So many questions, and soooo unsure :D Greetings from South Africa

Hi,

If you want to buy a property but not an IRS/RES, the only option left is an apartment.
Foreigners cannot buy into individual housing units.

And this irrespective of the scheme under which you will come to live on the island (investor, professional, self-employed or retired).

WinstonH wrote:

Hi,

If you want to buy a property but not an IRS/RES, the only option left is an apartment.
Foreigners cannot buy into individual housing units.

And this irrespective of the scheme under which you will come to live on the island (investor, professional, self-employed or retired).

In addition, between now and 2019 , a lot can change depending on as who is in power 

External wrote:

In addition, between now and 2019 , a lot can change depending on as who is in power 

Yes.

However, I listened to interviews from the senior adviser to the Minister of Finance and he made it clear that even the purchase of apartments itself was a tough consensus to reach and there will be no relaxing of buying laws. Therefore, I don't think anything will change till 2019.

If the current government fails, we know who is coming to power again in 2019. And he is even more stringent regarding allowing foreigners to purchase properties.

If your goal is to move here in 2019, you should ideally do these things:

- Visit the island on holiday (to get a feel for everything)
- Make sure that (if you both intend to work) that your work is lined up for you before arriving (and that, ideally, your employers provide some relocation assistance)
- Ideally, try to find a group of South African expats you can network/befriend here (knowing people in a new/foreign country helps a lot when relocating)
- Evaluate if/when you can ship your motor-vehicles over (buying vehicles is quite expensive)
- Sort out all your local affairs (arranging to sell/let your property and disposing of other assets/possessions that you don't need).

The most prudent suggestion I have is to speak with a company that specializes in relocation-assistance for South Africans to Mauritius (there should be a handful, as quite a few South Africans relocate every year). I cannot recommend any, as that would construe advertising (which is frowned upon in the forums). If you find a reliable company, they should be able to advise on the property/residence-permit situation (I believe another way to seek permanent residence status is to live on the island for a, continuous, 5-year duration, but as the laws change, you need expert advice).

Moving to a new country is quite a big step, so doing thorough planning over a long time will help.

Wish you the best of luck in your quest.

Good Morning from a Sunny South Africa,

Thank you so much for your feedback.  It really helps a lot.

So investing in an apartment seems the right thing to do.  This is what I was thinking as I was not sure about buying a house and if we could do so.  Investment in an apartment questions:

If my husband as a senior systems engineer finds a position suitable, it seems that a company package would include the following:  housing, vehicle etc.  Then maybe investing in property would not be a good option?  As there are long term rentals available furnished, semi Furnished or not furnished.

We will definitely be coming over for a visit and scouting in the next 6 months.  Not for work, but rather investment opportunities. 

It seems with your advice to best invest now sooner than later when there might be change over in government.

We will definitely ship via container over our vehicles and house hold goods.  Some more research needed here in the best company to rely on as I have read on the forum that it can take up to 6 months with no guarantee in what condition you will receive your goods on the other side.

Do you think it would be difficult for my husband to find a position there in the capacity as SENIOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER specialising in Vmware?  Maybe he should not work for a company but rather work for himself in capacity Project management?

This I do know, we want to contribute to Mauritius's financial growth, helping locals and live with the locals, not into tourists much, however we do recognise the role they play

Me working for Google currently helps a lot, and with almost 30 years experience in hospitality as a Accredited assessor in hospitality, trainer and Service delivery might be welcomed?  I do not know what service levels are like in Mauritius and if there would be a need for such a person as myself in my capacity?

If my husband decided to rather work full time for a company there, we get housing through the company etc, then where would I invest?

So many questions lol

Thank you again greatly for all your feedback.

Also, if we come over for a 7 day visit to scout, would you recommend we take the normal tourist package and stay at some other resort or book flights, rent an apartment locally for 7 days and rough it? 

Which would be the best way of tackling this to get as much information as possible.

Should we maybe setup some meetings prior to arriving early 2017 on our initial visit?

Maybe with local property agencies, companies my husband could work for?  What should we check out and do to see if we could fit in?

1.  7 day Trip
If you are coming over for just a 7 day visit, the key thing would be to hire a car. 

The advantage of renting an apartment for your visit is that you would do some shopping so get a feel for what is available (most things are).  There are some very nice holiday lets available, so I don't think that there is a need to rough it.   

2.  Permanent move
Do some more research and look up the different locations to live, types of apartments that are available for long-term rent and where.  Since most of the ITC jobs are in Ebene, you probably need to take account of that and how far your husband is willing to commute.  You will find that many are fully furnished so the need to ship all your belongings is questionable. 

With regards to work for your husband, I suggest that he looks at some of the Mauritius internet job sites and also contact some of the companies direct.  One of the challenges could be salary expectations unless a company is willing to bring him in on expatriate package, as you will find local salaries are lower than in South Africa.  Also if you plan to work, the employing company/you will need to apply for an occupation permit as if you accompany your husband you are not entitled to work and there is a minimum salary for an expatriate to obtain an occupation permit. 

Finally do look at some of the Q&A on this website as you will find some useful information.

Good luck

Thank you so much Jkev.

I agree.  Currently he is earning about R75k - 140MR.  As I said I work for Google and we will be expanding there in the next 2 years as well so am sure that we will be settled with permanent employment.

So you don't think we should ship over our house and vehicles?

We were thinking about staying in Pamplemousses, Port Louis, Quatre Bornes arounds.

For the 7 day scouting trip I felt that staying locally, making use of public transport, eating locally would be best as it would be the best way to see if we can get around communication, learn etc.  So for the 7 days rent a fully furnished self catering apartment and visit local food shops and interact.

I am very unsure of companies to speak to who helps with relocation from SA to MAU.  What are the things to look out for, what are the questions I need to ask etc?

Thanking you all in advance

Riette

Hi Riette,

I having been living in Mauritius for 5 years now and am returning to Jhb for a couple of weeks on 17 September. I am happy to meet you and your husband for a chat if you wish.

Regards
Craig

As a Brit, I am not sure that I am the best person to answer some of your questions, as I might have a different perspective, but there are a lot of South Africans here who I am sure will be able to help.

Hi Craig, it would have been great, it is a pitty that I won't be able to meet with you.  I am going in to hospital tomorrow and off for 6 weeks

Just wanted to thank all of you for your advice.  I have had some great news, my brother and mother is moving over permanently next month and will be staying in Port Louis.  My brother's company is relocating him so all of this is working out great.  This will make it so much easier for me to answer my questions as they will be there before me and it was great finding out that I will have family there as well

riettenel wrote:

Just wanted to thank all of you for your advice.  I have had some great news, my brother and mother is moving over permanently next month and will be staying in Port Louis.  My brother's company is relocating him so all of this is working out great.  This will make it so much easier for me to answer my questions as they will be there before me and it was great finding out that I will have family there as well

I understand about the case of your brother but  just to be on the side of caution, has your mother received her "resident permit" already?

I doubt she would be able to "piggy back" as a dependant on your brother's Occupation Permit to stay permanently ( which is an oxymoron since it is either for the duration of the Occupation Permit or if one is on retiree visa for a 10 yr period with the condition that $40,000 is deposited on your Mauritian Bank a/c ad infinitum ).
Ask your Mum/brother  to verify this -otherwise it would be a 6 months stay ( 2*3 months) per year.