Mauritius National Identity card

Hello Preetima,

Welcome to Expat.com

This document may be what you are looking for: http://pmo.govmu.org/English//DOCUMENTS … TIZENS.PDF

You will find all the application procedures needed to be completed in order to obtain the certificate.

Hope this helps 

Diksha

Team Expat.com

Hello Disha,

Thank you so very much for your prompt reply.

My son is Canadian. He is 21 yrs old. I am his mother born and raised in Mauritius. I have had my Identity card renewed when I was in Mauritius in Dec. 2013.  My son would  like to get a Mauritian Identity card as well since mother and father are both Mauritian.

I would like to know what are the requirements and how many days it takes to get the ID card.

We are travelling to Mauritius soon and would like to get it done during our visit.

Thank you.

Regards,
PB

Hello Preetima,

Given that you are a Mauritian citizen, your son qualifies as a Mauritian citizen by descent.

You will need your birth certificate (the updated version).
Your Mauritian ID Card
Birth certificate of your son.
Bio Data page of your son's passport (possibly, so better have it with you)

Then you have to submit all those documents at the PMO and there is a fee. (MUR 2000?).

Not sure about how long the process can take but I discussed with a few who did it and it took anything from 12-15 months,
When the certificate is ready you will receive a letter. There's another fee (MUR 15,000?) to be paid when you go collect it. Then with the certificate in hand, your son will be able to apply for a Mauritian ID card and also a Mauritian passport so he wishes,

That said, there might be some procedural changes to what I mentioned above but overall, that's about it.

@WinstonH Hi Winston, I also need to get my updated NIC as the old one that I have is now obsolete.  I was told that the only way to get one issued is in the country.  How long does this process take?  Also, I plan to apply for my kids' NIC at the same time. Is this possible?  Or does this have to be done sequentially?  Thank you.

Hello Prospectorland,

For an updated NIC it can take 2 - 3 weeks from the day of 1st appointment.

For the kids as well provided that they have all the necessary documents.

Give them a call, they will assist you : https://mnis.govmu.org/Pages/Contact%20 … itius.aspx

Regards,

Bhavna

@prospectorland

Hi EAB in Port Louis apply paid then you wait 1 week and you get you card. Your card does not expire there is no expiring date on NIC. Hope this helps you

@marieannetashb and @bhavna, thank you for your quick responses.  My  planned visit will be next year and will last around 12 days.  Then it will be imperative that I go to Port Louis as soon as I get in.  In case there are delays, is there a way to have the card sent back to USA using pre-paid FedEx or UPS?

@prospectorland  Hi, you can write a letter allowing a relative or friend to pick it up from the identity office and then that person can send it to you.

@vishayen Thank you.

Hi

i am am Mauritian citizen living in the US. I will soon be in Mauritius to get the new identity card. Looks like a proof of address is needed. I have no address in Mauritius. Will a proof of my address in the US work? I have no other address anyway…..Thanks.

@lorsub I am in the same boat. I live in South Africa but will be going to Mauritius next year to apply for my new NIC. Do you have any updates on what is needed regarding proof of address? Thanks

@dvanb

Hello and welcome !

While waiting for members to respond, I would suggest that you have a look at the following website : https://dha.govmu.org/Pages/Services/Ma … broad.aspx

You may contact the Citizenship section for guidance. I would think that your proof of address can be that of where you are living overseas (but feel free to confirm).

Regards

Bhavna

Hi @Bhavna,

Thank you very much for the information. I just sent an email to the Citizenship section to ask about the proof of address query, but got an automatic reply to say that my email was not delivered because their mailbox is full...

Regards,

Dave

@dvanb

Hello Dave, I'll see if I can call them for you tomorrow. Will let you know.

Regards

Bhavna

@dvanb

Hello again, so I called the Citizenship section Tel : +(230) 201-1495​

​ and the officer said that you can provide proof of address of a family member living in Mauritius and that your overseas address is not mandatory.

Hi @Bhavna,

Thank you SO much for doing that on my behalf, I really appreciate it! That is very helpful to know.

