I've been to Mauritius, I've read the various blurbs promoting the
island, and I am now seriously considering building a holiday home
there, mainly for the use of my family and staff.

It all seems lovely and rosy but are there any curved balls
that should be taken into account by a non-resident investor?

I am a UK resident and intend so to remain. 

A tip is envisaged.

Hi, probonopublico,

I envy your ability to even consider such a home. 

Considering the state of the world and the turmoil in various African
nations, my first thought was about your personal safety in the
Republic of Mauritius. I wanted to see if you should be aware of any
travel advisories aimed at British nationals. What I found did not
seem too distressing -- that is I found no reports of terrorist
activity (although traveller's are advised to always be wary in light
of recent world events) or civil unrest. Apparently Mauritius has one
of the most stable governments in Africa.

You can read the full report which was updated 31 October 2002 and
still current as of 28 November 2002.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386766



I understand that you've been to Mauritius, but nevertheless, I
thought I'd see exactly what the entry requirements are, since you are
considering a 'home' there, as opposed to a vacation trip. I found
that on the same FCO website supra.

Now once you're there, a great deal depends on the proposed length of
your stay. According to this next website, which deals with
investment, "The Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 1975 sets out
conditions for the acquisition, purchase and disposal of property by
non-citizens. A non-citizen is a person who is not a citizen of
Mauritius, or an association or body of persons, corporate or
incorporate:
(a) which is not domiciled in Mauritius; or
(b) the control or management of which is vested in persons who are
not citizens of Mauritius."

COMESA Mauritian Investment Legal Status
http://www.comesa.int/states/mauritus/qmauinlg.htm

Assuming that you need to buy property on which to build your vacation
home, I checked to see what regulations exist regarding that issue. I
found: "In order to purchase property in Mauritius, non-Mauritian
citizens are required to seek authority from the Prime Minister’s
office."

Residence, Immigration & Work Permits - Page 2
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam20/Residence_2.html#mauritius

Now, I wondered, how does one start out to do that. I found Prime
Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth's website.

Prime Minister’s Office
http://ncb.intnet.mu/pmo.htm
primeminister@intnet.mu

Another source of in depth information, and one closer to home for you
would be:
Mauritian High Commission (co-located with the Mauritius Tourism
Promotion Authority). It has no on-line presence, but here's the
contact information:
32 Elvaston Place, London, SW7 5NW 
Tel 020 7581 0294: 
Fax: 020 7823 8437; 
e-mail: londonmhc@btinternet.com

Now, you say this home is "mainly" for family and staff. I think
'mainly' could make a big difference. If you're thinking about doing
'some' work or perhaps renting the place (perhaps as a time-share)
when you aren't in actual residence, you'll need to deal with taxes.

I found this basic guide which overviews the income tax system in
Mauritius:

Untitled - Mauritius   Step 1:Understanding basic principles
http://www.taxnews.com/tnn/globtax.nsf/8ff4d426872d4495852565f7005dd0cd/589375ea65c4e84a85256603006c0808?OpenDocument

And...

Personal Taxation in Mauritius
http://www.lowtax.net/lowtax/html/jmupetx.html



In addition you might be subject to specific building codes and
standards. You might want to contact the Building and Construction
Standards Committee.

Mauritius Standards Bureau
http://www.mauritius-online.com/msb/index.html
e-mail: msb@intnet.mu



As for investment, everything I read seems to indicate that Mauritius
welcomes off-shore investors. Here's the official INVESTMENT PROMOTION
ACT 2000 from the Ministry of Finance (in legalese, a foreign language
to me):

http://ncb.intnet.mu/mof.htm

The Central Statistics Office ( http://statsmauritius.gov.mu/ )
provides charts and tables about many sectors of the Mauritian
economy, including costs of building materials, wages, etc.

I hope this is sufficient unto your needs.

