Non-citizen apartment purchases in Mauritius

This is not legal advice. This guide is general legal information for Mauritius and does not replace a consultation with a lawyer who has the full context of your case.

A non-citizen may buy an apartment in Mauritius only through a route that Mauritian law permits. For an apartment outside a prescribed development scheme, that usually means an eligible building and prior authorisation from the Economic Development Board. The sale still requires ordinary title, planning and notarial checks. Approval is not a substitute for them.

Non-citizens may buy only within an available route

The Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act controls a non-citizen's acquisition of immovable property. The EDB identifies several authorised routes, including approved residential schemes and qualifying apartments in taller condominium buildings. A residence permit, company or long stay does not by itself remove the property restriction.

First identify the route on which the seller relies. A Property Development Scheme unit has its own project approval and purchaser process. An apartment sold under the separate building route needs its own eligibility evidence. The broader Mauritius property-buying guide explains why the route should be settled before price negotiations harden.

Is this apartment eligible for foreign ownership?

The EDB's published apartment guidance asks the notary to certify that the unit forms part of a residential block meeting the required building configuration. It also asks for a site plan and planning evidence where the apartment is bought on plan or during construction. The current minimum price is published by the EDB and should be checked on the proposed filing date.

Labels prove little. An advertisement saying “foreign ownership” does not establish the number of qualifying floors, the lawful use of the unit or the seller's title. Ask for the approved plans, building and land use permission, the precise lot description and the notary's written view on eligibility. In practice, the uncertainty often lies in the building papers, not the passport.

EDB approval and the purchaser's eligibility file

The application goes to the Chief Executive Officer of the EDB. Its apartment checklist includes the application form, the notary-endorsed presale agreement, proof of available funds, identity material and a morality certificate for an adult individual purchaser. The EDB may request further information, so a file is not complete merely because it has been uploaded.

Names must match across the passport, bank letter, presale agreement and application. If spouses buy jointly, the published checklist calls for marriage and passport material. A proposed purchase through a company, trust, partnership, foundation or société, a civil-law business association, requires a different ownership file. See the focused guide to EDB property approval for non-citizens before selecting the purchasing vehicle.

Title, co-ownership and planning checks before signing

The notary should trace the seller's title and search the registered record for mortgages, charges, restrictions and earlier deeds. The Registrar-General's Department maintains land transactions and mortgage records. Its search result should correspond with the apartment lot, parking space and any storage area described in the contract.

Apartment ownership also carries co-ownership rules. Read the co-ownership regulations, allocation of voting shares, common expenses, insurance position and minutes supplied by the syndic, the manager of the co-owned building. Arrears, unresolved water ingress or restrictions on letting can change the value of the bargain without making the EDB route invalid.

Planning papers deserve their own comparison. The plan approved by the authority, the plan attached to the presale agreement and the apartment actually offered should describe the same unit. For a scheme purchase, the concerns begin even earlier; the article on PDS reservation agreements addresses the first payment stage.

Documents the notary will ask for

The exact list depends on the purchaser and the transaction. An individual should expect to provide authenticated identity documents, civil-status evidence where relevant, address and tax-residence details, bank information, and a clear explanation of the source of the purchase money. The bank's funds letter used for EDB does not prevent the notary from making separate compliance enquiries.

Property papers should include the seller's prior deed, cadastral and lot information, planning permissions, valuation material where applicable, co-ownership documents and the proposed presale or sale deed. If documents are signed abroad, ask the notary which authentication and original form will be accepted. For longer-term ownership planning, succession planning for expatriates should be considered separately from the purchase.

From reservation to deed and registration

A reservation or presale document should state that the purchase depends on the required authorisation, satisfactory title and any agreed finance. It should also say who holds the deposit and what happens if an approval condition fails. Do not infer a refund right from the word “subject to” without reading the operative clause.

Once the file is approved and the contractual conditions are met, the notary draws the deed, receives the completion funds and arranges registration and transcription. Notaries advise and draft documents, including the transfer deed. Barristers advise, draft and litigate where a dispute or legal issue requires it, while attorneys also advise, draft pleadings and conduct filing, procedure and service. The guide to instructing a barrister through an attorney explains that division in contested work.

The point most often missed is sequencing. An EDB letter does not certify the physical condition of the flat, clear a mortgage or rewrite a poor refund clause. Those protections must be established in the deed and supporting documents before the balance is released. The expat legal matters hub places the property step beside residence, family and succession questions.

This is not legal advice. This guide is general legal information for Mauritius and does not replace a consultation with a lawyer who has the full context of your case.