“Government strives to continually improve its reception offer for those wishing to settle in Mauritius, and in a bid to enhance the daily life of our expatriates, we continue to invest massively in improving air connectivity with the rest of the world as well as in the country’s transport, health, leisure and education infrastructures.”
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, made this statement, on Thursday, at the InterContinental Resort Mauritius Hotel in Balaclava, during a Meet and Greet Session for Premium Visa holders.
The event, organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, aimed at acting as a platform for dialogue amongst stakeholders, and generating awareness among Premium Visa holders to consider Mauritius as a hub to retire as well as for obtaining residency.
The Chairman of EDB’s Board, Mr Hemraj Ramnial; the Chief Executive Officer of EDB, Mr Ken Poonoosamy; and other personalities were present at the event.
In his address, Minister Padayachy highlighted that since the introduction of the Premium Visa Scheme on 16 November 2020 to date, the Mauritian authorities received more than 3,600 Premium Visa applications, out of which more than 2,430 applications from no less than 45 countries were approved. He reminded that the scheme was introduced two years ago in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with the objective of allowing foreign nationals to reside in Mauritius while having the possibility of working remotely from the country.
Dr Padayachy remarked that French, South African and British nationals were leading the way in the ranking of Premium Visa holders, and observed that Government was delighted to welcome each of these newcomers to Mauritius. He expressed his conviction that this strategy would create new opportunities for the Mauritian population as a whole.
Furthermore, the Finance Minister recalled that during the last two budgets, several measures were announced in favour of an even greater openness of Mauritius to the world. These include: the merger of the Work Permit and the Residence Permit into a single permit; the possibility for the spouse of a holder of an Occupation Permit to invest or work in Mauritius without an additional permit; and the extension of the duration of the Permanent Residence Permit from 10 to 20 years, and the Occupation Permit for professionals from three to 10 years.
For his part, Mr Ramnial underlined that the Premium Visa Scheme was introduced by Government following the COVID-19 pandemic as the tourism sector, which is an important pillar of the economy, was greatly affected. He pointed out that Mauritius had a lot to offer and encouraged Previous Visa holders present to avail of all the positive features of the country.
