News brief · Real estate
Mauritius: property schemes open the door to residency
Mauritius's approved property schemes grant a right of residence above a certain purchase price. The mechanism is clear; less clear is the liquidity of a market whose buyers are mostly other applicants to the same scheme.
By Editorial team · on July 27, 2026
What the scheme provides
Mauritius allows non-citizens to acquire property under schemes approved by the Economic Development Board. Outside these schemes, purchases are closed to foreigners.
Buying a property priced at no less than from $375,0001 grants a residence permit to the buyer and their family.
This permit is tied to ownership of the property: selling it has consequences for the right of residence. This is a feature common to all schemes of this type, and it weighs on liquidity.
A separate route exists through the occupation permit for investors, whose minimum investment is $100,0002 for the first option and $100,0003 for the second, depending on the nature of the project.
Finally, non-citizen retiree status is available from more than 50 years4, on proof of funds transferred into the country. It does not require any property purchase.
It should be made clear from the outset what this permit is not. It grants a right of residence, not citizenship, and it does not in itself confer Mauritian tax residency or the right to take up local salaried employment, both of which require separate procedures.
The accompanying tax framework
The Mauritian income tax scale is short and progressive. It starts at 0%5, rises to 0%6 on the second bracket, each bracket being MUR 500,0007 wide, and reaches 20%8 above that.
There is no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax. It is this combination, rather than the level of the tax scale, that explains the island's appeal for wealthy individuals.
Corporate income tax includes reduced rates for certain activities, notably 3%9 for companies exporting goods.
Mauritius also has a dense tax treaty network, notably with India and several African states, which has made it a structuring hub for investment into those markets.
What to check
The key question in a purchase under an approved scheme is not the entry price but the resale. The market for these properties is narrow and largely made up of other applicants to the same scheme, which ties the property's value to the regime's attractiveness.
- Check that the scheme is actually approved and that the property reaches the from $375,0001 threshold.
- Work out the total cost: price, registration duties, scheme fees, service charges.
- Examine the secondary market for the targeted scheme: number of resales, observed timeframes.
- Factor in the taxation of Mauritian rental income, which falls under the ordinary tax scale.
- Handle the departure from France according to its own criteria and under the France–Mauritius tax treaty.
The Mauritian budget has also raised the taxation of property transactions by non-citizens, which increases the cost of entry without changing the threshold. This amount must be obtained before making any offer.
What remains uncertain
We do not publish the rate of registration duties applicable to non-citizens, the date of their increase, or the average service charges of approved schemes: we were unable to verify them in an up-to-date official Mauritian source.
The island does, however, offer an asset few tropical destinations share: legal certainty. Its law is mixed, of French and British inspiration, the land registry is reliable, and some deeds are available in French.
The Mauritian passport gives visa-free access to about 15010 destinations, but naturalisation requires long residence and is not the purpose of these schemes, which grant a right of residence, not citizenship.
For a French national, Mauritius should therefore be judged on three elements: moderate taxation with no tax on capital, genuine legal certainty, and a narrow property market whose liquidity depends on the stability of the scheme that feeds it.
Please note
Sources and verification dates
- 1.
Mauritius: minimum acquisition price of a property under an approved scheme granting a residence permit : $375,000
« a non-citizen, who purchases – (a) an immovable property under the Integrated Resort Scheme, Real Estate Scheme, Invest Hotel Scheme, Property Development Scheme or Smart City Scheme; or (b) an apartment used, or available for use, as a residence in a building of at least 2 floors above ground floor, – for a purchase price of at least USD 375,000, or its equivalent in any other hard convertible foreign currency, where the exchange rate to be used to calculate the US Dollar equivalent shall be the selling rate in force at the time of signature of the title deed shall be eligible for an RP. »
business.edbmauritius.orgVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 2.
Mauritius, investor occupation permit: investment required under the first option : $100,000
« 2.2 Criteria — An Investor may apply for an OP (Investor) under two options: (i) Option 1 - Investor USD 100,000 ; (ii) Option 2 - Investor for Innovative Start-Ups. 2.2.1 Option 1: Investor USD 100,000 — Initial investment of USD 100,000 or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency […] 4. Self-Employed — 4.2 Criteria 1. Initial investment of USD 50,000, or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency, provided that the self-employed is engaged in the services sector only — EDB Mauritius, « Occupation Permit Guidelines ». »
business.edbmauritius.orgVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 3.
Mauritius, investor occupation permit: investment required under the first option : $100,000
« 2.2 Criteria — An Investor may apply for an OP (Investor) under two options: (i) Option 1 - Investor USD 100,000 ; (ii) Option 2 - Investor for Innovative Start-Ups. 2.2.1 Option 1: Investor USD 100,000 — Initial investment of USD 100,000 or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency […] 4. Self-Employed — 4.2 Criteria 1. Initial investment of USD 50,000, or its equivalent in freely convertible foreign currency, provided that the self-employed is engaged in the services sector only — EDB Mauritius, « Occupation Permit Guidelines ». »
business.edbmauritius.orgVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 4.
Mauritius: minimum age for non-citizen retiree status : 50 years
« A Retired Non-Citizen is a person who is not a citizen of Mauritius and who is aged 50 years or above. »
business.edbmauritius.orgVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 5.
Mauritius: rate of the first bracket of the scale : 0%
« Chargeable Income (Rs) / Rate of Income Tax : First Rs 500,000 — 0% ; Next Rs 500,000 — 10% ; On the remainder — 20%. […] 5. Fair Share Contribution — An individual is liable to pay, in addition to his income tax liability, a Fair Share Contribution where, in an income year, his Fair Share Contribution Income Threshold exceeds 12 million rupees [au taux de 15 %]. — Mauritius Revenue Authority, « Payroll Taxes », 6 octobre 2025 (année de revenu 2025/26). »
mra.muVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 6.
Mauritius: rate of the first bracket of the scale : 0%
« Chargeable Income (Rs) / Rate of Income Tax : First Rs 500,000 — 0% ; Next Rs 500,000 — 10% ; On the remainder — 20%. […] 5. Fair Share Contribution — An individual is liable to pay, in addition to his income tax liability, a Fair Share Contribution where, in an income year, his Fair Share Contribution Income Threshold exceeds 12 million rupees [au taux de 15 %]. — Mauritius Revenue Authority, « Payroll Taxes », 6 octobre 2025 (année de revenu 2025/26). »
mra.muVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 7.
Mauritius: width of each bracket of the income tax scale : MUR 500,000
« Chargeable Income (Rs) / Rate of Income Tax : First Rs 500,000 — 0% ; Next Rs 500,000 — 10% ; On the remainder — 20%. — Mauritius Revenue Authority, « Payroll Taxes », 6 octobre 2025. »
mra.muVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 8.
Mauritius: rate applicable beyond the first two brackets : 20%
« Chargeable Income (Rs) / Rate of Income Tax : First Rs 500,000 — 0% ; Next Rs 500,000 — 10% ; On the remainder — 20%. — Mauritius Revenue Authority, « Payroll Taxes », 6 octobre 2025. »
mra.muVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 9.
Mauritius: corporate income tax rate for companies exporting goods : 3%
« Companies engaged in export of goods : 3% (w.e.f 01 July 2017) »
mra.muVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 10.
Mauritian passport: visa-free destinations : 150
« Henley Passport Index — classement des passeports par nombre de destinations accessibles sans visa préalable (données IATA), consulté à la date indiquée. Valeur reprise de l’index de l’ancien site (barème à 227 destinations). »
henleyglobal.comVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source