Moving to Mauritius from Germany, Austria or Switzerland
German-speaking clients tend to arrive with a specific plan: a retirement, a house in a particular development, or a business that can be run from the Indian Ocean as easily as from Munich or Zurich. They also arrive with detailed questions about tax residence, and they are right to. This is where the decision is made.
The routes
- Retired Non-Citizen permit
Over 50, income from home.
- Residency by property
USD 375,000 in an approved scheme.
- Off-plan and VEFA
What to examine before signing.
- Investor permit
Run a business here.
The routes German-speaking clients use
Retirees over 50 on the Retired Non-Citizen permit, ten years on transfers of USD 24,000 a year. Buyers who take residence through a property purchase at USD 375,000 or above in an approved scheme, frequently off-plan under a VEFA, which is where careful review of the completion guarantee matters most. Entrepreneurs on the Investor permit at USD 100,000. And, increasingly, families on the Premium Visa for a year while they decide.
Tax residence, country by country
We are not tax advisers and do not give opinions; we frame the questions and introduce the specialist. Germany looks at ties as well as days: a Wohnsitz kept in Germany can keep you resident, the Wegzugsbesteuerung applies to substantial shareholdings on departure, and the treaty with Mauritius allocates pensions and investment income in ways that differ by type. Austria applies a similar habitual abode test and has its own treaty. Switzerland has no treaty with Mauritius in force, which changes the analysis for Swiss residents entirely and needs to be understood before anything else. In all three, the permit condition of USD 24,000 a year transferred into Mauritius is, by definition, remitted income under the Mauritian remittance basis.
Buying, and the guarantee
A German or Swiss buyer will find the Mauritian notarial process orderly but unfamiliar in one respect: most new homes are sold off-plan, with staged payments and a bank guarantee of completion. We have acted for German buyers in delayed developments and the difference between a recoverable and a difficult position was decided at signature. Our note on VEFA purchases sets out what to examine.
The practical side
Direct flights from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna seasonally, and year-round via Paris or Dubai. A two-hour time difference in winter. Private healthcare is good and German-speaking doctors exist; insurance should include evacuation. Household effects may be imported with duty relief as a permit holder. English-medium and French-medium schools; no German school, and families with school-age children usually choose the IB route.
Questions we are asked
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Ja. Wir arbeiten mit deutschsprachigen Mandanten und Beratern zusammen; die Korrespondenz mit den Behörden erfolgt auf Englisch, die Beratung kann auf Deutsch stattfinden.
Does Switzerland have a treaty with Mauritius?
Not in force at the time of writing, which means Swiss-source income of a Mauritian resident is analysed under domestic law on both sides. A Swiss adviser should look at this before the decision to move.
Can we keep a flat at home?
For the permit, yes. Whether it keeps you tax resident in Germany or Austria is a question for your adviser there, and the answer often turns on whether the flat is available for your use.
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.