MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Johanne Hague, Ashwin Mudhoo, Medina Torabally and Yushrah Bayjou, CMS Prism in association with CMS
exemption clauses are designed to give trustees pro - tection against actions for breach of trust. 6.3 Fiduciary Regulation Fiduciaries have the discretion as to how they invest the funds they control. As long as the powers of investment conferred by the terms of a trust do not derogate from the duties imposed on trustees under the Trusts Act 2001, trustees may invest trust property in securities and investments with or without condi - tions or restrictions as per the terms of the trust. The administration of assets under the Foundations Act 2012 is undertaken by the foundation council. Assets transferred to a foundation become the assets of the foundation. They cease to be the assets of the founder, and they are not the assets of the beneficiary unless and until they are distributed to the beneficiary. 6.4 Fiduciary Investment There is no particular investment approach that trus - tees or a foundation council are required to take in the investment of assets. Both trusts and foundations may be used as com - mercial vehicles, and there are no legal limitations on such use. 7. Citizenship and Residency 7.1 Requirements for Domicile, Residency and Citizenship Domicile By virtue of the Code, the domicile of every Mauritian citizen lies where they have their principal establish - ment. Case law has expanded on the definition of “domicile”, in particular in the context of succession laws. Tax Residency In terms of tax residency, an individual is resident in an income year if: • they have their domicile in Mauritius, unless their permanent place of abode is outside Mauritius;
• they have been present in Mauritius in that income year, for a period of, or for an aggregate period of, 183 days or more; or • they have been present in Mauritius in that income year and the two preceding income years, for an aggregate period of 270 days or more. Application for Residency The following paragraphs deal with residency for immi - gration law purposes (as opposed to tax purposes). In Mauritius, residency applications are governed by the Immigration Act 2022 and the Economic Devel - opment Board Act 2017. Citizenship applications are governed by the Mauritius Citizenship Act 1968, the Code and the Civil Status Act 1981. No provision is made for applications for domicile. Permits Under the Immigration Act 2022, a person may make an application for: • an occupation permit; • a residence permit; and • a residence permit as a retired non-citizen. Occupation permit The occupation permit is a combined work and resi - dence permit which allows foreign nationals to work and reside in Mauritius under five specific categories, namely: • investor, including investor for innovative start-ups; • professional; An occupation permit under the above-mentioned categories shall be valid for the following durations: • investor and self-employed categories – a maxi - mum period of ten years, renewable thereafter as per established criteria; • professional and expert categories – a maximum period of ten years, depending on the duration of the contract of employment, renewable thereafter as per established criteria; • young professional; • self-employed; and • family.
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