Moving to Mauritius from India
Anyone moving to Mauritius from India has two jobs to run side by side: getting permission to live on the island, and ending Indian tax residence, which is decided by day counts in the tax year. An Indian passport needs no visa before a visit, but the officer at the border sets each stay, so living there takes a residence route such as the Premium Visa or an Occupation Permit. India is on the Premium Visa country list, and a tax treaty between the two countries has been in force since 1982, changed by a protocol in 2016.
This page is for Indian citizens planning the move. It covers what changes because you are leaving India: your passport at the Mauritian border, how Indian tax residence is tested, what the treaty and its 2016 protocol say, and how the Reserve Bank of India describes accounts held by people living abroad. Each topic outside that has its own guide, linked as we go.
Getting in on an Indian passport
India is on the Passport and Immigration Office’s list of countries whose citizens need no visa before they travel; the entry against India reads “No visa required.” That does not fix how long you may stay. The office publishes no figure for Indian passport holders, and the officer at the airport sets the period on every visit. The ceilings we found are 180 days in a calendar year, from the Economic Development Board (EDB), and up to six months a year decided case by case, from the immigration office. Both are limits on what an officer can grant, not something you are owed.
Officers look for a passport valid beyond your stay, a return ticket, adequate funds (no amount is published), confirmed accommodation or a sponsor, and no plan to work without a permit. Our visa requirements guide covers extensions and the forms. We could not open the pages of the Indian High Commission in Port Louis or the Ministry of External Affairs, so nothing here relies on them.
Choosing a residence route
A visit does not let you settle, so a move needs a residence route. India is among the 114 countries on the EDB’s Premium Visa list. The table matches a situation to a route and its guide.
| If this is you | Route | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Your income or business is based outside Mauritius | Premium Visa: an e-visa at no charge, for more than six months and up to a year, renewable. Not a work permit. | Premium Visa guide |
| You have a job offer, or you will invest or work for yourself | Occupation Permit: a Professional needs a basic salary of at least Rs 50,000 a month, an Investor USD 100,000, a Self-Employed applicant USD 50,000 (services only). | Occupation Permit guide |
| You are 50 or over and retiring | Retired non-citizen permit, for up to 10 years | Retiring guide |
| You plan to buy a home | The property route, which has its own conditions | Buying property guide |
| You want to settle for the long term | Permanent residence permit, valid for 20 years. It is a later step: most routes need five years on a lower permit first, and a money test. | Permanent residence guide |
Not sure which row fits? The visa checker asks a few questions and points you to a route.
Get the free Mauritius move checklist
Seven steps in a sensible order, from choosing a residence route to your first month on the island. Free, by email.
How Indian tax residence is tested
Which law applies matters first. The Income Tax Department says the Income-tax Act 2025 applies to tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026, while the Income Tax Act 1961 continues for earlier years. The 2026-27 tax year therefore falls under the 2025 Act. Its section 6 on residence is worded the same as section 6(1) of the 1961 Act for the basic test.
Under that test an individual is resident in India for a tax year if either of these holds:
- they were in India for 182 days or more in that year; or
- they were in India for 60 days or more in that year and for 365 days or more in the four years before it.
The Department’s FAQ describes relaxations. A citizen who leaves India for employment outside the country, or as crew of an Indian ship, is resident only at 182 days or more, and the 60 plus 365 test does not apply. For a citizen or person of Indian origin who is visiting, the FAQ gives “more than 182 days”, and where Indian income other than foreign-source income exceeds Rs 15 lakh the 60 days is read as 120 days alongside the 365 days.
Two further ideas appear. A citizen whose total income, other than foreign-source income, is over Rs 15 lakh and who is not liable to tax anywhere else by reason of domicile or residence is deemed resident; the 2025 Act’s section 6(7) is similar to section 6(1A) of the 1961 Act. And a resident can be “not ordinarily resident”: someone who was non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding years, or who was in India for 729 days or fewer in the preceding seven. Preceding years may include years under the repealed Act. We did not find an official page setting out which income each status taxes, so this page does not say. The Income Tax Department’s own pages, or a qualified tax adviser in both countries, are the place for that.
