Mauritius presents various opportunities, in the form of Occupation Permits (OPs) and Young Professional Occupation Permits (YPOPs), for foreigners looking to work and live on the island. In an effort to make the procedures regarding applications made for OPs and YPOPs more efficient, the following measures have recently been adopted:

(a) With regard to OP:
1. henceforth, OPs which were so far only granted to applicants arriving in Mauritius on Business visa would also be extended to foreigners on tourist visa;
2. applications for OP from students would only be considered after completion of their studies. However, employment should be related to their field of studies.

(b) With regard to YPOP, a holder of this category of permit would be allowed to:
1. switch to the OP category with another company, only after termination of his current contract of employment and not during his running contract;
2. switch to the OP category within the same company during the validity of his contract of employment.

Why make the switch from YPOP to OP?

Young professionals can benefit from greater advantages when applying for an OP:

- While the YPOP provides a residency validity of three years, certain categories of OPs allow foreigners to remain on the island for a period of up to 10 years or for the duration of their contract of employment.
- OP holders further have the possibility to work across broader fields unlike YPOP holders who are restricted to working in companies having business activities as follows: Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Fintech, Robotics, Financial Services, Information Technology.

Should you wish to receive more information about the Premium Visa and the various types of Occupation and Residence Permits that are available to foreign nationals, please write to our Relocation Team at relocation@intercontinentaltrust.com

In the meantime, you can consult our newsletter, ‘Mauritius: a more accessible Work & Live destination’ here for a detailed guide on the above.