MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sameer K. Tegally, Sonia Xavier and Ashvan Luckraz, Venture Law
Education Authority, the Private Secondary Educa - tion Authority and/or the Tertiary Education Com - mission; • healthcare activities – a licence from the Ministry of Health and Wellness; • gambling and gaming activities – a licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority; and • offshore petroleum activities – a licence/permit from the Department for Continental Shelf, Mari - time Zones Administration and Exploration. Investing in Financial Services Entities intending to carry out financial services in Mauritius must, as a rule, obtain the relevant licences from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) or the Central Bank (in the case of banking activities) to be able to carry out such services. Investing in Property Development Under the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 1975, a non-citizen cannot hold immovable property, including leasehold or freehold property, without an authorising certificate from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). However, no authorisation is required in the following cases: • when holding immovable property for industrial and commercial purposes under a lease agreement not exceeding 20 years; • where there is a deed of concession under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007; • when purchasing luxury villas, apartments, pent - houses or other similar properties under the Invest Hotel Scheme, Property Development Scheme (PDS) and Smart City Scheme (SCS); • where an investor has approval from the EDB to acquire property for use in business; and • when purchasing or otherwise acquiring an apart - ment used, or available for use, as a residence, in a building of at least two floors above the ground floor level, provided the purchase price is not less than MUR6 million or its equivalent in any other hard convertible foreign currency with prior authori - sation of the EDB after approval from the Minister of Internal Affairs.
The law is more flexible for non-citizens who are residents in Mauritius. Such residents are eligible to acquire a residential property of a minimum value of USD500,000 for personal residence. The resident non-citizens who are eligible are as fol - lows: • a main holder of a Permanent Residence Permit; • a main holder of a residence permit issued by virtue of the purchase of an immovable property under the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS), Real Estate Scheme (RES), PDS, Invest Hotel Scheme (IHS) or SCS, or through the purchase of an apart - ment located in a ground +2 building; • a main holder of an occupation permit as an inves - tor, professional or self-employed person; • a main holder of a short-term occupation permit; • a main holder of a family occupation permit; and • a main holder of a residence permit as a retired non-citizen Investing in Securities Foreign investors may invest in any securities listed on a securities exchange. However, the Securities (Investment by Foreign Investors) Rules 2013 pro - vide that a foreign investor cannot acquire interests in a Mauritian sugar company listed on a securities exchange without prior written consent from the FSC where, as a result of such investment, 15% would be held by foreign investors. 2.2 Procedure to Obtain Approval and Sanctions for Non-Compliance Other Regulated Activities An application for authorisation has to be made to the An application for a licence must be made to the FSC prior to setting up and must be accompanied by: • a business plan; • fees, as specified in the FSC Rules; • other information required by the Commission to determine the application; and relevant authority. Financial Services
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