Foreign Workers Surge: Mauritius Sees 48% Rise in Occupation Permits

Mauritius is experiencing a dramatic increase in its reliance on foreign labour, driven primarily by the manufacturing and construction sectors. Official figures released by the Ministry of Labour reveal a significant surge in both Work Permits and Occupation Permits, with the latter seeing a staggering 48% growth in the two years leading up to October 31, 2025.

Record-Breaking Work Permit Approvals

The number of Work Permits issued has seen a strong escalation, indicating a growing appetite, particularly from export sectors, for “cheap labour.”

• 47,680 Work Permits were granted by October 31, 2025, suggesting the final 2025 total will exceed the 48,004 permits issued for the entirety of 2024.
• This represents a 26% increase from the 37,768 permits active at the end of 2023.
• The vast majority of these workers—some 80%—are concentrated in manufacturing and construction.
• 95% of all valid Work Permit holders hail from just four nations: India, Nepal, Madagascar, and Bangladesh. The permits cover approximately 4,541 different job types.

Occupational Permits Soar

The more “qualitative” Occupation Permits (OPs), which include those for Young Professionals, have seen an even more accelerated rate of growth.

• A total of 5,049 OPs were active as of October 31, 2025, up from 3,403 at the close of 2023—a 48% increase over the period.
• Permits for Young Professionals climbed from 44 to 77 over the same timeframe, marking a 75% rise.

Government Response and Procedure

The figures were made public in a written ministerial response from the Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations to a query raised by independent MP Franco Quirin on November 11th, which was not orally addressed in Parliament due to lack of time.

• The Ministry of Labour’s Employment Division manages Work Permits under the Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act 1970.
• Occupation Permits and Young Professional Occupation Permits are handled by the Economic Development Board (EDB) under the Economic Development Board Act 2017 and the Immigration Act 2022.

New, streamlined criteria for eligibility have scrapped previous ‘Permission in Principle,’ ratio, and quota requirements, following recommendations from an inter-ministerial committee.

• Employers must prove local recruitment efforts by consulting Employment Information Centres and advertising on the MauritiusJobs platform. Only upon receiving a report confirming the impossibility of local recruitment are they eligible to hire foreign workers.
• The average processing time is 22 working days for a Work Permit and 23 days for an Occupation Permit, despite the record number of applications in 2025.
• To cope with demand, the ministry has digitised permit issuance since September 1, 2025, rolling out electronic permits and simultaneous processing of work and accommodation authorisations. The government is also developing a “Rules Based Work Permit System” to further shorten processing times.

Source: Defi Media