Mauritius immigration and residence options in 2026

Mauritius uses distinct systems for foreign nationals who want to work, invest, run a business, retire, study, live with family, work remotely or obtain longer-term residence.

Official-source verification: 29 September 2026. Recent EDB reforms changed important Occupation Permit thresholds, so this guide prioritises current 2026 EDB and legislative material where older official summaries conflict.

Current route map

• Investor Occupation Permit
• Professional Occupation Permit
• Self-Employed Occupation Permit
• Young Professional Occupation Permit
• Retired Non-Citizen Residence Permit
• Premium Visa
• Property Owner Residence Permit
• Permanent Residence Permit
• Student Permit
• Work Permit + Employment Residence
• Dependant Residence Permit

Occupation Permit routes

The Occupation Permit is a combined work-and-residence framework. Core general categories are investor, professional and self-employed, with a Young Professional route for qualifying local graduates. Current 2026 EDB updates set a USD 100,000 initial-investment benchmark for new Investor OP applicants, a MUR 50,000 monthly basic-salary threshold for Professional OPs, and revised business-income benchmarks for self-employed holders. The 2026/27 Budget also introduced a Technical Occupation Permit under Government-to-Government arrangements; EDB says its operational framework is being integrated into NELS, so it should not be treated as a general self-sponsored route before the applicable arrangement and live guidance are available.

Retirement, remote work and property

The retired non-citizen Residence Permit is a residence route with transfer-of-funds conditions and is not ordinary work authorisation. The Premium Visa is a one-year renewable long-stay route that can support remote work for foreign activity. Qualifying property acquisition can support residence under approved schemes, but buying arbitrary property does not automatically create immigration status.

Employment outside the OP framework

Some foreign employment uses a separate Work Permit plus a Residence Permit for Employment. That framework is distinct from the combined Professional Occupation Permit.

Other legitimate categories

Mauritius also has student permissions, dependant residence, spouse-of-Mauritian residence, internship/placement residence and short-stay visit/business permissions. The 2026/27 Budget provides for the Family Occupation Permit category to be abolished, so older material referring to that category should not be treated as the current general family route. A tourist or business visitor is not authorised to take financially gainful employment merely by entering Mauritius.

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Published pathways