Timo Geldenhuys: The emphatic answer is yes, I’m very grateful for that because if you weren’t able to, I probably would not have a job. 

So, the answer is yes, we as foreigners can definitely buy property in Mauritius.

The first scheme that came along was under the acronym IRS, which is Integrated Resort Scheme. 

It is very much focused on high-end development with a lot of amenities and infrastructure in place, golf courses, restaurants, kids clubs, etc. 

Systematically, that’s changed, the RES came around about 2009, RES being, Real Estate Scheme. 

It allowed for slightly smaller developments, and smaller land owners to do these developments, and also brought the entry-level pricing down.

The government then looked at how they could amalgamate these two schemes and come up with a more consolidated and better offering. The PDS, effectively, is a development that can be done by anyone, any developer in Mauritius. 

It’s predominantly on freehold land, and it’s in approved schemes on freehold land, and hence your purchase is very much protected at the registrar’s office under the fact that you have freehold titleship and ownership of your property. 

There are certain derivatives that have come in now in terms of further ownership. We have the Ground + 2 scheme, which is more apartment-style and duplex-style living.

It’s brought the threshold right down in terms of entry-level, and we also have the Smart City scheme, some of the big developments in Mauritius happening right now are in the Smart City scheme.

It’s a combination of retail, commercial and residential. It encourages urban lifestyle, urban living, and the development of massive infrastructure.

I like to see it as a partnership between the government and the private sector. So yes, there is a massive amount of opportunity of owning a property in Mauritius

Prices range all the way from the USD 200 000 range all the way up to USD 10 million. 

The residency and the ownership are often combined, we’ll touch on that in a later video, but your threshold now is USD 375 000 and if you buy one of these properties, you and your family qualify for residency.

So, yes you can buy property in Mauritius and we look forward to welcoming you guys, Mauritius Sotheby’s International Realty is well placed on the island to answer any questions you have around that.