Self-Employed or Company in Mauritius: Which Status Fits Your Project

Moving to Mauritius with a business project means choosing between two very different permits: the self-employed status, which requires an initial investment of USD 50,000, or the Investor permit tied to a company, which now requires USD 100,000. The choice isn’t just about the budget available. It’s about who is invoicing whom, and which tax regime applies to the income once it starts flowing.

The real question isn’t which option is better

Comparing 50,000 and 100,000 USD makes the decision look like a matter of cash on hand. In practice, the two statuses answer different needs. Self-employed means invoicing under your own name, alone, in the services sector, with an implicit ceiling on how the activity can grow. A Mauritian company lets you hire staff, invoice under a corporate name, access company tax rates and, for an exporter of goods, a sharply reduced rate. The question to settle first isn’t the amount you can mobilise, but whether the project is meant to stay a one-person activity or grow into a structure that hires and outlasts your own physical presence on the island.

The self-employed permit: what it actually requires

The self-employed Occupation Permit is for a non-citizen registered with the Registrar of Businesses, or operating as a one-person company, in the services sector only. The conditions are specific: an initial investment of USD 50,000, or its equivalent in freely convertible currency, a certified bank statement proving the origin of the funds, and a written undertaking to transfer that amount into a Mauritian bank account within 60 days of the permit being issued. The file also needs three letters of intent, two of them from prospective local clients — the self-employed route isn’t designed purely for invoicing foreign clients from Mauritius.

The permit runs for ten years. It requires a minimum business income of MUR 2 million from the third year, rising to MUR 3 million from the fifth year for renewal. The holder can employ exactly one person, in a local administrative role. Fees are USD 1,000 for the permit plus a non-refundable USD 50 application fee. The full checklist to prepare before applying is covered in our guide to the self-employed permit, and the order in which to sequence the personal side of the move in setting up as a freelancer in Mauritius.

The company route: a step up, via the Investor permit

Incorporating a company in Mauritius doesn’t, on its own, grant a right of residence. To live off it, you need an Investor Occupation Permit. Following the latest national budget announcements, this now requires a minimum investment of USD 100,000, up from the lower threshold that applied before. The company then has to generate a turnover of at least MUR 5 million from the third year, and MUR 8 million from the fifth year to keep the permit, which the EDB reviews at that point. As with the self-employed route, the permit runs for up to ten years, with the same USD 1,000 permit fee and USD 50 application fee.

The real advantage isn’t the permit itself, but what it unlocks once the company exists: hiring without the one-employee cap, structuring shareholding, and, for a company exporting goods, a reduced tax rate. It’s also the route that lets you buy property under the company’s name rather than your own, a distinction covered in buying property in Mauritius through your company.

What each status changes on tax

A self-employed permit holder is taxed as an individual. For the income year running from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the scale applies 0% on the first Rs 500,000 of chargeable income, 10% on the next Rs 500,000, then 20% on the remainder. A Fair Share Contribution of 15% applies on top, on the portion of leviable income above Rs 12 million a year, for this income year and the two that follow.

A company is taxed separately from its owner, at the standard rate of 15% on profit, cut to 3% for a company whose activity is exporting goods. Certain categories of income, such as foreign dividends or interest received by a company meeting substance conditions in Mauritius, can benefit from a partial exemption of 80%, or 95% in some cases. Once the owner draws a salary or dividends personally, that income falls back under the individual income tax scale described above. The social contribution mechanics that layer on top of either route, depending on how you invoice, are detailed in social contributions in Mauritius by status.

On one point, the two routes are aligned: compulsory VAT registration kicks in once taxable turnover exceeds, or is likely to exceed, Rs 3 million a year, a rule that took effect on 1 October 2025 and applies to anyone in business, regardless of legal form.

Self-employed or company: the numbers side by side

Switching status partway through

Neither route is locked in for good. EDB guidelines explicitly allow for shifting from one permit category to another: a self-employed holder whose activity outgrows the format can move to an Investor permit by filing a fresh application along with a cancellation letter for the current permit. That switch makes sense for a project that starts solo and, a few years on, justifies incorporating a company to hire staff or access company tax rates.

Which status fits which project

• A consultant or independent professional invoicing two or three clients, with no short-term plan to hire, fits the self-employed profile: the entry investment is lower and the structure is simpler to maintain.
• Someone planning to hire staff, raise capital or bring in shareholders fits the company-plus-Investor-permit profile, despite the higher entry threshold.
• An activity that exports goods, where the reduced 3% rate makes a real difference to margins, can only be run through a company: the self-employed route stays confined to services.
• A project that could stay small or grow doesn’t have to be settled immediately: starting self-employed and switching to a company later is a path the rules already provide for.

For anyone pairing this kind of professional move with a property purchase, the listings on new developments in Mauritius give a first budget benchmark to weigh against the investment required by either permit.

Three questions before deciding

Does the Rs 3 million VAT threshold apply differently by status? No: the rule targets anyone whose business turnover crosses that figure, regardless of legal form.

Can a self-employed permit holder hire staff? Yes, but only one person, in a local administrative role, which rules out building a team under this status.

Do you need to close the self-employed permit before applying for an Investor permit? A cancellation letter for the current permit is part of the category-switch file; the two permits don’t run side by side.

Sources and verification

• Economic Development Board — Occupation Permit Guidelines (self-employed, investor, category switching, fees)
• Economic Development Board — 2026 update to Investor and self-employed thresholds
• Mauritius Revenue Authority — corporate tax rates
• Mauritius Revenue Authority — personal income tax scale and Fair Share Contribution, 2025-2026 income year
• Mauritius Revenue Authority — communique on the VAT registration threshold
• Corporate and Business Registration Department — schedule of registration fees