Have a great weekend!

Regards, Dave

They accept a copy of things like electricity bill & water bill. I also needed a copy of the family member's ID card & a letter stating that I was staying/living there.

Went to get my son's NIC card last June.  Process was a little tricky.  Here is the process:

1. Go to the PMO office in Port Louis. (Bring birth certificate of child, birth certificate of parents showing descent).  You will need to bring a local telephone / electricity bill of a friend or relative that you are staying with.  The bill will also need to be within the last 3 months.  You will also be asked for a local phone number.
2. The PMO office will ask to give photocopies of the child birth certificates and parents birth certificates.  If the parents have NICs, you will need to have photocopies of those too.
3. The child will have to sign the NIC application once complete and accepted - which means that the child will need to be above 18 yrs old.
4. It took 2 days to process the application.
5. After 2 days, you will need to go to the NIC building in Port Louis.  The PMO office will have sent a fax with a list of people who have to be added to the NIC registry.  My son's name was on that fax.
6. He had to walk into the NIC office so that his name was found on the PMO fax.
7. He then went into a separate cube where someone entered his name / info into the computer.
8. After his name was entered into the computer, he had to line up to apply for the NIC - like everyone.
9. He had to show name, birth certificate (all the stuff that was shown at the PMO office).
10. After taking photos, fingerprints, and signature, he got a voucher to pick up the NIC.  The wait time is 1 week.
11. After 1 week, he went to the place shown on the voucher  and he picked up his NIC.

You will need at least 2 weeks to complete the process.  You will have to go to Port Louis at least 3 times.  I was lucky that there was no public holidays.

Good luck.

Hello

I grew up in Mauritius but was not born there. Both my parents are Mauritian (my father having now passed away) and when I was younger, I got my Mauritian ID card. I now longer live in Mauritius. I see that my old laminated ID card is no longer valid. I am going to Mauritius in holiday early next year for two weeks, and so I will look to renew my ID card then. I have read the gov.mu website and what is required to renew my ID to the new type but I am still confused as to what documents I need. It says "recent" birth certificate. Does this mean that I have got get a newly issued birth certificate from my country if birth? As well as newly issued marriage certificate (even though my current Mauritian ID does have my married name on it?)? It says A4 size. Marriage certificates in England are the long ones and not A4 size. Will this be a problem? I am also confused about the information given regarding "Mauritian by descent" which is what I am. Does this mean I need that letter they refer to from the prime minister's office first.

Sorry to ask so much. I am concerned that two weeks may not be enough time to go through the PM office and then again the ID centre, and I want to make sure I have all the correct documents with me and order new versions of said documents in England (which takes a while) before my travels.

I had hoped that showing my old Mauritian ID (for which I went through all the process of proving my citizenship) would be enough and bring my Mauritian passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate and proof of address abroad. But now I may need to prove how I am a descendant again?

Thanks for your help!

Carina

     I am also confused about the information given regarding "Mauritian by descent" which is what I am. Does this mean I need that letter they refer to from the prime minister's office first.
    -@carinagloria

@carinagloria, If you had an old NIC, the good news is that you may not need to apply at the PMO office - just need to re-register.  You can do this at any MNIC office - but you will need to bring all the info mentioned.  If you lost your old NIC, you will need to go to the police station and file a lost NIC report.  In case of lost NIC, the only way you can get a new one is to show a police report of lost NIC.  The new NIC will have the same number but will have the biometric info and picture.

Re:  registration at the PMO - do this only if you never had a NIC before.  What is important is to show that at least one parent was of Mauritian citizenship.  There is no physical letter per se from the prime minister's office but rather an application process that collects your evidence and then gets approval from the PMO.

My son was born outside of the country and he needed a) my NIC, b) his birth certificate (must be official copy less than 3 months old), c) CEB bill with local address not older than 3 months old, and d) local phone number.

What is important here is the birth certificate - where descent is ascertained.  It is important that the birth certificate show the name of the citizen parent.  The parent NIC will confirm that the parent is a Mauritian.

