Mauritius has introduced a golden visa scheme for high net worth individuals, opening a new route for wealthy foreigners who want to live and do business on the island nation. Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam announced the plan during a parliamentary sitting, saying applicants would need to sign a written undertaking to invest $1 million within 12 months.
The government said the scheme will admit about 100 people a year and will allow multiple entries for successful applicants, their spouses and dependent children. Ramgoolam said the goal is to draw high net worth individuals to Mauritius with their families and then encourage them to move money and investments into different parts of the economy.
The pitch leans on the country’s tax system. Mauritius has no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax, and it levies a flat 15% income tax rate, with effective rates often lower because of allowances. The island itself covers less than 800 square miles and has a population of about 1.26 million, a scale that makes the promise of more affluent newcomers economically attractive and physically awkward at the same time.
The Mauritius Economic Development Board said it has already received multiple inquiries from foreigners interested in relocating with their families, and it has set up a dedicated concierge service for wealthy people moving their businesses to the country. Officials said the board will closely follow the progress of investments made under the scheme.
That combination of interest and scrutiny captures the tension around the program. Mauritius wants the cash, the business activity and the long-term presence that Ramgoolam described. But a small island with limited space will have to answer a practical question the announcement did not settle: where the new residents will live, and how quickly the promised investment will actually arrive.
The plan also lands as governments elsewhere compete for rich migrants with very different price tags. In the United States, Howard Lutnick said only one person has been approved for a new visa format so far, after discussion of a proposed $5 million gold card. Mauritius is aiming far lower, and for now it is betting that a cheaper entry point and a friendlier tax regime will be enough to pull in a slice of global wealth.
