Living in Mauritius

Hi Julien,

I have heard that Mauritius is an upcoming IT hub. Is it true?
If so, could you please name a few IT companies there.

I would be particularly interested if there are any companies in SAP.

Thanks,
Saurav

Walter,

1. your wife should apply for private "cliniques" such as http://www.cliniquedarne.com/ You should also check everything related to health in the yellow pages (http://www.teleservices.mu/yellowpages/ … ing=health)

2. no idea, sorry

3. Maybe in the yellow pages?

4. very difficult to answer!

5. Contact the BOI http://www.investmauritius.com/ and explain you want to apply as an entrepreneur (investor).


Saurav, yes it's true but a lot of things are done here to develop the IT market. There is a lot of IT companies, maybe you should post a CV on myjob.mu and on other employment websites.

Thank you Julien!

You're very welcome Walter, let me know if I can help you

Hi Julien, You seem to be the person to talk to when it comes to moving to Mauritius, thanks for all the tips on the blog. I am 26,  I am thinking of moving to mauritius for 6 months to do some work with the government, the salary is local, (30,000 rupees). Im not taking this on because of the money, they are doing something really interesting in my line of work so I thought 6 months could be a great work/break combination. I was wondering if there expats who share flats/houses or people who rent out parts of their home? apart from my low salary I have been living with people for a long time and I've had good experiences and made friends along the way...is there a website or something I can look at for adds? or does this just not happen?

Appreciate your help, thanks G

Yes young expats share big houses sometimes. Unfortunately there is no website about the subject.

I suggest you start a new topic in this same forum, in which you could present yourself and say you're looking for flat mates

When would you start and where would be your office?

hi
i am based in south africa at the moment, would like to either start some sort of manufacturing business( sweets, bisciuts or house hold products) or even something in opening a shop or cash 'n carry. is it allowed by forieners. what would i need from sa before coming over. will be coming with wife and 2 kids.
thanks

Yes foreigners are allowed to start a business and open a shop.

Have a look to the Bureau of Investment: http://www.boimauritius.com/ for more info

Is it affordable to have a nanny at home for the kids? Otherwise, how are the daycare and how much is it?
Thanks!

Yes nannies and housekeepers are very affordable in mauritius, it costs 30 to 50 rupees per hour.

Thanks Julien! Is it a practice to have a full-time nanny at home paid on a monthly basis or do people pay per hour? 
Thanks for all the information on this page, this is very useful.

Everything is negotiable

Hi Julien,

When recruiting, do employers have the obligation to hire Mauritian in priority?
Also, is there any website where one can see properties for rent?  If one works in Port-Louis, is it suitable to live anywhere on this island or would some places be too far to transit?  What areas would you recommend?

I'm seriously considering relocating to the Mauritius and I have a first interview this week.

Hi Julien

I am assessing a move to Mauritius. we are looking to set up and investment fund business there.

We will be looking to set up an office in Port Louis. what is the best area to live in, where there are schools for a 12 yr old, something for my wife to do, she is a teacher in English, is it possible to get a location on the beach? how much would you expect to pay for a 4 bed house (rent or buy), what is the resturants like, are there nightime entertainment, ie movies, theatre, wine bars, pubs, social events? how easy is it to make friends there? do you get bored there after a while?, do you get the feeling of being trapped?

Would appreciate any help on this front.

Thanks

Paul

indyrah > it is very often cheaper and less complicated to hire local people but there is no priority. If you are working in Port Louis you can live almost everywhere (I personally prefer the North of the island). Note that there is congestion every day on the way to Port Louis.

Paul> maybe you should come and have a look before moving here? I believe it is much better to see things by yourself before investing any money in a country you don't know?

Hello,

My partner has been offered a job in Mauritius and we went there last week to make sure we like it and we did however we were quite surprised that food prices were the same as in the UK, sometimes even higher as we were expecting these to be considerable cheaper. Clothes and footwear are expensive!
We don't understand how local people can survive with local salaries!
Also, we have been looking for houses in two areas; Grand Bay and Tamarin. Our budget is 65,000Rs per month. Which area would you recommend? Is Tamarin very far away from a nice beach?
Last thing, we are not sure if to take our car to Mauritius which would cost about £1,400 or buy a second hand car there. What would you advise?
Thank you very much in advance for your advice and it would be great to meet you as we don't know anyone there!

