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Residence permitsMauritius Occupation Permit: Categories, Salary and Fees
The Mauritius Occupation Permit is a combined work and residence permit, and five categories are in force. A Professional needs a job paying a basic salary of at least Rs 50,000 a month, in any sector. An Investor needs USD 100,000, a Self-Employed applicant needs USD 50,000 (services only), and there are routes for Innovators and Young Professionals. You apply to the Economic Development Board (EDB) on its NELS portal, a joint committee chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office assesses the file, and the Passport and Immigration Office (PIO) issues the permit.
If you have a job offer, money to invest, a freelance practice or a start-up, the Mauritius Occupation Permit has a category with its own test for each. The 2025 and 2026 changes reworked several of those tests, so advice written before August 2026 may no longer hold. Where a guideline and the law disagree, we follow the law and say so.
One permit that covers working and living in Mauritius
The Occupation Permit (OP) lets a non-citizen work, run a business or invest in Mauritius and live there while doing it. The EDB’s Occupation Permit Guidelines (the Guidelines below) describe it as a combined work and residence permit.
The EDB runs the National E-licensing System (NELS), where applications are filed. The PIO checks identity and issues the permit, and a joint committee of the EDB and the PIO, chaired by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), assesses each file.
Retired non-citizens apply for a residence permit instead, covered in our guide to retiring in Mauritius, and remote workers employed abroad may fit the Premium Visa better.
The five categories, what each one asks for and how long it lasts
The tests sit in the First Schedule to the Economic Development Board Act 2017, as consolidated by the EDB in August 2026. Five categories are in force. A sixth, Technical, is written into the law and starts by Proclamation.
| Category | Main test | Longest permit |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | A contract of employment in Mauritius and a basic salary of at least Rs 50,000 a month, in any sector | Contract term, up to 10 years |
| Investor | USD 100,000 transferred into a Mauritian bank account, then turnover of at least Rs 5 million from the third year of registration | 10 years |
| Self-Employed | Services only: USD 50,000 transferred in, three letters of intent, turnover of at least Rs 2 million from the third year | 10 years |
| Innovator | An innovative project submitted to the EDB, or registration with an accredited incubator. No minimum sum | 10 years |
| Young Professional | A degree from a local institution recognised by the Higher Education Commission, or an equivalent professional certification from an institution registered in Mauritius. The Rs 25,000 salary floor comes from an EDB guideline, not the Act | Contract term, up to 3 years |
The Guidelines describe a short-term Professional permit of up to nine months, extendable once by up to three months if the application goes in at least 15 days before expiry.
What changed in 2025 and 2026, and what is gone
The schedule was rewritten in August 2025 and again in August 2026. The Finance Act 2025 (published on 9 August 2025) set a ProPass at Rs 30,000 a month, an Expert Pass at Rs 250,000 and two Investor options, USD 50,000 and USD 100,000. Act 13 of 2026, published on 13 August 2026, writes the newer criteria into law. Four points matter for anyone reading older advice:
- Two salary tiers. They have gone. One floor, Rs 50,000 a month, now applies in every sector.
- A USD 50,000 Investor option. Gone too. An Investor needs USD 100,000, and USD 50,000 survives only for the Self-Employed.
- The Family OP. Abolished by Act 13. The 2025 schedule had tied it to a USD 250,000 contribution to the COVID-19 Projects Development Fund. Family members apply as dependants of the main holder, covered below.
- The Technical category. Act 13 writes in a sixth category for contractual or technical staff under an approved government-to-government framework agreement, who could qualify below Rs 50,000. It begins on a date fixed by Proclamation (section 61(3)), and we found none.
Apart from the first-renewal rule covered below, we found nothing in Act 13 on how permits granted under the 2025 criteria are treated, so holders should ask the EDB.
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Professional and Young Professional: the salary tests
A Professional is employed in Mauritius under a contract and registered with the EDB. The employer files on NELS and pays the permit fee. The Act sets a basic salary of at least Rs 50,000 a month, and the Guidelines add that it applies across all sectors.
- The contract states your full name as on your birth certificate and passport, the company, your job title and description, the duration and the monthly basic salary.
- An HR representative, or a company representative in at least a managerial post, comes to the appointment with you.
- In a regulated profession, register with the approved professional body within three months of receiving the permit and give the EDB the evidence, or risk deregistration and eventual cancellation.
A Professional may invest in any business if not employed in it and taking no salary or benefits from it, and may hold shares in their employer if not the majority shareholder.
For a Young Professional the Act sets only the educational test in the table, and the permit lasts for the contract term or three years, whichever is less. The rest comes from the EDB’s guideline of August 2025, not the Act, so confirm it with the EDB:
- A monthly basic salary of at least Rs 25,000.