Regards,
revbrenda1st

Search Strategy:

" Mauritius travel warnings UK citizens "
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Mauritius+travel+warnings+UK+citizens&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

" Mauritius building regulations "
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Mauritius+building+regulations&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

" Minister of Internal Affairs + Mauritius "
://www.google.ca/search?q=%22Minister+of+Internal+Affairs%22+Mauritius&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N

" construction costs Mauritius "
://www.google.ca/search?q=construction+costs+Mauritius&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

" non-residents Mauritius "
://www.google.ca/search?q=Non-residents+Mauritius&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

" buying property Mauritius "
://www.google.ca/search?q=buying+property+Mauritius&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

" Prime Ministers office + Mauritius "
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Prime+Ministers+office+%2B+Mauritius&spell=1

" Mauritius High Commission London"
://www.google.ca/search?q=Mauritius+High+Commission+London&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

---

Request for Answer Clarification by probonopublico-ga on 28 Nov 2002 10:08 PST

Hi, Revbrenda

Many thanks for your brilliant work.

I will check out your links before giving you your well-derved 5 stars.

... For obvious reasons.

Kindest regards

Bryan

---

Clarification of Answer by revbrenda1st-ga on 28 Nov 2002 11:18 PST

Thank you, Bryan,

I did mean to add, but forgot (sorry) to add that most of the URLs to
which I've referred are but pages from much larger, comprehensive
websites and there is a great deal of information among their other
sections and pages that might further enlighten you, especially as
regards potential uses for income from your new home. Also, I
concentrated on information regarding British nationals, but found
similar corroborating information from such various sources as
Australian, Indian and American government advisories. I didn't keep a
record of such sites, though, as you are a UK resident.  :)

I wish you well,
revbrenda1st

Perfect!

You certainly are the first. But are you really a Reverend? (I believe
that death by stoning is mandatory for masquerading as such.)

My thanks also to AnswerFinder.

If you both don't get a Christmas hamper from Fortnum & Mason, it's
the least that you deserve.

Kindest regards

Bryan

Dear probonopublico-ga 

Can I add to Revbrenda-ga's excellent research (and as you’re a
regular).  I had the question locked before her but had to abandon it
as something urgent arose.

Price Waterhouse Cooper advise on building a home in Mauritius:
“Foreigners wishing to acquire real estate in Mauritius must obtain
prior written permission of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). One
hundred percent foreign ownership is officially permitted, subject to
PMO approval. The PMO will rather easily provide certificates
authorizing 100 percent foreign ownership in priority areas.
Generally, the PMO will favor investment projects with minor foreign
participation.”
There may be more information in a booklet.
http://www.pwcglobal.com/Extweb/NewCoAtWork.nsf/docid/1A7ACF72071D2FD485256BE60074A4F1

Regarding building, I found the following comment which may assist:
“Mauritius, there is a growing demand of land for residential
purposes. As a small island State with limited land area, this growing
demand can only be met by releasing land which is being used for
agriculture; a major economic activity in the country. One, therefore,
can understand how difficult it is for the government to strike the
proper balance to meet the demand of land for housing without
drastically affecting the national revenue from agriculture.”
Mauritius United Nations representative.
http://www.un.org/ga/habitat/statements/docs/mauritiusE.html

General notes:
The country is independent, democratic and therefore relatively
stable. The Government is presidential, with a single elected National
Assembly and a Council of Ministers headed by a Prime Minister. The
country has no mineral resources, and it lives mainly on sugar,
textile and tourism. The Government has tried hard to create a
manufacturing sector with a range of investment incentives, free trade
zones and a freeport. . The Government is enthusiastic about
e-commerce.
The country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has
earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. However, recent
poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth
leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole
community.  The Creole community also have demonstrated over the
treatment of them by police. I recommend you read the reports on these
two sites:
http://www.usis.usemb.se/human/human1999/mauritiu.html
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8393.htm

Environment:
Current issues: water pollution and degradation of coral reefs. The
former is sewage disposal on the island and in particular the St Loius
port area. There is a large project underway to improve the
infrastructure and this is funded by the World Bank.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20012470~menuPK:34466~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html
 
Drugs
Illicit drugs: minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from
South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mp.html

Crime:
Petty crime is a problem. It is unwise to walk alone at night outside
the immediate grounds of hotels. Recently, many tourists have been
robbed while walking at night, and violence has been employed in some
instances. There is a potential for pickpocketing at the central
market in Port Louis.
US travel info
http://travel.state.gov/mauritius.html


Mauritius Government web portal
http://ncb.intnet.mu/govt/



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