September is the right time for companies in Mauritius to review their corporate and regulatory position before the year comes to an end.

Several developments in 2026 deserve particular attention, including changes to FSC licensing fees, evolving AML/CFT requirements, beneficial ownership obligations and measures introduced under the 2026-2027 Budget.

The priority is not simply to complete a list of administrative tasks. It is to make sure your company enters 2027 with a sound structure, up-to-date records and arrangements that remain appropriate for its activities.

This checklist is particularly relevant to regulated and internationally active businesses, including Global Business Companies, Authorised Companies and structures subject to enhanced governance, compliance or banking requirements.

FSC licences and fees: review your position before year-end

If your company is subject to annual FSC licensing fees, confirm the amount payable and make sure the 2026/2027 fees are settled by 30 September 2026, following the exceptional extension granted by the FSC.

Key checks:

• Make sure the activities carried out by the company remain consistent with its licence.
• Settle the applicable 2026/2027 fees and retain the payment records.
• Check that the administrative information held by the regulator remains accurate.

Factor the revised FSC fees into your 2027 planning

The 2026 fee revision has significantly increased the fixed annual fee for Authorised Companies, from USD 350 to USD 1,400. Other categories of entities are also affected.

This is a good time to review the cost and purpose of each structure. Where an entity is no longer commercially justified, consider whether it should be maintained, reorganised, consolidated or closed.

AML/CFT and beneficial ownership: bring your records up to date

Regulatory expectations around transparency and anti-money laundering continue to evolve. Companies should therefore review their AML/CFT arrangements and make sure their corporate records accurately reflect their current ownership and activities.

Review your beneficial ownership records

For companies subject to the new beneficial ownership requirements, the relevant deadline was 30 June 2026.

Check that your beneficial ownership registers are current, that the required declarations have been obtained and that changes in ownership or control are properly documented.

Review your AML/CFT/CPF procedures

Identify the obligations that apply to your business as a Reporting Person. Review your internal AML/CFT/CPF policies, screening processes and risk documentation and update them where necessary.

Schedule your CDD reviews

Customer due diligence should be reviewed according to the risk profile of each relationship. Make sure KYC and enhanced due diligence reviews are properly scheduled and documented, with the MLRO overseeing the relevant AML/CFT framework.

Corporate governance: make sure your records can stand up to scrutiny

Good governance is increasingly important when companies deal with regulators, banks, auditors and international business partners.

Keep your corporate records in order

Make sure board meetings are held in line with the company’s constitutional documents and the Companies Act. Board minutes should be properly prepared, signed and retained.

Directors’ and shareholders’ registers should also be kept current, particularly where the company may need to provide information during an audit, regulatory review or banking process.

Review appointments and signing authorities

Check that the Company Secretary remains properly appointed and that all relevant corporate and banking authorities are current.

Where applicable to a GBC, verify that the required Management Company signatory arrangements are in place. Banking mandates should also be reviewed whenever directors, authorised signatories or account arrangements change.

Start planning the 2027 corporate calendar

Do not wait until the next deadline is approaching. Build the 2027 calendar around key corporate events, including board meetings, approval of accounts, auditor appointments, capital transactions and relevant officer or MLRO appointments.

Tax and the 2026-2027 Budget: check that your structure still makes sense

Budget measures can affect a company’s tax position, reporting requirements and operating costs.

Review the provisions relevant to your business and consider whether any changes require action before the end of the year.

It is equally important to check that the company’s actual activities remain consistent with its legal structure and tax position. This is particularly relevant when considering the distinction between a Domestic Company, GBC and Authorised Company.

Occupation Permits and immigration: review your current arrangements

Companies employing foreign nationals should also review the status of their work and residence arrangements.

Check existing permits

Make sure each permit holder continues to meet the applicable requirements. The relevant Occupation Permit category should remain appropriate for the individual’s role, the company’s activities and the applicable immigration status.

Plan renewals in advance

Review upcoming expiry dates and allow sufficient time for renewals or changes of status. Early planning can help avoid unnecessary disruption to both the employee and the business.

Banking: make sure your corporate file is ready for review

Banks are placing increasing emphasis on AML/CFT controls and the quality of corporate information provided by their clients.

Review your existing banking arrangements

Check that your bank has accurate and up-to-date ownership information. Look for missing supporting documents, outdated corporate records or inconsistencies between the company’s declared activities and its financial transactions.

Keep a banking-ready file

Maintain a central file containing current beneficial ownership information, evidence of business activities and relevant AML documentation.

Having these documents readily available can make periodic bank reviews easier and help support applications for additional accounts or banking services.

Get your company ready for 2027 with C&S Secretarial Services

Preparing for 2027 is about more than meeting individual deadlines. It is an opportunity to make sure your company’s structure, governance and administrative records remain fit for purpose.

C&S Secretarial Services supports Domestic Companies, Global Business Companies and other structures established in Mauritius with their ongoing corporate and administrative requirements.

Our services include:

• Compliance reviews covering FSC fees, beneficial ownership, AML/CFT/CPF, governance, permits and banking documentation;
• Updating beneficial ownership registers and obtaining outstanding declarations;
• Reviewing AML/CFT/CPF policies and due diligence procedures;
• Organising board meetings, maintaining corporate records and preparing key resolutions;
• Assisting with permit applications and banking documentation.

If you want to review your company’s position before 2027 or put a practical compliance plan in place, contact C&S Secretarial Services to discuss your requirements.

Sources of this article:

• Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mauritius
• Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD)
• Mauritius FSC – Circulars & Regulatory Updates
• Mauritius regulatory update AML/CFT Act 2026 – Apex Group
• FSC Mauritius Fee Revision 2026 – Blue Azurite
• [Blog] National Budget 2026 – 2027: Our Opinion | Le Defi Media Group

L’article 2027 Compliance Checklist for Companies in Mauritius est apparu en premier sur C&S Secretarial Services.

