Paying a Foreign Employee in Mauritius

When a Mauritian company hires someone from abroad, the first question is not the salary but the tax status of the person. Expatriate employee tax in Mauritius follows the same rules as for local staff, with one pivot: whether the employee is treated as resident or non-resident for income tax. This page explains how that status is determined, what the employer must do on each payroll run, and where the foreign element changes the picture.

It is general information, not advice. Residence, employment terms and the employee's home-country position all interact, so the final answer for a given person belongs to a qualified adviser. Work permits are covered in a separate guide on work permit basics for employers and are not repeated here.

Residence status: the pivot for a foreign employee

The Income Tax Act sets out in section 73 when an individual is resident in Mauritius. There are three routes:

• the person is domiciled in Mauritius, unless they have a permanent home outside Mauritius;
• the person was present in Mauritius for 183 days or more in the income year; or
• the person was present for 270 days or more, counting the income year and the two preceding years together.

A newly arrived employee who stays for the full year will usually meet the 183-day test. An employee on a short secondment may not. The 270-day test can catch someone who has been coming and going over several years, even if no single year reaches 183 days.

The status is judged on the individual, not on the employer. A resident company can therefore employ a non-resident individual, and the reverse is equally possible. Because the days are counted over the income year, the status may only become clear after the year has begun, which is why payroll teams record arrival and departure dates from the first day of work.

Why the status matters

Residence affects the scope of income that is taxable in Mauritius and how foreign income is treated. For the employer, the practical consequence is narrower: the duty to operate payroll deductions on Mauritian employment income applies whatever the status. Where the answer really depends on the person's wider circumstances (income abroad, a home-country treaty, family situation), that analysis is for the individual and their adviser.

What the employer must do

For a foreign employee working in Mauritius for a Mauritian employer, the payroll obligations are broadly those of any other employee:

1. Register as an employer with the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) before the first payment. See the guide on registering as an employer before hiring.
2. Deduct PAYE from remuneration and pay it over by the statutory deadline. The mechanics are in the PAYE guide for employers.
3. Withhold and pay contributions where they apply: the CSG guide and the NSF and payroll returns guide explain the employer and employee shares.
4. Issue payslips that meet the legal content requirements, set out in what a payslip must contain.
5. File the periodic returns through the MRA online portal, as described in the MRA online filing walkthrough.

A foreign employee is not exempt from these because they are paid partly or wholly from abroad. If the Mauritian company directs the work and bears the cost, the payroll duties generally sit with the Mauritian company. Whether a split arrangement is acceptable is a question for the adviser reviewing the contract and the group structure.

Tax rates that apply to a resident employee

For the income year beginning 1 July 2026 (2026-27), the Income Tax Act sets the following scale for individuals:

The MRA publishes the Income Tax Act consolidated up to the Finance Act 2026 as the reference for the 2026-27 rates and thresholds. These are the bands that PAYE is designed to approximate through the year; the final liability is settled when the individual's own return is filed, where one is required.

The Fair Share Contribution of 15% on leviable income above MUR 12 million (section 16C) applies to individuals only for the income year beginning 1 July 2025. The Finance Act 2026 removed the reference to the two following years. For this contribution, dividends and distributions from a global business entity are left out of leviable income.

Non-resident employees

For a non-resident, the scale above is not the whole story, and the position on employment income earned for work done in Mauritius should be confirmed with an adviser before the first payment. What does not change is that the employer remains the party that deducts and reports. Treat the residence question as something to document, not to assume.

Proving residence: the Tax Residence Certificate

Many foreign employees need evidence of Mauritian residence, for a bank, for a home-country tax authority or for a double-tax claim. The route is a Tax Residence Certificate requested from the Director-General of the MRA.

• It is issued within 7 days of the application, provided the required income tax return has been filed and the fee has been paid.
• Under Regulation 20A of the Income Tax Regulations 1996 (consolidated to April 2026), the fee for an individual is MUR 1,000. The fee is USD 200 in cases other than individuals and certain collective investment schemes (USD 1,000 for a CIS).

The certificate is a response to a request, not an automatic document. Build it into the employee's first-year checklist.

Foreign income, dividends and double taxation

A foreign employee often keeps income sources abroad. Three rules from the Income Tax Act frame the discussion, and each has conditions:

• Foreign tax credit. Section 77 gives a credit for foreign tax paid on income taxed abroad against the Mauritian tax due on that income. No credit is given on foreign-source income for which a partial exemption under Part II of the Second Schedule has been claimed.
• Dividends from a Mauritian resident company. These are exempt from income tax in the hands of the recipient (Second Schedule, Part II, Sub-part B, item 1), and no withholding tax is provided on them. An employee who is also a shareholder should read this alongside the guidance on paying dividends and on withholding tax on company payments.
• Treatment of distributions from a trust. Under section 46(4), any distribution to a trust beneficiary is deemed to be a dividend for the beneficiary.

These rules interact with the employee's home-country law. Do not assume that either country gives relief automatically; the employee's adviser should map both sides.

Special visa regimes and the remittance basis

Some foreign nationals reside in Mauritius under the Premium Visa or Golden Visa. The Golden Visa carries the same tax advantages as the Premium Visa:

• foreign employment income is taxed only if it is remitted to Mauritius;
• local spending made with a foreign credit or debit card is not treated as a remittance; and
• funds placed in a Mauritian account are not taxed on a declaration that the applicable taxes have already been paid abroad.

The Finance Act 2026 (Act 14) extends sections 73B and 74A of the Income Tax Act to the "golden visa", with effect from 1 September 2026. A date of effect matters: a person who held a Golden Visa before that date should have the position checked rather than assume the same treatment applied throughout.

This regime concerns income from foreign employment, not remuneration paid by your Mauritian company for work in Mauritius. A holder of such a visa who joins your payroll remains within the ordinary payroll process for what you pay.

Deciding how to set up the payroll

Employer checklist for a new foreign hire

• Confirm the employment contract names the Mauritian company as employer
• Record the date of arrival and the expected length of stay
• Check that the immigration status allows the work
• Register the employee on the payroll and with the relevant contribution schemes
• Agree who will request a Tax Residence Certificate, if one is needed
• Keep payslips and payroll returns for the statutory retention period
• Review residence status again before the year-end return

Where the foreign element changes the paperwork

Most of the extra work for a foreign employee is documentary rather than technical.

Tracking days

Because residence turns on days present, the employer is well placed to keep a simple log. Passport stamps, travel bookings and signed attendance records all help. If the individual's status is later questioned, a contemporaneous record is more persuasive than reconstruction.

Payments from abroad and benefits in kind

Groups sometimes continue to pay part of the package from a parent entity: a housing allowance, a bonus, a relocation payment. Each element needs to be assessed for how it is treated for PAYE and contributions in Mauritius. Report what the law requires, even if the payment does not pass through the local bank account.

Monthly routine

The foreign employee joins the same monthly cycle as everyone else. The step-by-step payroll guide shows the order of tasks, and the payroll overview maps the rest of the area.