Hello Julien and everyone on this forum.

How long it takes to get to the Mauritius once a job offer has been made?  Is the immigration process long? Are delays to be expected on this island? 

I sent my resume a while ago to a big company who told me that they would call me soon for an interview.  Almost two weeks later I am still waiting for their call (even after having sent a follow up email and been answered that they would follow up soon) Is this a common practice in the Mauritius?  I lived in countries where this is to be expected, but I am not sure as to the business practices in the Mauritius.  Any guidelines would be appreciated!

Thanks!

mariadocj > with 65 000 MRU you'll get a very big house! Flic en Flac's beach near Tamarin is really nice. Clothes are not this expensive, maybe you didn't go to the right place ...

Cars are expensive here but it might be cheaper than sending yours from Europe, it depends on the value of your car.

indyrah > The "total" immigration process takes one month, because you need to present all the papers to the administration. Once your work permit demand received by the BOI (Bureau of Investment), it only takes them 3 days to accept/refuse your demand.

About the delay, every employer is different, there is no common rule/practice.

Hi Julien,

Looks like I'll be lucky enough to be spending 3 months in Mauritius on a consultancy assignment. I'm from the UK and will not be directly employed locally, but via my UK employer.

When you went to work in Mauritius, did you have to get a business visa/work permit before arrival - or as an EU citizen did you just sort out business visa on arrival (and then subsequently apply for Occupation Permit)? Did you have to do any health screening before leaving Europe, or do it all locally?

My company want me to be there for 27 October, so I'm short of time to fix things in the UK.

I'm finding the advice on the official government websites is comprehensive but a little hard to determine the exact procedure.

Any tips or advice very welcome, thanks in advance.

I think that for 3 months you might not need a work permit (a tourist visa is available for 2 month and you can renew it one time). Please verify with the BOI: www.boimauritius.com

My local employer wrote me a letter and I got a business visa at my arrival, then I applied for a work permit here.

About the health check up you must do it locally.

This is the reply I got from the BoI:

"Kindly note that there is no need to apply for an Occupation Permit.

Prior to your arrival, a Business Visa will be given for a period of 2 months and then before your business visa expires, you may ask for an extension for 1 month. A business visa maybe be issued for up to 90 days per calendar year.

There is no health checks and no permissions to be obtained prior to arrival in Mauritius."

They clarified that 'prior to your arrival' meant 'on arrival' for an EU passport holder.

Thanks ChrisM66 for sharing the info with us!

So, my customer's company is proposing providing an apartment for me in Quatre Bornes. I'm not bothered about being close to tourist attractions or beach - can get there at the weekend. Just want somewhere clean and pleasant.

Is Quatre Bornes OK? I hear it is just a normal quiet town, with OK shops, bars, etc. Correct?

Quatre Bornes is a busy town, I would suggest Flic en Flac or Tamarin (20 mins from Quatre Bornes by car)

Thanks. Rather than 'quiet', I really mean clean and safe. I'll see what they come up with and share with the forum.

Hiya,

My husband and I are looking at going to Mauritius in Feb/Mar 2009 for about a year (hopefully self employed), one thing we can't seem to find out about is the best way to pay for healthcare out there. Is the best thing to buy insurance to go privately or just pay to go private as and when anything needs to be treated?

If we should be health insurance is it better/cheaper to buy insurance in England (BUPA, Norwich Union Healthcare etc) or to buy locally in Mauritius. If so, does anyone know how much it is likely to cost?

Thank you!

So, my client has arranged a new small apartment in Flic en Flac about 10 mins from the beach for Rs 15 000 a month. That is very cheap by UK standards, but if it is good value will depend on quality of the decor and location. We shall see when I get there on Sunday!

Also, had the option of another place in same village but on the beach, 3 bedrooms and pool for Rs 25 000 per month. A great price for all that, but a lot more than I need as my family won't be coming out (unfortunately).

Plus, on health insurance; my strong recommendation is to get a UK-based expat policy, most of the big firms like Axa do these I believe. As my trip is only 3 months I have extended my personal travel insurance policy to cover an extended trip (it also covers business travel as standard). Plus, in case of dispute you would be covered by UK law and consumer rights - of course, these could be no better than in MRU, but no knowledge

I would suggest that a pay-as-you-go approach is highly risky - for example, a repatriation flight could be $tens of thousands...

