Things to consider before coming to Mauritius

CLOTHES

On the coast irrespective of the time of the year, you will need light and thin clothes, particularly cotton clothes. However, warmer clothes will be advisable during the evenings, especially on the central plateau.It is also important to note that the majority of the hotels in Mauritius will require their male guests to wear trousers and shirts for dinner in the restaurants. It is also advisable that you bring along your sports shoes since there are a variety of leisure activities offered in Mauritius including quad biking, hiking and biking among others. However, if you miss any of these essential clothing you can still purchase them in Mauritius as shops in Port Louis and Curepipe have a wide range of clothes.

CURRENCY

The currency of Mauritius is the Mauritian Rupees (Rs), where Rs 1.00 = 100 cents. There are a number of international and local banks available. Also, there are several Automatic Teller Machines (“ATM”) available around the island. The banking hours are normally 09:00 – 15:00 from Monday to Friday and there are a few banks which are opened on Saturday (09:00 – 11:00). They are closed on public holidays and Sundays. You will be able to change foreign currency at banks and foreign exchange counters but you will usually be required to present your passport. Some hotels also provide for foreign currency exchange services. It is also important to note that payment by credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express Card, are accepted in Mauritius.

TIPPING

Tipping is not compulsory in Mauritius.

DRIVING

In Mauritius, we drive on the Left-Hand and we give way to the right (the British Driving system).

ELECTRICITY

The voltage used in Mauritius is 240 volts and the power sockets use the British Three Pin standard and the Two Pin. If you bring electrical appliances with you then you are advised to bring along an adaptor.

INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY CALLING CODE:

+230

HEALTH & SAFETY

Measures have been taken by the Government so as to better ensure the safety and security of its population as well as its visitors. CCTV cameras have been introduced in Flic- en-Flac. They were then installed throughout Grand Baie, Pereybere and up to Grand Gaube. Also, the hotels in Mauritius have security posted at their entrance as well as throughout the hotel.

There are several public and private hospitals as well as medical clinics around the island. They offer high quality services and a variety of healthcare facilities. It is important to note that treatment at public hospitals is free of charge unlike treatment at private hospitals and medical clinics. Also, most hotels now provide medical assistance to its guests.

There is no requirement for vaccination except for people coming from yellow fever infected zones or yellow fever vulnerable areas. These people are required to present their vaccinations certificate at the disembarkation zone.

Temporary Measure – Ebola

With the outbreak of the Ebola Virus in West African countries, all foreign nationals who have visited one or more of the three countries affected by Ebola Virus Disease namely Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia during the last 21 days as from the date of their travel to Mauritius will temporarily not be allowed entry in Mauritius.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

A visa is an official acknowledgement issued by the Immigration Office/Embassy/Consular of Mauritius, indicating that your application to enter Mauritius has been reviewed by an Immigration Officer and that the officer has determined you are eligible to enter or transit in Mauritius for a specific purpose. A visa allows the bearer to travel to Mauritius up a port of entry and does not implicitly guarantee right of admission into Mauritius. The final decision to admit a non-citizen rests with the Immigration Officer after examination at the point of entry in Mauritius. He decides how long the person can stay for any particular visit.

Categories of persons who are exempted from Visa

The following are exempted from Visa Regulations:-

The child or stepchild or lawfully adopted child of persons referred to at (a) and (b) above;

Citizens of Mauritius;

Persons who are residents of Mauritius under the Immigration Act;

The Spouse of a citizen of Mauritius;

Persons who intend to remain in Mauritius only during the stay of a vessel by which they arrive and depart.

Holders of Laissez-passer issued by the United Nations, South African Development
Community (SADC) or from other internationally recognized organizations, and;

Crew of a vessel travelling on duty or in transit to join another vessel;

Holders of Diplomatic Passports other than those issued by the Government of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen;

Who Needs a Visa?

All persons coming from countries which are not exempted from visa requirements -Please refer to Visa Requirement Country-wise (See below).

All persons coming to Mauritius for purposes other than Tourism, Visit or Business need to apply for a visa/permit before undertaking any travel.

