Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698143783778.pdf (Mauritius)
Guidelines for applying for an Occupation Permit (Investor, Self-employed, Professional) A.

What is an Occupation Permit?

It is a permit that allows an eligible non-citizen to live and work in Mauritius for up to three years.

Application for this permit is made through the Board of Investment (BOI) to the Passport & Immigration Office (PIO).
An application, if completed to the satisfaction of the Board of Investment and the Passport & Immigration office, will be determined within three working days of its submission.

B.

Eligibility A non-citizen wishing to apply for an Occupation Permit should first register with the Board of Investment as an Investor, a Professional or a Self-Employed, as the case may be.

An investor means a person or body of persons in association, société, partnership or company.
A self-employed is a person engaged in a professional activity.

A professional is a person holding a contract of employment with a company, société or partnership, with a basic monthly salary exceeding MRU 30,000.
C. Criteria for registration with BOI (1) Investor: The business activity should generate an annual turnover exceeding Rs 3 million (2) Professional: Basic salary should exceed Rs 30,000 a month (3) Self-employed: Income from the business activity should exceed Rs 600,000 annually D. Registration Process A registration form should be filled in and submitted to BOI.
An investor or self-employed must provide details about his/her business project concerning proposed investment level, amount to be transferred to Mauritius and expected annual business turnover/income.

In the case of a professional, the employer must submit a copy of the contract of employment.

A registration certificate may be issued to eligible applicants.
E. Application for Occupation Permit After registration, an application for Occupation Permit should be made to the Occupation Permit Unit (BOI) on the “Application for Occupation Permit” form.

The following documents are required:- For all categories (Investor, self-employed, professional): produced).

• Copy of passport details (personal data and visa pages).

• Copy of birth certificate (If not in English or French, an authorised translated copy to be • Four recent passport sized photographs.
• A medical certificate issued by a doctor in Mauritius, together with reports of HIV test, Hepatitis B • Occupation Permit Fee Surface Antigen and chest x-ray The Occupation Permit fee is Rs 6,000 if the period applied for is 2 years or less.

For periods above 2 years and up to 3years, the fee is Rs 10,000.

Payment must be made by a bank cheque drawn to the order of the Government of Mauritius.

Cash payment is not accepted.


In addition, the following are required: • For Investor and Self-Employed: Government of Mauritius A bank guarantee of MRU 50,000 made in favour of Bank guarantees will be accepted only if issued by local banks or local branches of overseas banks.

For information on bank guarantees, please contact any local bank (list attached).
• For Professional: An undertaking by the employer The employer of the professional should submit a signed undertaking (as set out in section 5 of the application form) that he/she will meet any expense or charge likely to be incurred for the maintenance, support or the repatriation of the holder of the occupation permit to his/her/ country of origin / residence on termination of the contract of employment or for any other reason whatsoever.
1 All copies of documents submitted must be certified true copies, otherwise original documents should be produced for verification.

Copies may be certified by diplomatic missions, attorneys, or notaries.

All original documents will be returned immediately, except for the medical certificate and bank guarantee.

The passport should have a validity period of at least six weeks with a valid visa/entry.
F. The process BOI will forward all complete applications to the Passport & Immigration Office on the same day of receipt, provided they are received before 13 00 hrs.

PIO will acknowledge receipt to BOI and will determine the application within the next two working days and notify the applicant accordingly.

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If approved, the applicant may collect the Occupation Permit on the working day following notification.
If the application is not determined within the stated period, it shall be deemed to have been approved.

The acknowledgement receipt shall then be considered as an Occupation Permit and will be given to the applicant by BOI, after consultation with PIO.

If the application is not approved, a formal letter informing the decision will be issued and the occupation permit fee paid will be refunded in full, within seven working days of the decision.

The decision of the Passport & Immigration Office is final.
G. Residence Permit (for accompanying dependents of all three categories of applicants).

For spouse and dependent children, if any, an application for a residence permit should be made on the form “Application to enter Mauritius” and submitted along with the following documents:- partnership/common law partners etc is required.

• Copy of marriage certificate.

For unmarried partners, document proving cohabitation/civil • Copy of passport for each dependent (personal data plus visa pages).
• Copy of birth certificate for each dependent.

• Four recent passport sized photographs for each dependent.

• A medical certificate for each dependent issued by a doctor in Mauritius Professionals should, in addition, submit bank guarantee in favour of the Government of Mauritius, as a security deposit, for each dependent.

For the amount required, please enquire at the Occupation Permit Unit.

Dependents include spouse and children under 18 only.

Spouse includes both married and common law partners.
Children include legally adopted children and children from a previous marriage.

Processing time for residence permit for dependents varies between 3 and 5 days.

All copies of documents submitted must be certified true copies, otherwise original documents should be produced for verification.

All original documents will be returned immediately, except for the medical certificate and bank guarantee.
H. Medical Certificate All non-citizens applying for an Occupation or residence permit are required to conduct a set of compulsory medical tests and submit all the results to any private local doctor who will issue a medical certificate after a medical examination.

Non-citizens may do the tests either in their own country before coming to Mauritius or do them here after arrival.
Tests may be done at any private medical laboratory or clinic registered with the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life (List available at BOI).

For tests done abroad, applicants will have to repeat three tests in Mauritius, namely: Hepatitis B Surface Antigen, HIV and chest x-ray.

The medical certificate and the reports for these three tests (HIV, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and chest x-ray) must be submitted at time of application.
No application for Occupation or Residence Permit will be accepted if there is evidence that the applicant is suffering from any infectious or contagious disease.
2 List of medical tests required: 1) Blood tests for: a) Haemoglobin and Full Blood Count; b) Hepatitis B Surface Antigen; c) Anti HIV screening test for AIDS; d) VDRL test 2) Urine tests for albumin and sugar; 3) Stool test for parasites; 4) Chest x-ray Medical tests should have been done no longer than six months before date of submitting an application Children under 12 years of age are not required to do blood tests.
Any non-citizen wishing to work in Mauritius but who do not meet criteria for an occupation permit should apply for a work permit at the Work Permit Unit of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment.

(Office located at 10th Floor of the same building as the Occupation Permit Unit.

Further details are available on the Ministry’s website at http://labour.gov.mu).

A professional must ensure that he obtains registration with the relevant professional council in Mauritius, if required.
Please check with your employer.

An Occupation Permit may be cancelled if the holder no longer satisfies the criteria and conditions of registration, or has acted in contravention to any laws of Mauritius, or has given any false or misleading information at the time of application.
Application forms, guidelines and other useful information leaflets may be obtained from the Occupation Permit Unit, Board of Investment, c/o Passport & Immigration Office, 4th Floor, Sterling House, Lislet Geoffroy St, Port Louis Tel: + (230) 211 8234 Fax: + (230) 208 8160, Email:op@investmauritius.com They may also be downloaded from the following websites: www.investmauritius.com or http://passport.gov.mu These guidelines may be subject to changes and should not, in any circumstances, be treated as a legally binding document.
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