Moving an Existing Offshore Company to Mauritius

Owners who want to redomicile a company to Mauritius usually start from a practical question: can the entity I already have simply move, or must I start again? The answer depends on two legal systems, the one the company leaves and the one it joins. What does not change is the destination. To benefit from the Authorised Company regime, the company must end up as a company under Mauritian company law, holding an authorisation from the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

This guide describes that destination, the conditions attached to it and the practical route, so that you can judge whether moving an existing company is realistic. It is general information, not advice: whether your own company can leave its current register is a question for a lawyer in that jurisdiction.

Redomiciliation, continuation or a fresh start?

Three expressions circle around the same idea, and they are not interchangeable.

• Redomiciliation or transfer is the everyday term: the company changes its home register while remaining the same legal person.
• Continuation is the technical term used where a company's original law allows it to be "continued" under another country's law. Searches for continuation of company in Mauritius usually mean this.
• A fresh start means incorporating a new Mauritian company and moving the business, contracts and assets into it.

Which of these is open to you depends on whether the home jurisdiction lets the company leave and whether the receiving side accepts it. Where the formal route is closed, the fresh start is the usual fallback. A corporate service provider licensed in Mauritius can tell you which route is workable before any money is committed; the questions to ask a provider are a useful starting list.

Whatever the route, the result you are aiming for is the same, and that is what the rest of this page covers.

What the Authorised Company regime requires

The Authorised Company is governed by section 71A of the Financial Services Act 2007. A company incorporated under the Companies Act that meets three conditions must apply to the FSC for authorisation:

• the majority of its shares or voting rights is held or controlled by a person who is not a Mauritian citizen;
• it carries on its business mainly outside Mauritius;
• its central management and control sit outside Mauritius.

An existing foreign company therefore has to be able to pass this test once it is in Mauritius. A company that is run day to day from Mauritius by resident directors points towards a different regime altogether, a subject covered elsewhere. If your plan is to run the business from abroad, read how an Authorised Company is managed from abroad before you go further.

The full list of conditions is set out in requirements for an Authorised Company.

Moving a company: what changes

The table below shows how a company's position typically shifts when it joins the regime. It describes the Mauritian side only; the exit side is governed by the law of the current register.

The registered agent comes first

An Authorised Company must have a registered agent in Mauritius at all times, and that agent must be an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence). It is also the channel through which the application is made: the file goes to the FSC through such a provider, in the form and manner the FSC determines, with the information, documents and fees set by the FSC Rules. The authorisation itself is issued by the Chief Executive on behalf of the Commission.

Once the company is in place, the registered agent handles a good part of the ongoing compliance:

• filing the returns and documents required under the Financial Services Act, the Income Tax Act or the Companies Act;
• passing on communications with the FSC, the Mauritius Revenue Authority and the Registrar;
• carrying out anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures;
• keeping the company's records, such as minutes, resolutions and transaction documents.

Because the provider is itself a regulated reporting person under the anti-money laundering legislation, expect a thorough due diligence exercise on you and on the company's history. Choose with care: a provider's licence can be checked, as explained in how to verify an FSC licence. Changing provider later is possible, but the request must be accompanied by the fee set in the FSC Rules, a requirement in force since 1 August 2024.

A practical route, in sequence

The overview of how to open an offshore company describes the same sequence for a brand-new company, which is a helpful comparison.

Timing

Since 1 October 2024, the FSC must grant an application within 10 working days of the date it is judged complete. The clock starts only once the file is complete, so the preparation, in particular identity and ownership documents, is where the real time goes. Applications filed before that date were excluded from the rule.

What it costs on the Mauritian side

Fees changed on 1 July 2026, when the Financial Services (Consolidated Licensing and Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2026 (Government Notice No. 119 of 2026) came into force. The FSC explained in its communiqué of 10 July 2026 that processing fees had not changed since the 2008 rules and annual fees had not been reviewed since 2019.

Three further points matter when budgeting.

• The first annual fee is prorated by the quarter in which the authorisation is granted: 1 400 USD for July to September, 1 050 USD for October to December, 700 USD for January to March and 350 USD for April to June.
• Late payment is penalised. The 1 400 USD fee becomes 1 750 USD if paid within a month after the due date, 2 100 USD between one and three months late, and 2 800 USD between three and six months late.
• Provider fees are separate. The amounts above are official fees. What a provider charges for its own work is a commercial matter to compare before you instruct.

For the recurring picture, see annual fees to keep an Authorised Company alive.

Beneficial ownership and the company file

A company arriving from elsewhere often has a thin paper trail. Under section 91 of the Companies Act 2001, every Mauritian company must identify its beneficial owner at all times and, where relevant, any nominee. The details go into a separate register: full name and residential address, national identity or passport number, nationality and the ownership structure leading to the ultimate beneficial owner. They are filed when the company is incorporated, with the annual return and on any transfer or issue of shares. The company must keep the information accurate and up to date, and give it to the competent authorities without delay on request.

The Registrar of Companies keeps a Beneficial Ownership Register that competent authorities and certain prescribed public bodies can consult. The Companies Act does not describe it as a public register. If privacy is your main concern, the question of owner privacy is treated separately.

Start collecting these records early. Gaps in the chain of ownership of the old company are the most common reason a file stalls.

What the company cannot do after the move

The authorisation is not a general licence. Unless the FSC Rules provide an exception, an Authorised Company cannot carry on the Fourth Schedule activities. They fall into five groups:

• banking;
• professional management or administration of a collective investment fund or scheme;
• financial services;
• corporate services such as head-office, nominee, director or secretarial services for companies;
• professional trusteeship.

If your current business includes any of these, moving it into the regime is not an option as it stands. Company secretarial rules are lighter: a company other than a small private company or an Authorised Company needs a resident secretary, so an Authorised Company is not subject to that requirement. The wider boundaries are examined in the limits of an Authorised Company, and when an Authorised Company is no longer enough explains what to consider if the company outgrows the regime.

An entity that operates as an Authorised Company without authorisation commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to MUR 1,000,000, so the sequence matters: authorisation first, activity afterwards.

Tax questions before you move

The Income Tax Act treats both holders of a Global Business Licence and Authorised Companies as global business entities. The standard corporate rate in Part IV of the First Schedule is 15 % of taxable income, subject to special regimes, and the Alternative Minimum Tax does not apply to a global business entity. What this means in practice for a given company, including any partial exemption regime and its substance conditions, requires individual analysis; the page on Authorised Company taxation sets out the framework.

The more delicate questions often arise elsewhere:

• Leaving the current jurisdiction can trigger tax or filing consequences there, which only a local adviser can assess.
• The owner's own country may tax the owner, or attribute the company's profits to the owner, under rules on controlled foreign companies. See controlled foreign company rules.
• Permanent establishment risk can arise if the real decision-making stays in a country other than where the company says it sits.

Checklist before you apply

• Confirm with a lawyer that the current register allows the company to leave
• Confirm that most of the shares are held by non-citizens of Mauritius
• Confirm that business is carried on mainly outside Mauritius
• Confirm that central management and control will sit outside Mauritius
• Rule out any Fourth Schedule activity
• Shortlist FSC-licensed corporate service providers and check their licences
• Prepare ownership records and identification of the beneficial owner
• Budget the processing fee, the first prorated annual fee and the Registrar's fees

If you would like a provider to look at your particular situation, you can use the contact form.