S'installer à Maurice depuis la France
The French are the second largest group of foreign residents in Mauritius and the longest established. French is spoken everywhere, the legal system is half French civil law, the notarial system for property is the one a French buyer already knows, and the island has a full network of French-curriculum schools homologated by the Ministry. We work in French, and this page is a summary in English of what we discuss in French.
The routes
- Retired Non-Citizen permit
Plus de 50 ans, revenus de l'étranger.
- Investor permit
Diriger une société à Maurice.
- Residency by property
USD 375 000 dans un programme agréé.
- Off-plan and VEFA
L'achat sur plan et la garantie d'achèvement.
The routes French clients use
Retirees over 50 on the Retired Non-Citizen permit, on transfers of USD 24,000 a year, with no obligation to buy. Entrepreneurs on the Investor permit at USD 100,000, often with an activity serving francophone Africa or the Indian Ocean from Mauritius. Independent professionals on the Self-Employed permit at USD 50,000. Families who buy in an approved scheme at USD 375,000 or above and take residence through the property. And those who want a year to decide, on the Premium Visa.
The French tax questions
We are not tax advisers. The questions a French adviser needs to answer are known. Whether your ties to France, in particular a foyer or a centre of economic interests, will keep you French tax resident despite the days you spend in Mauritius. How the France and Mauritius treaty allocates your pension, your dividends and any French rental income. Whether the exit tax applies to your shareholdings on departure. What the remittance basis in Mauritius means for income you bring in to satisfy the permit. And the position of French property you keep, for both income tax and the impôt sur la fortune immobilière.
Schools
The French-curriculum schools run from maternelle to the baccalauréat, homologated by the French Ministry of Education, with one offering the IB Diploma in the final years. There are French schools in the north, the west and the centre. A child moving from a French school continues in the same programme. Places in some year groups are limited and enrolment should start early.
Property the French way
Purchases pass before a notary, with a reservation contract, an authentic deed, registration duty of 5% and, for new builds, a vente en l'état futur d'achèvement with staged payments and a completion guarantee. A French buyer will recognise all of it. What differs is the EDB authorisation required for a non-citizen and the schemes within which a non-citizen may buy. We act for the buyer, alongside the notary.
Questions we are asked
Parlez-vous français ?
Oui. Les consultations, les propositions et les échanges avec les autorités peuvent se faire en français. Le site est en anglais parce que nos clients viennent de plusieurs pays; nos dossiers sont dans la langue du client.
Do French driving licences transfer?
A French licence can be used initially and converted to a Mauritian licence through the National Transport Authority. Driving is on the left.
Is there a French community?
A large one, concentrated in the north around Grand Baie and in the west around Tamarin and Flic en Flac, with French schools, shops and associations in each.
Not sure this is the right route?
Most people leave the first consultation with a different route from the one they arrived with. An hour, by appointment, and you leave with a clear view of which permit fits, what it will cost, and how long it will take.