NOTE:  The names MUST be the same.  If the names on the NIC and the birth certificate is not the same, you will have to provide other evidence of name changes (usually if there is a name change owing to marriage).  If your parent is deceased, you will need to get evidence of death in addition to NIC.

The bill and phone number is mainly to ascertain that you will be able to get communications when you are in Mauritius.

Time-wise

If you have your old NIC with you, the challenge is to get all the documents above (and photocopies).  But if you have those, 2 weeks is sufficient to get your new NIC. 

If you did not have a NIC before, the process of registering at the PMO adds 4 - 5 days to the process - assuming that there are no public holidays.  In other words, if you only have 2 weeks, you need to get started as soon as you fly in.

  Please have your relatives in Mauritius prepare the official CEB bill (that has local address) and contact phone number as this will be asked.

You can do this and if you forget something while you are applying, don't give up.  Ask how you can get the info, do what is asked and try again.

Good luck.

It says "recent" birth certificate. Does this mean that I have got get a newly issued birth certificate from my country if birth? As well as newly issued marriage certificate (even though my current Mauritian ID does have my married name on it?)?
    -@carinagloria

@carinagloria, the birth / marriage certificate must be less than 3 months old by the time you apply.  I don't know how those official documents are generated in your birth country but in the US, those are state documents and when reprints are made, there is an official seal and the issue date affixed.

If you cannot get those official reprints done because you now live in a different country that you are born / married, then you will probably need to get copies certified by a notary or your birth counsular services - here you will need to get help from your consulate.

The keypoint here is to provide a recent "certified" document of birth / marriage.  BTW, I am not sure about whether you will need marriage in your case.  But I would recommend bringing it - and ask if needed.  Better be more prepared than less.

Hope that this helps.

@Pablo888 this is amazingly helpful. Thank you so much! At least I won't need to go through the PMO. It's a real shame these renewals of NIC can only be made in Mauritius itself and not at the embassies around the world, like you can with passports. Fingers crossed it all goes well! Again, thank you.

It's a real shame these renewals of NIC can only be made in Mauritius itself and not at the embassies around the world, like you can with passports.
    -@carinagloria

@carinagloria, this I can answer.  The renewals need to be in person because part of the process is to collect biometric information, i.e. fingerprints.  That's one of the main reasons the old MNIC is now invalid.  Since all the embassies are not connected to the biometric database in Mauritius, it's hard to do that part of the processing.

Mind you, the MNIC is a very important piece of identity in Mauritius as it will last you a lifetime - unlike a passport. 

My glass half-full answer here is that this is a great time to go back to Mauritius and take a vacation at the same time.

Bonne chance....

@Pablo888 Thank you. I agree it's a good thing to renew and update the NIC and can understand why it has to be made in person. I'm sure one day, with the improvement of technology and with the fact that more and more Mauritians live abroad, eventually there will be the possibility of doing these kind of things abroad.  I'm more worried that I won't have all the necessary paperwork with me. Whereas if I was at home, I could easily gain access to the paperwork. I'll just have to take everything with me! Than

@carinagloria Thanks so much for this post. Have you been to Mauritius and completed the ID card renewal  yet as I'm in the same position with the same concerns?  Did you have to go via the PMO to prove citizenship and given them "apostilled" documents. Thank you

Hi. No I have not been yet. I'm going towards the end of March. I've been told that as I'm only renewing my identity card from the old laminated one to the new electronic digitalised version, I shouldn't have to prove my rights to citizenship. I should just prove my actual identity and proof of address etc... So I am hoping that things will not be complicated considering I will only be on the island for 2 weeks. I'm going to be heading straight to the identity office after the plane has landed to give as much time as possible for any extra visits to other government offices if required. I'll let you know how I get on.

@carinagloria  good luck and hope everything goes smoothly for you. This should simply be a renewal to the digital card; however, very few things go smoothly in Mauritius. Take along all your documents, passport, and proof of address. Fingers crossed for you. Please also update us as to the outcome.

