Mauritius
Premium Travel Visa: health insurance requirements
Yes: health insurance is required
Yes. Mauritius's Premium Travel Visa (launched 2020, valid one year, renewable, and free) requires, in the official wording, 'travel and health insurance for the initial period of stay.' There is no government-set minimum sum, but because complex cases are sometimes evacuated to Réunion or South Africa, cover including medical evacuation and repatriation is the sensible standard. The visa is for people whose work and income are based outside Mauritius.
The requirements at a glance
| Minimum policy duration | At least the initial period of stay |
|---|---|
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
| Accepted proof | In the official wording, 'travel and health insurance for the initial period of stay.' No minimum sum is set by the government; given off-island evacuation, a policy including medical care, emergency evacuation and repatriation is sensible. An international policy is accepted. |
For non-citizens whose main business and source of income are outside Mauritius, and who will not enter the local labour market. Valid one year, renewable, free of charge; apply online via the Economic Development Board / Passport and Immigration Office. As a documentary requirement, applicants show a bank statement with a monthly transfer of at least US$1,500 per adult (plus US$500 per dependent child).
Who qualifies for the Mauritius nomad visa
The income bar is what decides most applications, and it is the number people look for first. Here is the current one, with the conditions that come attached to it.
- Income required
- No published threshold
- Length of permit
- 12 monthsrenewable
- Who can apply
- Employed remotely, Freelancer, Business owner, Passive income
- Nationality restrictions
- Nationals of 150+ countries (incl. US, UK, CA, AU, most of Europe); others apply during a tourist stay.
Free of charge. Issued for a period exceeding six months up to one year. The USD 1,500 figure circulating online is a document-checklist item, not a published eligibility threshold. Insurance wording is 'sufficient travel and health insurance for the initial period of stay'.
Tax
Mauritian-source income taxed on a remittance basis.
That is a summary of the rule, not tax advice. Residence for immigration and residence for tax are decided separately, and the second one tends to arrive quietly, usually after you have been in the country long enough to stop thinking about it. Take proper advice before the year you need it.
What the income bar really means
Two things get people rejected on income even when they earn enough. The first is proving it: consulates want a documented, repeating history, usually bank statements and contracts covering several months, not a screenshot of a good quarter. Irregular freelance income clears the bar on average and fails on paper. The second is dependants, who almost always raise the threshold, and by a percentage of the base figure rather than a flat amount.
Treat the number above as the floor for the paperwork, not as a comfortable income for living there. It is set by the country’s own cost of living or minimum wage, which means it moves, and in several countries it is re-set every year.
Mauritius's Premium Travel Visa is valid one year, renewable, and free of charge, and requires travel and health insurance; because complex medical cases are sometimes evacuated to Réunion or South Africa, evacuation cover is the practical standard.
Our take
The official rule only says 'travel and health insurance', with no figure, but Mauritius is the rare place where evacuation cover is not optional: complex cases get flown to Réunion or South Africa.
So a policy with medical evacuation and overseas treatment is the real requirement, beyond the bare wording.
What happens if you get it wrong
A thin travel policy without evacuation leaves the biggest Mauritius-specific risk uncovered: the off-island transfer.
A policy that lapses after the 'initial period' can leave a gap on a one-year stay, so cover the full period.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Mauritius without insurance?
You pay, out of pocket
$1,000–$5,000
A serious private admission or common surgery.
Bars to scale. A flight home is in another league.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Yes, the official rule asks for travel and health insurance for the initial period of stay. There is no government-set minimum, but evacuation and overseas-treatment cover is the sensible standard.
Because for the most complex cases, patients are sometimes flown to Réunion or South Africa, so a policy with medical evacuation and overseas treatment is more than a formality.
No hard means-test in the rule, but the application asks for a bank statement showing a monthly transfer of at least US$1,500 per adult (plus US$500 per child).
Valid one year, renewable, and free of charge.
No. Your work and income must be based outside Mauritius; you cannot enter the local labour market.
How to apply
- Government fee
- Free of charge. The Premium Visa is issued with no processing fee.
- Where to apply
- Entirely online through the National E-Licensing System (NELS) portal. The e-visa is delivered by email.
- 1
Confirm eligibility: you are a citizen of an eligible country, your main income and business stay outside Mauritius, you will not enter the Mauritian labour market, and you plan a long stay (over 180 days).
- 2
Complete the online application on the National E-Licensing System (NELS) portal.
- 3
Upload the required documents: proof of your long-stay plans, travel and health insurance, accommodation, and evidence of the purpose of your visit and income.
- 4
Submit and wait for validation.
- 5
Receive the Premium Visa as an e-visa by email. It is valid for a period of up to one year and is renewable.
Fees and processing times move, sometimes without announcement, and a consulate can add a document the published checklist does not mention. Treat the above as the shape of the process rather than a guarantee, and check the current requirement with the mission handling your application before you book anything.
What policy actually satisfies this visa
Mauritius does not publish a minimum figure, which sounds permissive and is not. It means you are judged against somebody's unwritten idea of adequate, and the safe reading of adequate is enough to cover a serious hospital admission in Mauritius, not the cheapest policy that technically exists.
A compliant international policy is accepted, so you are not forced into a local insurer. That matters more than it sounds: it means one policy can follow you when you leave, instead of expiring at the border.
Repatriation is not named as a condition, though it is the benefit you would most want to have if the worst happened, and it costs very little to add.
The dates are the other thing that gets applications rejected: at least the initial period of stay
Ask your insurer for a certificate of cover that states your full name as it appears on your passport, the exact policy period, the territory covered, and the benefit amounts. That is a normal request and any decent insurer issues it without fuss. The insurance being real and the paperwork still failing is a more common way to lose an application than being uninsured.
The visa tells you the minimum. It does not tell you what to actually carry. Those are different questions, and the paperwork minimum is nearly always the smaller of the two answers.
Get a policy that satisfies this visa
Three minutes of honest questions, then we'll match you to insurance that meets Mauritius'srequirements and actually works where you're going.
Find my plan