The India-Mauritius treaty and its 2016 protocol
The Mauritius Revenue Authority publishes the convention between the two countries, signed on 24 August 1982 with no fixed end date. Article 4 contains a tie-breaker for people who would be resident in both countries. Article 13(4) leaves gains from other property to the country of residence, and Article 19 provides that non-government pensions are taxed in the State where the recipient is resident. Government pensions are dealt with separately in Article 18(2).
A protocol signed on 10 May 2016 became operative on 19 July 2016 (Government Notice 156 of 2016). Its new Article 13(3A) and 13(3B) allow gains on shares to be taxed in the State where the company is resident, for shares acquired on or after 1 April 2017. According to the Ministry of Finance’s release of 10 May 2016, shares acquired before that date are protected. For gains from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019, India’s tax is limited to 50% of its domestic rate, subject to a Limitation of Benefits article (Article 27A), and the full domestic rate applies from the 2019-20 financial year. The same release says interest paid to Mauritian resident banks on debt claims arising after 31 March 2017 is subject to 7.5% withholding.
A second protocol, signed on 7 March 2024, adds an Article 27B with a principal-purpose test. Mauritius set it out in Government Notice 136 of 2026, made on 29 July 2026, and it comes into operation on a date the Minister fixes by notice in the Gazette. We found no such notice, so its in-force date is unconfirmed. Official sources differ on one detail: the 2016 protocol text says it was signed at Ebene, while the Ministry of Finance release and the 2026 notice say Port Louis. This page does not state where. Reading the treaty is a job for a qualified tax adviser in both countries.
Becoming tax resident in Mauritius
Mauritius has its own tests, covered in the tax guide: an individual is resident with 183 days in the year, or 270 days across three years, or if domiciled there. The Mauritius Revenue Authority also describes a remittance basis under which foreign-source income of a resident is taxed when brought into the island. Because India and Mauritius can both claim a person in the same year, the treaty tie-breaker in Article 4 exists for exactly that overlap.
Indian bank accounts after you leave
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) publishes a question-and-answer note on accounts in India held by people resident outside India, current as on 16 January 2025. It defines a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) as a person resident outside India who is an Indian citizen. The table summarises the three account types it describes. Which rules apply to you is set by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, which this page does not test.
| Account | Who may open it | Currency and form | Repatriation |
|---|---|---|---|
| NRE | NRIs and persons of Indian origin | Rupee. Savings, current, recurring or fixed deposit; fixed deposits run from one to three years, and banks may accept longer. | Repatriable |
| FCNR(B) | NRIs and persons of Indian origin | Any freely convertible foreign currency. Term deposit only, for 1 to 5 years. | Repatriable |
| NRO | Any person resident outside India, for bona fide rupee transactions | Rupee. Savings, current, recurring or fixed deposit. | Not repatriable except current income. NRIs and persons of Indian origin may remit balances up to USD 1 million a financial year (April to March) with other eligible assets. |
On a change of status, the RBI note says an NRE account is to be redesignated as a resident account, or the funds moved to a resident foreign currency account, when the holder returns or becomes resident again, while FCNR(B) deposits may run to maturity. A resident Indian who becomes resident outside India has the existing resident account designated as an NRO account.
Sending money abroad while still resident
The RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme page, updated on 6 April 2023, states that all resident individuals, including minors, may freely remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year (April to March). It is not open to companies, partnership firms, Hindu undivided families or trusts. As the scheme applies to residents, it matters while you are still resident in India. We did not check whether the limit has changed since that date, so read the RBI page itself.
