully, to offer some answers and insight.
Jeremy, Sophie and Alexander (aged 4 months)
Coming to Mauritius in a month with the intention of staying...
Hello Jeremy and Sophie
I will try to answer each of your questions and address your concerns based on my understanding and knowledge.
To begin, I would like to stress about the fact that when it comes to ethno-socio-political climate and environment, all countries are having to deal with both toxic and non-toxic issues of varying degrees. And Mauritius is of no exception.
Mauritius is definitely multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-gastronomical but not always inclusive on all levels and strata of society.
Now coming to your questions:
1) if you are completely sure about a particular property that you want to rent, then it's recommended in some cases to book in advance. End of November is the peak season and it can get very complicated to find the right property. Moreover, rental rates will spike in the coming weeks. Therefore, booking in advance can definitely save you some hassles.
2) You cannot transfer from a tourist visa to a occupational permit-professional (the type of permit you will need to work in Mauritius). For such a transition, you will need a business visa. For this, you have to specify this on your disembarkment card and tell the passport officer upon landing.
However, this doesn't grant you additional days. To stay longer, you will have to extend your stay via a process at the Passport & Immigration Office in Mauritius.
3) You can get a health insurance policy in the UK or here in Mauritius. Up to you to find the plan that best suits your family profile, needs, coverage and budget.
4) You can hire medium term at most car rental agencies, It's always negotiable.
No idea about rear-facing car seat, better check with the agency from which you will hire your car.
5) Apart from very remote corners, Mauritius is now equipped with fiber-to-the-home. Various packages are available from different service providers. 4G is available in most areas.
Public breastfeeding is not widely practiced. Exercise discretion.
Tap water is generally safe to drink except during and immediately after a cyclone when there is risk of contamination of underground boreholes reserves.
Scams can be perpetrated anywhere and at anytime. Just be intelligent and rational enough to avoid them.
Hi Winston..
Thanks so much for your considered and detailed answers. This is a very great help indeed.
When you say we will need a business visa and we will need to declare it upon landing, is that because we would immediately need to change the visa from the standard tourist one to a business visa upon entry, or do we simply need to declare in advance that this is our intention?
These answers have been really very helpful. Thank you again so much for taking the time.
Best wishes..
Jeremy and Sophie
If you come in on a tourist visa you will have to leave Mauritius in order to get your business visa on arrival. This can be done by taking a day trip to the nearby island of Reunion. Check the airfares to see whether this would be an option for you. To start the application for your occupational permit you will need to be holding a business visa and of course have a job offer (unless you are going the route of investor etc).
JeremyPaulCarroll wrote:Hi Winston..
Thanks so much for your considered and detailed answers. This is a very great help indeed.
When you say we will need a business visa and we will need to declare it upon landing, is that because we would immediately need to change the visa from the standard tourist one to a business visa upon entry, or do we simply need to declare in advance that this is our intention?
These answers have been really very helpful. Thank you again so much for taking the time.
Best wishes..
Jeremy and Sophie
Actually, the above post could be right. The passport officer will probably ask for some documentation before granting you a business visa. This works fine for those already in possession of a job offer. If you don't have it, then you will have to enter on a tourist visa and then leave and re-enter the country (trip to nearby Reunion maybe?) with a business visa once you have a job intent letter and then continue with the process.
This is because a tourist visa cannot be changed to a business visa while you are still in Mauritius.
Hello,
You will have to state on your entry visa paperwork where you are staying for the duration of your holiday. Anything else will cause you potential problems. I wouldn't get into any other discussion at immigration about your long-term potential plans.
As an aside to the specific questions, can I ask if you have visited Mauritius before? If not, and with no family or close friends here (my assumption), you may be expecting to achieve a lot in a relatively short space of time.
I'm assuming you haven't traveled long distance with your child before given his age? You and he will be very tired after the flight and going from a cool/ cold climate to a hot humid one, entering summer. You need to allow time to adjust.
The reason I say all this is to factor it in to what you want to achieve. In the first instance I would say have a nice relaxed holiday. Get to know the country from a tourist point of view (very different to a resident) and see if you like it.
I hope that helps a little.
Definitely live close to beach with AC.
Car hire is cheap here compared Europe anyway, drivers are crazy here so need be careful.
I wouldn't drink tap water here, bottled is cheap or use filter.
Groceries are so expensive here, especially for anything European ow what foreigners want. Use local markets but they'll prob try charge you more so good to have basic creole.
Takeaway local food is great & super cheap.
I've never seen anyone breast feed in public, I think would be frowned upon.
As in scams, in first 6 months I was here my credit card got skimmed & €1250 taken, then another bank card, same, €1250 again. No pin required in casinos here, person just signed for withdrawal in chips! Then they play for while & cash in. My bank card was still in my possession, so card was obviously skimmed at a machine. Be careful using machine, cover hand & make sure no one looking over your shoulder at machine.
Some police here corrupt, I've experienced this a lot. Asking for bribes!
I've been here just over year & moved from Ireland without visiting country first, very foolish in hindsight. So great have bit time here suss things out. Very different living here.
Best of luck & if you need anymore info drop me message!
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