S/No	Country	Requirement
1	Afghanistan	Visa required prior to travel.
2	Albania	Visa for sixty days on arrival
3	Algeria	Visa for two weeks on arrival
4	Andorra	Visa for sixty days on arrival
5	Angola	No visa required
6	Antigua and Barbuda	No visa required
7	Argentina	No visa required
8	Armenia	Visa for sixty days
9	Australia	No visa required
10	Austria	No visa required
11	Azerbaijan	Visa for sixty on arrival
12	Bahamas	No visa required
13	Bahrain	No visa required
14	Bangladesh	Visa required prior to travel
15	Bardabos	No visa required
16	Belarus	Visa for sixty days on arrival
17	Belgium	No visa required
18	Belize	No visa required
19	Benin	Visa for sixty days on arrival
20	Bhutan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
21	Bolivia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
22	Bolivia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
23	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Visa for sixty days on arrival
24	Brazil	No visa required
25	Brunei Darussalam	No visa required
26	Bulgaria	No visa required
27	Burkina Faso	Visa for sixty days in arrival
28	Burundi	No visa required
29	Cambodia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
30	Cameroon	Visa for sixty days on arrival
31	Canada	No visa required
32	Cape Verde	No visa required
33	Chile	No visa required
34	China	No visa required
35	Colombia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
36	Comoros	Visa for two weeks on arrival
37	Congo (Brazzaville)	No visa required
38	Central African Rep.	Visa for sixty days in arrival
39	Democratic Rep. of Congo	No visa required
40	Costa Rica	Visa for sixty days on arrival
41	Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Visa for sixty days in arrival
42	Croatia	No visa required
43	Cuba	Visa for sixty days on arrival
44	Cyprus	No visa required
45	Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia)	No visa required
46	Denmark	No visa required
47	Djibouti	Visa for sixty days on arrival
48	Dominica	No visa required
49	Dominican Republic	Visa for sixty days on arrival
50	Ecuador	Visa for sixty days on arrival
51	Egypt	No visa required
52	El Salvador	Visa for sixty days on arrival
53	Equatorial Guinea	Visa for sixty days on arrival
54	Eritrea	Visa for sixty days in arrival
55	Estonia Republic	No visa required
56	Ethiopia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
57	Fiji	No visa required
58	Finland	No visa required
59	France	No visa required
60	Gabon	No visa required
61	Gambia	No visa required
62	Georgia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
63	Germany	No visa required
64	Ghana	No visa required
65	Greece	No visa required
66	Grenada	No visa required
67	Guinea	Visa for sixty days on arrival
68	Guinea Bissau	Visa for sixty days on arrival
69	Guatemala	Visa for sixty days on arrival
70	Guyana	No visa required
71	Haiti	Visa for sixty days on arrival
72	Honduras	Visa for sixty days on arrival
73	Hong Kong	No visa required
74	Hungary	No visa required
75	Iceland	No visa required
76	India	No visa required
77	Indonesia	Visa required prior to travel
78	Iran	Visa required prior to travel
79	Iraq	Visa required prior to travel
80	Ireland	No visa required
81	Israel	No visa required
82	Italy	No visa required
83	Jamaica	No visa required
84	Japan	No visa required
85	Jordan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
86	Kazakhstan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
87	Kenya	No visa required
88	Kiribati	No visa required
89	Korea (South Republic)	No visa required
90	Korea (North)	Visa is required prior to travel
91	Kuwait	No visa required
92	Kyrgyzstan Rep.	Visa for sixty days on arrival
93	Laos	Visa required prior to travel
94	Latvia	No visa required
95	Lesotho	No visa required
96	Lebanon	Visa for sixty days on arrival
97	Liberia	Visa for sixty days
98	Libya	Visa required prior to travel
99	Liechtenstein	No visa required
100	Lithuania	No visa required
101	Luxemburg	No visa required
102	Macau SAR	No visa required
103	Macedonia (ex Yugoslav Rep)	Visa for sixty days in arrival
104	Madagascar	Visa for two weeks on arrival
105	Malawi	No visa required
106	Malaysia	No visa required
107	Maldives	No visa required
108	Mali	Visa required prior to travel
109	Malta	No visa required
110	Mauritania	Visa sixty days on arrival
111	Marshall Island	Visa for sixty days on arrival
112	Mexico	No visa required
113	Micronesia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
114	Moldova	Visa for sixty days on arrival
115	Monaco	No visa required
116	Mongolia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
117	Morocco	Visa for sixty days on arrival
118	Mozambique	No visa required
119	Myanmar (Burma)	Visa for two weeks on arrival
120	Namibia	No visa required
121	Nauru	No visa required
122	Nepal	Visa for sixty days on arrival
123	Netherlands	No visa required
124	New Zealand	No visa required
125	Nicaragua	Visa for sixty days on arrival
126	Niger	Visa for sixty days on arrival
127	Nigeria	Visa for two weeks on arrival
128	Norway	No visa required
129	Oman	No visa required
130	Pakistan	Visa required prior to travel
131	Palau	Visa for sixty days on arrival
132	Palestinian State	Visa required prior to travel
133	Panama	Visa for sixty days on arrival
134	Papua New Guinea	No visa required
135	Paraguay	No visa required
136	Peru	Visa for sixty days on arrival
137	Philippines* (See note 1)	Visa required prior to travel
138	Poland	No visa required
139	Portugal	No visa required
140	Romania	No visa required
141	Rwanda	No visa required
142	Russian Federation (Russia)	No visa required
143	Saharawi Republic	Visa required prior to travel
144	Samoa (Western)	No visa required
145	San Marino	No visa required
146	Sao Tome & Principe	Visa for sixty days on arrival
147	Saudi Arabia	No visa required
148	Senegal	Visa for sixty days on arrival
149	Seychelles	No visa required
150	Sierra Leone	No visa required
151	Serbia	Visa for sixty days on arrival
152	Singapore	No visa required
153	Slovenia	No visa required
154	Slovakia	No visa required
155	Solomon Islands	No visa required
156	Somalia	Visa required prior to travel
157	South Africa	No visa required
158	Spain	No visa required
159	Sri Lanka * (See note 1)	Visa required prior to travel
160	St Kitts and Nevis	No visa required
161	St Lucia	No visa required
162	St Vincent & Grenadines	No visa required
163	Suriname	No visa required
164	Sudan	Visa required prior to travel
165	South Sudan	Visa required prior to travel
166	Syria	Visa required prior to travel
167	Swaziland	No visa required
168	Sweden	No visa required
169	Switzerland	No visa required
170	Tajikistan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
171	Taiwan	Visa required prior to travel
172	Tanzania	No visa required
173	Tchad	No visa required
174	Thailand	Visa for sixty days on arrival
175	Timor-Leste	Visa for sixty days on arrival
176	Togo	Visa for sixty days on arrival
177	Tonga	No visa required
178	Trinidad & Tobago	No visa required
179	Tunisia	No visa required
180	Turkey	No visa required
181	Turkmenistan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
182	Tuvalu	No visa required
183	Uganda	No visa required
184	Ukraine	Visa for sixty days on arrival
185	United Arab Emirates	No visa required
186	United Kingdom	No visa required
187	United States of America	No visa required
188	Uzbekistan	Visa for sixty days on arrival
189	Uruguay	Visa for sixty days on arrival
190	Vanuatu	No visa required
191	Vatican	No visa required
192	Venezuela	Visa for sixty days on arrival
193	Vietnam	Visa required prior to travel
194	Yemen	Visa required prior to travel
195	Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro)	Visa for sixty days on arrival
196	Zambia	No visa required
197	Zimbabwe	No visa required