- Apply within six months of the date the results were published; the limit does not apply to a holder switching to an OP.
- The permit is issued only once, and the holder cannot change company while on it, though a switch to an OP is allowed, with another company only after the contract ends.
- After three years the employer may apply for a Professional OP.
Investor, Self-Employed and Innovator: the money and turnover tests
Investor. The application carries a certified bank statement from your country of origin or residence (the Guidelines say it should come from your own account), a written undertaking to transfer USD 100,000 from abroad into a Mauritian bank account within 60 days of the permit being issued, and a business plan. The Act then sets turnover of at least Rs 5 million from the third year of registration, and Rs 8 million from the fifth year for renewal.
Self-Employed. You register with the Registrar of Businesses under the Business Registration Act, or run a one-person company, and work only in services. You show USD 50,000 with a certified bank statement, give the same 60-day undertaking and attach at least three letters of intent, two from potential local clients. The Act asks for turnover of at least Rs 2 million from the third year and Rs 3 million from the fifth for renewal.
Innovator. There is no minimum sum. You submit an innovative project to the EDB or register with an incubator accredited by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council. A progress report is due within three months of the end of the first year of registration, and a development report at the end of the fifth year must confirm the minimum viable product stage.
Turnover or income? The Act speaks of turnover, while the Guidelines call the Self-Employed figure business income and the Budget Highlights say annual business income. We follow the Act, but ask the EDB how it is measured, and over what period, before relying on these figures.
What the permit costs
The USD 50 application fee is paid by card when you submit and is not refunded. The permit fee is paid only after the Approval in Principle. Figures come from Annex 1 of the Guidelines unless marked.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Application fee (non-refundable, from 1 December 2025) | USD 50 |
| Investor or Self-Employed permit, 10 years | USD 1,000 |
| Professional, contract up to 2 years (paid by the employer) | USD 400 |
| Professional, over 2 and up to 3 years | USD 500 |
| Professional, over 3 and up to 5 years | USD 800 |
| Professional, over 5 and up to 10 years | USD 1,000 |
| Young Professional, up to 1 year (August 2025 guideline) | USD 150 |
| Young Professional, over 1 and up to 2 years | USD 250 |
| Young Professional, over 2 and up to 3 years | USD 300 |
| Short-term permit, up to 9 months | USD 300 |
| Short-term extension, up to 3 months, once only | USD 150 |
| Each dependant’s residence permit | USD 400 |
The Guidelines list the Innovator under the Investor checklist, which shows USD 1,000. Pay by credit card in US dollars on NELS, or by card terminal at the EDB office in Ebene, where dependants’ fees are paid.
Fees change by notice, and the Guidelines are the latest table we found. Act 13 also provides for a prescribed fee on some residence permit applications from 1 October 2026, not those of retired non-citizens, and we found no amount. Confirm the current table with the EDB before paying.
How an application moves through NELS
Every application, whether new, a renewal or a change of category, goes through NELS with the checklist documents attached.
- Apply and pay. Upload the signed Form of charter for foreign residents in Mauritius in the Other document section, and pay the USD 50 fee by card.
- Validation and assessment. The EDB’s Occupation Permit Unit and the PIO check the file, and you hear by email or SMS if something is missing. The joint committee then assesses it.
- Approval in Principle (AIP). When the PMO approves, an AIP email is sent, valid for 90 days from issue for a new application and 30 days for a renewal. A refusal also comes by email, and you may appeal once, through NELS, within 30 days.
- Fee and formalities. Pay the permit fee, travel to Mauritius for the medical examination, finish the formalities and send the application back through NELS before the AIP expires.
- Appointment. The PIO identifies you, and the EDB and the PIO check the originals. With a valid visa, you are registered with the EDB and the PIO issues the permit.
Neither the EDB nor the PIO publishes a processing time. A negative character certificate or police report makes an applicant ineligible. The Guidelines contradict themselves on where dependants apply, one section naming NELS and another the PIO, so confirm with the EDB.
Keep your visa valid at every stage: the AIP is not a visa to enter Mauritius, and anyone already there must hold a valid visa until the permit is issued.
Renewing, switching category or losing your job
Renew through NELS at least one month before expiry.
Professionals face an open question on a first renewal. Section 40(3B) of the Immigration Act, inserted by Act 13 and operative from 1 October 2026, ties it to the criteria in force immediately before the First Schedule changes. As we read it, that points back to the 2025 tiers, and the Guidelines say a holder under the Rs 30,000 criterion is eligible for one renewal. Ask the EDB which figure applies to you.
A permit is not transferable, so a holder who changes employer cancels the old permit and applies afresh. Where an anti-competition or restraint-of-trade clause covers the same field, the new application needs a no-objection letter from the previous employer; in a different field, that letter or an undertaking of non-competition. A holder who wants to run a business applies as Self-Employed or Investor.