The result is a regime that remains attractive, but less forgiving. Thresholds for capital investment, turnover and income have all been revised upwards, and long‑term residence is increasingly reserved for projects that can prove their contribution on the ground rather than on paper alone.

From “entry ticket” to performance contract

The most visible change is quantitative. Applicants still choose between the familiar Investor, Self‑Employed, Professional and Young Professional routes – but each now comes with a clearer, and often steeper, set of financial expectations.

For Investors, the Occupation Permit now looks less like a passive residency tool and more like a performance contract:

• A minimum of USD 100,000 must be injected into the Mauritian entity.
• By year three, the business is expected to generate at least MUR 5 million in annual turnover, rising to MUR 8 million from year five onwards for renewal.

Self‑employed professionals follow a similar logic on a smaller scale, with income targets of MUR 2 million a year from the third year and MUR 3 million from the fifth. For Professionals, the conversation shifts to salary: a standardised floor of MUR 50,000 a month now applies across most sectors, while the Young Professional route is anchored by a minimum salary of MUR 25,000.

In other words, the Occupation Permit has evolved from a relatively flexible work‑and‑live regime into a more calibrated instrument: if the numbers do not follow, the permit itself is at risk.

Year‑five: the new critical milestone

Another quiet but significant shift sits in the middle of the permit’s lifecycle. Under the previous framework, once an Occupation Permit had been granted, intermediate monitoring was comparatively light. The current policy is more explicit: around the fifth year, the EDB will re‑test whether the business has lived up to the commitments made at application stage.

For Investors and Self‑Employed permit holders, that review focuses on two questions:

• Have the stated turnover or income thresholds been met consistently?
• Does the Mauritian structure show real substance – a functioning office, local decision‑making, staff, clients – or is it largely nominal?

Where the answers are positive, the Occupation Permit can be renewed or extended, sometimes on more generous terms in terms of duration. Where gaps appear, applicants may face conditions, shorter renewals or outright refusals. For business owners, that turns the five‑year mark into a genuine strategic milestone rather than a purely administrative date.

Permanent residence: from fast track to long game

The tightening is even more visible when it comes to the Permanent Residence Permit (PRP). Under the Finance Act 2025, the minimum period of holding a qualifying permit was pushed from three years to five years in key categories, and the financial benchmarks for PRP have been adjusted upwards in parallel.

The message is unambiguous: Mauritius now treats permanent residence as the culmination of a five‑year track record, not as an almost automatic “upgrade” once an Occupation Permit has been obtained. Applicants are expected to show sustained activity, coherent accounts and a contribution that can be traced through tax filings, turnover, employment and local spending.

For relocation planners, PRP therefore becomes a medium‑term objective that must be factored into the initial business plan, capital structure and choice of legal vehicle, rather than a bolt‑on option to consider later.

Retired residents: lifestyle yes, work no

Not all foreign residents come to Mauritius to run a business. The retired non‑citizen category continues to attract interest from individuals looking for a lifestyle move, but here too the authorities have tightened the framework. Retired permit holders must now respect minimum foreign currency transfer requirements and a practical presence in the country – often around 180 days a year – if they wish to keep their status.

At the same time, the rules make clear that this is a non‑working status: retirees are not allowed to take up employment or conduct commercial activities in Mauritius under this permit. That clear separation between “active” and “passive” residence routes is critical: anyone intending to play an operational role in a Mauritian structure will need an Occupation Permit, not a retiree card.

Substance is no longer optional

Running through all these reforms is a single thread: substance. The days when a light‑touch office and a handful of contracts were enough to support a work‑and‑residence file are fading. Banks, regulators and corporate service providers now look for credible answers to a few straightforward questions:

• Is there a genuine registered office and not just a postal address?
• Who actually takes decisions, and where are board meetings held?
• Does the company employ people in Mauritius, or meaningfully use local suppliers?
• Can declared turnover realistically be linked to activity managed from the island?

The choice between a Domestic Company and a Global Business Company, the appointment of directors and a company secretary, and the way statutory records and meetings are handled all feed into that assessment of substance. In practice, applicants who invest early in proper governance tend to find the five‑year review and subsequent PRP applications far less daunting, because their file already tells a coherent story.

Where C&S Secretarial Services fits in

For C&S Secretarial Services, these changes confirm a trend it has been observing on the ground: immigration strategy and corporate structuring can no longer be treated as separate workstreams. A credible Occupation Permit application increasingly depends on having the right legal vehicle, the right registered office, and the right governance in place from day one.

Working alongside entrepreneurs, investors and professionals, C&S can help to:

• match the choice of corporate vehicle (Domestic Company, GBC or other structures) to the intended permit route and medium‑term residence goals;
• prepare and coordinate Occupation Permit and residence applications, ensuring that the corporate documentation supports the narrative put forward to the authorities;
• provide a registered office address and manage statutory obligations, including board meetings and corporate records, in line with Mauritian law;
• design and implement governance and compliance processes that make it easier to demonstrate substance at renewal and, ultimately, to build a strong case for Permanent Residence.

For foreign nationals looking at Mauritius in 2026, the opportunity is still there – but it rewards those who approach it as a structured project rather than a simple change of scenery. Contact us today! C&S Secretarial Services’ role is to make that project both compliant and workable over the long term. 

Sources of this article: 

• What’s New in Occupation and Residence Permits – EDB Mauritius
• THE FINANCE ACT 2025
• EDB BOARD ADVANCES POLICY MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN SKILLS, INVESTMENT AND INNOVATION 

L’article Mauritius raises the bar on Occupation Permits est apparu en premier sur C&S Secretarial Services.