Invest/ work in Mauritius

Hi eCode,

I am a bit curious with your posting and will try to answer your questions. Hopefully you'll be able to answer some of mine too!

1) I wouldn't advise looking for programmers in Mauritius. I don't say this based upon ability but rather scarcity and price. This country is too small and a programmer of a certain 'calibre' would ask much more than (what i believe) the same calibre programmer from india. As an example programmers who ask for Rs50,000 a month here, I personally think are worth no more than Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 absolute maximum.
Having said this, I have a software development company too. However i'm thinking the 'opposite' of you... that I would prefer to set up a small 'software developing unit' in India (New Delhi or nearabouts). Skype etc gives us good connectivity to keep track of software development progress.

I'd be curious to hear your view on this.

2) If you still insist on having programmers here, then it would be advisable to find out from the BOI (like Alisa suggested). Be aware of BOI however.. they're a bit stupid when it comes to advanced IT stuff. Only yesterday a guy (in BOI) quoted E-Commerce as E-Whatever. I don't believe it was a joke but just pure ignorance on their part.

They'll also expect your 'software unit' or 'business' to generate Rs 4 million turnover per investor in your company. If you plan to have your wife in the company, then Rs 8 million is expected. They are STRICT on this so be careful. I notice you mention Gross Profit of $10,000. Obviously your turnover is greater so, according to above, you'll need a turnover of approx $12,000 per investor, per month.

They will also expect a minimum investment figure. I don't know what it is but you can find out from them.

You may come here on a tourist visa, 'check out the scene'. That shouldn't be a problem. They can extend such a visa to a max of 6 months.

As for your wife, this is more difficult for me to comment on. I don't believe it is that easy to get a job as such. However I could be completely wrong in this and I would expect it depends on her specialisation, and whether there is a company looking for this specialisation. Basic 'supply and demand' kind of thing. I would suggest searching for normal mauritian job sites and putting in a straight application.

Yes you can work from laptop from secure connection at home. I do this too and it works fine for me. We also have Mi-Fi dongle here which gives a reasonable remote connection. Very easy to use but only works well in certain areas (most areas i believe).

Accomodation all depends on what you're looking for. Because you plan to work from home, it means you can live in cheaper areas. However if you want to be next to the beach, obviously more expensive. Expect to pay anything from Rs 10,000 to Rs50,000 a month for a 3-bed house. Again.. all depends.

Because yours is a company, i believe you'll need an 'occupation permit (investor).

Banking is easy here. I don't experience any major problems and I regularly make transfers from Europe to Mauritius.

I hope the above answers some of your questions. I've been developing software from here for four years now, remotely accessing my servers etc, and I have not experienced any major problems as such. One thing to bear in mind though is cyclones. Electricity may cut off and, because i've not yet experienced a proper cyclone here recently.. i don't really know what to expect! (Maybe Julian can add a line about this cyclone thing?).