Lionfish > about insurance, you can contact our sponsor, here. They will provide you a good service. It's a UK based company, their products are international.

Hi Chris and Julien, thanks for your advice on Health Insurance, sounds like we should sort some before we come out
Julien- I can't see on the blog who the sponsors are, how can I contact them?

Just click on this link

Hi Julien,

First of all thanks a lot for taking the time and the energy for answering people's questions in such a selfless manner!

Secondly, I have a small query..will appreciate your help
I need to know if there is any security deposit to be paid while renting a house in Mauritius?
For example for Rs. 10000 house how much would the security deposit be?



Cheers
Sid

1 or 2 months deposit

Hello Julien,

I have just realised that you replied to my query ages ago, I don't have much experience in forums!
Thank you so much for the information, you are always so helpful.
We are moving end of December/beginning of January and are looking forward to it, how exciting!
Two more things:
can anyone tell me if it is very difficult to find a small shop for rent in a touristic area like Grand Bay? and how much the monthly rent could be?
and secondly, does anyone know if there are any Spanish living in the island?? I have got the feeling I will be the only one there!

Thank you again, we will buy you a beer for all your help!

About the shop, it depends of the location etc ...

Yes there is a "hispano hablante" association here in Mauritius, I've met them a while ago.

Hello Julien ,

I must commend your efforts on answering people questions in such a timely and detailed manner. I myself was in Mauriitus last year April 2007 for 18 days looking at starting a business there. I am now preparing for my move there, I really love the country and met some good people while I was there.  One thing I wanted to ask you about is how has your experience been there? Where is a good place to live , I noticed that most places are closed at night ? I am used to cities with busy shopping and night activity. Also do you know of any expats looking to share an accomodation?

Hi

My family are interested in exploring the possibilty of moving to Maurituis with the intention of living, working and investing in your country.

We have heard stories from various different sources about the enticing lifestyle, the low crime rates and the exciting employment and investment prospects.

The Family includes 3 couples and has extensive experience in numerous sectors. We are however interested in the prospect of setting up a school, we would like to approach the government and propose a partnership with the aim of building or refurbishing a school and addding value to the already booming education industry.

We are also interested in the golfing estate development that is taking place on the old sugar cane plantations and would generally like to speak to someone about our options: -

Visa requirments, Governments regulations, grants, transit, etc

Please contact me as soon as possible as I am extrmely interesting in taking this further with you

I look to hearing from you

Regards

Greg

To start, I would recommend you look at the various, helpful official Mauritius government websites that provide a lot of information and contacts for inward investment:

www.gov.mu is the main government portal with links to all other departments such as Ministry of Tourism, etc.

www.investmauritius.com provides useful areas on business opportunities.

Hi people

just bear in mind that WORK PERMITS ARE NOT THE SAME AS OCCUPATION PERMITS.

Work permits are handled by the Ministry of Labour and the Immigration with OCCUPATION PERMITS are handled by the Board of Investment and the Immigration.

The occupation permit system was implemented in OCtober 2006 and work permits have been there from earlier. The Occupation permit takes into account four main categories: Investors, high-profile professionals, self-employed and to some extent Retired non-citizens. It takes 3 days to get an Occupation permit from the day you put your application.

The work permit is more or less for those not falling in the above criteria... it could be skilled labour (Earning less than Rs30,000), etc etc.There is no definite processing time, can be 1 week to 1 year!



Be careful not to mix up things.. or you will end up speding some weeks running between different offices.
Some clinics I advise for medicals: Clinique Mauricienne (reduit) and Medisave (Quatre Bornes).. they do all the tests and results the very next day.

So theorically, for an occupation permit .. and taking the above two clinics, you would get your permit within 1 week!

Hope this has been useful

Great place to look for jobs:

myjob.mu

Julien wrote:

About the shop, it depends of the location etc ...

Yes there is a "hispano hablante" association here in Mauritius, I've met them a while ago.

Hi Julien,

We are moving in 3 days.....and we can't wait!
If you remember the contact details of the "hispano hablante" people please let me know. It would be great to meet them.
Thank you!!