If the job ends:
- The employer tells the EDB in writing at once, the EDB deregisters the holder and the PIO cancels the permit.
- The holder leaves within one month, or as the Director General of Immigration decides, unless seeking new employment.
- A Self-Undertaking Form (Annex 2) sent to the EDB and the PIO within two weeks of termination allows six months to find new work and apply afresh.
Holders must tell the EDB and the PIO in writing about any change of address or contract, such as a salary change. The Guidelines say non-compliance can lead to deregistration under section 14 of the EDB Act 2017 and cancellation by the PIO.
Dependants, and a spouse who wants to work
Eligible dependants are a spouse, parents, and unmarried dependent children aged 24 or under, including stepchildren and lawfully adopted children. The Guidelines add an opposite-sex common-law partner, but the Act speaks of a spouse, so ask the EDB. Each dependant’s residence permit costs USD 400, ends no later than the main holder’s permit and does not allow gainful activity.
To work, a dependant needs a Work Permit or an OP of their own, which requires a cancellation letter from the main holder. Section 12 of the Immigration Act lets the spouse of an OP holder apply for an OP through NELS with the prescribed fee, but the criteria and fee are not published, so ask the EDB.
How it differs from a Work Permit
The Ministry of Labour runs a separate Work Permit system under the Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act 1973. The employer applies on the e-Work Permit portal, the worker also needs a Residence Permit on a common application form, and applications made on a tourist visa are not considered, according to the portal’s FAQ.
As we read it, a job paying under Rs 50,000 a month falls under the Work Permit system, with the Technical category as the exception once it starts. Confirm with the Ministry of Labour before accepting an offer on that basis.
The route on to permanent residence
The Minister may grant a Permanent Residence Permit, and the Professional route asks for a basic salary of at least Rs 400,000 a month for five years running. Other categories have their own tests, set out in our guide to the Mauritius Permanent Residence Permit.
Frequently asked questions
What salary do you need for a Mauritius Occupation Permit?
A Professional needs a basic salary of at least Rs 50,000 a month, in any sector. A Young Professional needs Rs 25,000 under an EDB guideline, not the Act. Investors and the Self-Employed face money and turnover tests instead.
Can I still get an Occupation Permit as an investor with USD 50,000?
No. That Investor option in the 2025 schedule has gone, and an Investor now needs USD 100,000. USD 50,000 remains the figure only for the Self-Employed category, which is open to services businesses.
How long does a Mauritius Occupation Permit take to process?
No processing time is published by the EDB or the PIO. The steps are validation, assessment by a joint committee, an Approval in Principle, payment of the permit fee and an appointment at which the PIO issues the permit.
Can my spouse work if I hold an Occupation Permit?
Not on a dependant permit, which does not allow gainful activity. A spouse needs a Work Permit or an Occupation Permit of their own. The criteria and fee for a spouse applying for an Occupation Permit are not published.
Sources, checked 28 October 2026
All of these are government sources: the Economic Development Board, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Labour. Where a guideline and the Act differ, the Act wins and the text says so.
- Occupation Permit Guidelines (EDB, hosted on the residency site): categories, application steps, renewals, dependants, job loss and the Annex 1 fees. The file name says 2022, but the text carries the fee that took effect on 1 December 2025.
- Act 13 of 2026 (National Assembly): the new criteria, the Technical category and its start by Proclamation (section 61(3)), the end of the Family OP and the first-renewal rule in section 40(3B) of the Immigration Act, operative from 1 October 2026.
- Economic Development Board Act 2017, consolidated August 2026 (EDB): Part I of the First Schedule, the criteria for each category.
- Finance Act 2025 (National Assembly): the 2025 schedule with the ProPass, the Expert Pass and two Investor options, and the replacement of sections 11 and 12 of the Immigration Act.
- Young Professional Occupation Permit guideline, August 2025 (EDB, hosted on the residency site): the Rs 25,000 floor, the six-month window, fees and conditions.
- Budget Highlights 2026-27 (EDB): the June 2026 announcements, including the Technical category.
- National E-licensing System (EDB): the portal that the Guidelines name for filing Occupation Permit applications.
- Immigration Act 2022, as first enacted (Government of Mauritius, hosted on the residency site): the original Occupation Permit provisions. The Finance Act 2025 and Act 13 changed some of them, so we use it only alongside those.
- Work Permit portal and its FAQ (Ministry of Labour): the separate Work Permit system and its residence permit requirement.
General information only, not immigration, tax, legal or financial advice. Mauritius often changes these rules in its June Budget, so check the official pages above and speak to a qualified professional before you act.