Hi everyone, I understand that I need to apply for my NIC in person (so that the biometric information is collected). However, is it possible to have a family member collect it on my behalf, if it is not ready by the time I leave the country? Many thanks

    Hi everyone, I understand that I need to apply for my NIC in person (so that the biometric information is collected). However, is it possible to have a family member collect it on my behalf, if it is not ready by the time I leave the country? Many thanks
    -@dvanb

@dvanb, the collection slip that you are given for pick up mentioned that this has to be done in person - to ascertain that the NIC is given to the right person.  I am not sure whether there is a protocol to have a family member collect it as this will defeat the purpose of ensuring that you have this piece of very personal information.

My recommendation is to start the process as soon as you get to Mauritius.  It does take approx 2 weeks and if you do the application on Day 1 of your vacation, it should be ready just before you leave.

Good luck.

@dvanb, there is a poster in 2022 who mentioned that there was a way to get the card picked up and mailed by a relative.  You may want to contact that person by messaging.

Again, good luck.

@Pablo888 thanks for the info, that is helpful!

@markexpat1 I landed in Mauritius this morning and went straight to the MNIC in Rose Hill. After half a day of queueing, I was told that I needed to got via the PMO in Port Louis. Just because I have an old laminated ID card doesn't mean I can just get it renewed. It means going through the whole process of proving my descendent rights to a Mauritius ID card. It was a day wasted unfortunately and now it is the weekend. I will have to spend yet another day next week at Port Louis to get a letter from the PMO etc. It really isn't an easy process I don't think for those whose time is limited on the island. I just have to hope that it gets done  before my departure date. Otherwise, I'll have to book another trip just to collect it. I'll keep you updated how it goes at the PMO next week.

@carinagloria, I did not know that the new process required you to go back to the PMO office even if you had the old card.  But now it kinda make sense as the new biometric system may use a different system.

I also went to Rose Hill MNIC for my card but in retrospect, I would recommend skipping Rose Hill and go to Port Louis directly - and as early as possible - as all the major offices are close by.

At the PMO office, please make sure a) to go early as there may be a long line, and b) have photocopies of all your documents as the registration process will check your original documents (birth, birth of parents, old MNIC card, etc.)  and keep a photocopy of those documents.

The last time that I did this, I went very early to the PMO office on Monday and I was told that the fax would be available at the MNIC Port Louis by Thursday morning.  If you are in the same situation, you should be able to apply for the MNIC on Thursday - which means that you should be able to pick up your card 1 week after....

Remember that next week is Easter week and I am not sure if there is a public holiday - but if there is, you may want to ask whether you can get the card before you leave.

Hang in there - you will probably have a busy morning until early afternoon with all the paperwork process but you will still have evenings for your vacation.....

Good luck.

@carinagloria, I popped open a champagne bottle when my son and I got our MNIC cards....  Definitely worth celebrating.

@carinagloria sorry to hear all that. So do you have to go via the PMO in Port Louis even if you have a Mauritian passport and were born in Mauritius? This is the case for me, but I still have the old laminated card, so was under the impression I wouldn't have to go to the PMO. Thanks

@dvanb, I do not think that you need to go to the PMO if you are born in Mauritius because you have a Mauritius birth certificate registration (i.e. you are already in the list of citizens). 

I did not have to go to the PMO but my son who was not born in Mauritius (i.e. non Mauritius birth certificate) needed to go to the PMO to show proof of descent to me (i.e. connect his birth certificate to my birth certificate).

I suspect that this was the case with Carina.  I did not know that the proof of descent was not recorded when she was issued the old plastic NIC.

I did my new card with my old laminated card and my Mauritius birth certificate.

Hope that this helps.

@dvanb, my son also had a Mauritius passport.  The passport is a travel document and is used for travel only.  The NIC is permanent id like a social security number that is needed for access to local services and more in Mauritius.

That's what I learnt from the NIC application.

Hope that this helps.

@dvanb

No, if you were born in Mauritius, you don't have to go via the PMO at all. I was born abroad but grew up in Mauritius, so I am considered as Mauritian by descent. You should be fine going direct to any Mauritius National Identity Card centres, although I am told the one in Port Louis is much faster. Good luck!