Mauritius · Citizenship by naturalisation
Citizenship by Naturalisation
This is governed by the Mauritius Citizenship Act 1968. The USD 500,000 investment route to a reduced 2-year residence qualification rests on ministerial discretion. It is not an entitlement, and it is not published as a programme.
The Mauritian passport is the second-strongest in Africa, reaching 147 destinations including Schengen, the UK and China. That is genuinely useful. But naturalised citizens must renounce their existing citizenship, which makes this a replacement passport, not an additional one. That rules it out for most UHNW families.
Qualifying routes
12 months' continuous residence immediately before application, plus 5 years' aggregate residence in the preceding 7 years
The Minister may accept 2 years' continuous residence instead, where at least USD 500,000 has been invested in Mauritius
A registration route with a shorter qualifying period
The facts
- Minimum
- $500k
- Total landed cost
- Official fees are nominal. The real cost is the underlying USD 500k investment and the years of residence it requires
- Route type
- By residence
- Timeline
- 1–3 years (This rests on ministerial discretion, with no published service standard. It is opaque and politically sensitive)
- Physical presence
- 12 months' continuous residence immediately before application, plus 5 years' aggregate in the preceding 7, or 2 years' continuous under the investor discretion
- Family
- Spouse, via a separate registration routeMinor children of a citizen
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable. Naturalisation is the end of the path
- Citizenship
- This is the citizenship route
- Language test
- Adequate knowledge of English or another language current in Mauritius, and of the responsibilities of a citizen
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- residence qualification (5 or 7 years, or 2 with USD 500k invested)12 months' continuous residence immediately precedinggood characteradequate knowledge of English or another language current in Mauritiusintention to continue residing in Mauritiusrenunciation of any other nationality, unless special approval is granted
- A naturalising alien must renounce their existing nationality and take the oath of allegiance, unless granted special approval. Citizens by origin in Mauritius have been allowed dual nationality since 1995. Naturalised citizens generally have not. This is the single most misrepresented fact about Mauritius in the citizenship industry.
- The 2-year investor discretion is exactly that, discretionary. It is unpublished, unappealable, and not something to build a plan on.
- The applicant must intend to continue residing in Mauritius. A plan to naturalise and then leave runs against the statutory condition.
- Commonwealth citizens qualify after 5 years' residence. Everyone else needs 7. Check your nationality before you model the timeline.
- There is no published processing standard, and decisions are made at the ministerial level. Timelines of two to three years are common, and there is no right of appeal.