General Information

Any person who wishes to seek employment or to engage in any gainful occupation in Mauritius will not be allowed to enter Mauritius unless he is the holder of a valid residence permit and a work permit issued by the Mauritian Authorities.

Non-citizens travelling to Mauritius without a visa (if required) may be repatriated to their country of origin or residence at the transporting carrier’s cost.

A non-citizen coming to get married to a Mauritian should fulfil the requirements under the Civil Status Act.

Non-citizens travelling to Mauritius as tourists/visitors are not allowed to engage in any gainful activities or apply for an extension of visa to follow studies/training courses.

Non-citizens coming to Mauritius for business may apply for an Occupation Permit from the Passport and Immigration Officer through the Board of Investment as Investor, Self- Employed, and Professional.

Any person who stays in Mauritius after the expiry of the period for which he obtained a visa or entry permit, as the case may be, shall commit an offence and shall be liable for prosecution by a Court of Law.

Non-Citizens coming to celebrate their marriage in Mauritius should comply with the requirements of the Civil Status Act.

Prospective students are advised to travel to Mauritius only after their application for study/training in Mauritius has been approved.

Customs procedures at the Airport or the Port

Use the Green Channel if you have neither dutiable nor prohibited or restricted goods in your possession or any goods in excess of the allowance which is liable to duty, excise duty and taxes or any currency or Bearer Negotiable Instrument of an amount of not more than 500,000 rupees or its equivalent in any foreign currency.
Use the Red Channel if you have goods to declare.
No duty is leviable on your necessary and appropriate wearing apparel and personal effects which have been in use.
If you are 18 years or above, you are also allowed free of duty:

a. Tobacco (including cigars and cigarettes) not exceeding 250 grams.

b. Spirits not exceeding 1 litre and

c. Wine, ale or beer not exceeding 2 litres.

The personal effects which tourists are allowed at Customs in Mauritius

necessary and appropriate wearing apparel and personal effects for one’s personal use; and

implements, instruments and tools for the professional use of the passenger

Note: Exemption under this item shall not extend to the following articles; arms and ammunitions, furniture, carpets, bicycles, motor vehicles, and provisions and merchandise for sale.