Foreigners are eligible for a Residence Permit on acquisition of a real estate property with a minimum buying price of USD 375,000. The property must be part of an IRS, RES or PDS project. Foreigners are also allowed to buy a property, in a non PDS project, if it is an apartment complex of minimum Ground + 2 Floors. In this case the minimum buying price is USD 500,000. All the funds for the purchase of this property must be paid from their income sources or savings abroad.

The spouse, children and parents of the investor are also eligible for the Residence Permit. This Residence Permit automatically allows the investor to work, start or buy a business, or own other real estate properties in the country.
A Residence Permit granted under the IRS, RES or PDS programme is valid if the investor retains ownership of the property. Upon sale of the property, the new owner becomes eligible for all these privileges.

In as little as 2 years, the investor and his/her family can apply for the Mauritian Citizenship and as a Mauritian Citizen, they can enjoy visa free access or on arrival visa to about 148 countries of the world, making it a very powerful travel document for the global traveller.
The investor and his/her family can enjoy the highly favourable tax residency of Mauritius, subject to some easy terms. Investors having a global income can pay as little as 3% income tax, which is one of the lowest in the whole world. Our International Tax consultants from our consulting division will be happy to serve you on these matters.

IRS, RES and PDS are all the various schemes of property investment programs that are targeted at foreign buyers. All investments made into these designated projects are for the purchase of FREEHOLD land.

Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) was the first property investment program introduced by the Government of Mauritius in 2002. A few years later the Real Estate Scheme (RES) scheme was launched and in the year 2016, the Property Development Scheme (PDS) was launched.

Compared to the IRS, a few relaxations were offered in RES, which was further liberalised in the PDS scheme.

There are a total of more than 150 projects across Mauritius (IRS, RES and PDS put together) thereby enabling more than 2000 families from France, South Africa, Great Britain, Belgium, Madagascar, Germany, China, Italy, Switzerland and other countries to settle down in Mauritius. Predominantly the profile of the buyers is as follows:

1. Investors who are looking for a secure investment that also fetches a good rental return

2. Business owners with a global income who wish to take advantage of the simple tax residency of Mauritius

3. Global citizens who are securing a second home where they can move in the future in case of any eventuality in the home country.

4. Global citizens who wish to obtain a second passport that will enable them to travel globally with less visa restrictions.

5. Digital entrepreneurs, stock traders and retirees

According to the terms of a VEFA contract, all complaints relating to clearly visible defects must be submitted to the developer within a period of one month from delivery date and the developer has the obligation to remedy such defects in the property. Buyers are also protected against property defects by a two-year (Responsabilité Civile Biennale) guarantee and a ten-year statutory building guarantee on the property (Responsabilité Civile Décennale) under the Mauritian Civil Code.

In addition to the guarantee provided by the Mauritian Civil Code and the contractual agreement, the buyers also get a guarantee of completion (Garantie Financière d’Achèvement, GFA) from a trusted bank or any recognised financial institution in Mauritius. The GFA is a financial guarantee providing assurance to the buyer that the property will be delivered according to the terms of the contract. In case the developer fails to fulfil his obligations, the bank guarantees the delivery of the property.
The buyer also gets a certificate of conformity from an international quality assurance company like APAVE or SOCOTEC, that certifies the quality of construction as an added safeguard for the buyer.

Step 1: The Preliminary Reservation Contract (PRC)

The PRC is the preliminary contract between the buyer and the developer, and it reserves the property in favour of the buyer. On signing the PRC, a down payment representing an initial deposit is payable by the buyer into an escrow account of the notary.

Step 2: Letter of approval from the Economic Development Board (EDB)

The developer will collect from the buyers, their KYC and some additional documents as required by the authorities, to make an application to the Economic Development Board in the name of the buyer for the acquisition of a property in an IRS, RES or PDS property. The Economic Development Board examines the application and, if it is approved, offers an approval letter which permits the promoter and the buyer to finalize the sale.

Step 3: The Deed of Sale (DOS)

On receipt of the approval letter from the EDB, the buyer and the seller meet before the notary for the signing of the Deed of Sale. At this point, the client becomes the official owner of the property.

The buyer becomes eligible for the Residence Permit upon getting the approval of the EDB and the signing of the Deed of Sale.

The buyer need not visit Mauritius to complete Steps 1 and 2 as detailed above in the answer to question 8. The buyer can choose to come to Mauritius for a brief period of one week to complete the Step 3. However, with the recent legislation, even digital signatures are accepted and hence the buyer can still do the deed of sale from his/her home country, in the presence of a Notary.

Upon completing Step 3, the company, through its consulting division, will take the responsibility of applying and obtaining the residence permits for the buyer and his/her family. This process usually takes a minimum of 2 months and, once it is ready, the buyer and his/her family can visit Mauritius to collect their residence permits.

The notarised photocopies of the following documents are required as soft copies:

1. Passport
2. Proof of address
3. Birth certificate
4. Certificate of morality
5. Marriage certificate (if married)
6. Family lineage where available

Yes, a Power of Attorney can be appointed by the buyer from his home country to act on his behalf in Mauritius. This Power of Attorney can be an individual or a company, however Colbert Holdings or its group companies cannot be appointed as the Power of Attorney. The Power of Attorney document must be notarised and the documents must be sent to Colbert Holdings through courier.

However, for applying for the Resident Permit, the buyer must visit Mauritius with all the original documents as listed in answer to question 11 above. The buyer can represent his/her children, below the age of 18, whose application for the resident permits can be submitted by the parents.

No real estate agency fee is payable. Registration charges at 5% and a notary fee at 1.5% of the sale value is payable by the buyer at the time of signing the Deed of Sale. There are no other fees payable.

There is no wealth tax or inheritance tax in Mauritius.

Our projects are in and around Grand Bay, in the northern part of the island, which is about 68km from the airport. The driving time to various locations are as follows:

1. 5 minutes from French and International schools
2. 5 minutes to Super U and less than 10 minutes to GBLC (La Croisette) and proposed Beau Plan Malls
3. Less than 10 minutes to the commercial zones of Grand Bay to access the private hospitals, banks and international money changers
4. 10 minutes from some of the most beautiful beaches of the northern region: La Cuvette, Péreybère, Bain Boeuf, Cap Malheureux, Trou Aux Biches, etc
5. 20 minutes from Port Louis, the country’s capital city, about 40 minutes from Ebène (Cyber city)