Language on the island
Statistics Mauritius published the main results of the 2022 Population Census on 18 November 2022, with figures marked provisional. For the language most often spoken at home, the categories shown are Creole only at 90.0%, Bhojpuri only at 5.1%, French only at 4.4% and English only at 0.6%. The release gives no separate figure for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or similar languages, and we found no official figures on religion or community in it, so none are given here.
Household goods and pets
We found no official rule specific to Indian owners for either. Customs duty on household effects and a car is covered in the shipping guide, and the permit and quarantine process for a dog or cat is in the pets guide. We have no official flight data for India to Mauritius, so we say nothing about routes or travel times.
Frequently asked questions
Do Indians need a visa for Mauritius?
India is on the immigration office list of countries whose citizens need no visa before they travel. The officer at the border sets each stay, and no figure for Indian passport holders is published. Living on the island needs a residence route such as the Premium Visa, an Occupation Permit or the retired non-citizen permit.
Is India on the Premium Visa country list?
Yes. India is among the 114 countries on the Economic Development Board list. The Premium Visa is an e-visa at no charge for more than six months and up to a year, and it is renewable. It is not a work permit.
Which Indian tax law decides residence for 2026-27?
The Income Tax Department says the Income-tax Act 2025 applies to tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026, and the Income Tax Act 1961 continues for earlier years. The basic individual tests are the same: 182 days or more in the tax year, or 60 days or more in the year plus 365 days or more in the four years before it.
Is there a tax treaty between India and Mauritius?
Yes. The convention was signed on 24 August 1982 and a protocol on 10 May 2016. The protocol gave India the right to tax gains on shares of Indian companies acquired on or after 1 April 2017. A further protocol signed on 7 March 2024 is set out in a 2026 Mauritian notice, and we found no notice fixing the date it takes effect.
What happens to my Indian bank account if I move abroad?
The Reserve Bank of India FAQ says that when a resident Indian becomes a person resident outside India, the existing resident account should be designated as an NRO account. NRE and FCNR(B) accounts are the other main types for non-residents, each with its own rules on currency and repatriation.
Page history. First published 30 October 2026, with every source checked that day. Corrections are listed here with their date and what changed.
Sources, checked 30 October 2026
All sources are official: the Indian Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank, and the Mauritian immigration, revenue and statistics bodies. The Indian High Commission and Ministry of External Affairs pages could not be opened, so they are not cited. No official figure was found for stays by Indian passport holders, flights from India, or religion and community.
- Visa requirement country list (Passport and Immigration Office): India on the no-visa list, and that the office publishes no stay length for Indian passport holders.
- Premium Visa, Retired non-citizen and Permanent Residence Permit (EDB): the 114-country list with India on it, the 180-day ceiling, validity and the age rule.
- Occupation Permit guidelines (EDB): the permit salary and investment figures.
- Non-resident FAQ (Income Tax Department): the residence tests, the relaxations, deemed residence, not ordinarily resident status and the Acts that apply.
- Income-tax Act 2025 release (Ministry of Finance, Press Information Bureau): that the 2025 Act applies from 1 April 2026.
- Protocol release of 10 May 2016 (Ministry of Finance, Press Information Bureau): protection for shares acquired before 1 April 2017, the 50% rate to 31 March 2019, and the 7.5% withholding on interest.
- Double taxation agreements, convention text, 2016 Protocol and 2026 Regulations (Mauritius Revenue Authority): the 1982 convention articles, the 2016 protocol dates and Articles 13(3A), 13(3B) and 27A, and the 2024 Protocol with its Article 27B.
- Income Tax Act, Finance Act 2026 and Foreign income (MRA): the Mauritian residence tests and the remittance rule.
- Accounts in India by Non-residents (Reserve Bank of India, as on 16 January 2025): the NRI definition, NRE, FCNR(B) and NRO accounts, and the change-of-status rules.
- Liberalised Remittance Scheme FAQ (Reserve Bank of India, updated 6 April 2023): the USD 250,000 limit and who may use it.
- 2022 Population Census, main results (Statistics Mauritius): the language spoken most often at home.
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.