Mauritius LifeYour island guide
Trust and fiduciary services in Mauritius

Financial Services

Trust & Fiduciary
Services

Wealth structuring, trusts and foundations in a premier financial centre.

Overview

Mauritius as a trust jurisdiction

Mauritius is a leading international financial centre with a sophisticated trust law based on English common law, updated and codified by the Trusts Act 2001. All trust and fiduciary service providers must be licensed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), providing international credibility and regulatory oversight.

Advantages

Why Mauritius for trusts?

No tax on trust income distributed to non-resident beneficiaries
Strong confidentiality provisions under the Trusts Act 2001
Access to Mauritius's extensive double taxation treaty network (50+ countries)
English language legal and regulatory environment
Stable, investment-grade political and economic framework
FSC regulation provides international credibility
Common law trust principles — familiar to UK, Australian and South African settlors
Strategic time zone bridging Africa, Europe and Asia (UTC+4)

Structure Options

Types of trust

Discretionary Trust

The most common structure for wealth planning. Trustees have discretion over distributions. Beneficiaries have no fixed entitlement.

Fixed Trust

Beneficiaries have defined, fixed entitlements. Less flexible than discretionary but clearer for certain succession purposes.

Purpose Trust

Created for a specific non-charitable purpose. No named beneficiaries. Useful for commercial and holding structures.

Charitable Trust

Established for charitable objectives. May qualify for tax exemptions. Regulated by the Financial Services Commission.

Protective Trust

Protects assets against creditors or beneficiary mismanagement. Often used in family wealth planning with spendthrift clauses.

Applications

Common uses

Family wealth planning

Protect and grow family assets across generations while managing succession.

Succession planning

Ensure smooth transfer of assets on death without probate complications.

Asset protection

Shield assets from creditors, litigation and political risk.

Employee share schemes

Hold shares for employee benefit under ESOP trust structures.

Charitable foundations

Structured philanthropy with formal governance and reporting.

Investment holding

Hold international investments in a tax-efficient, regulated structure.

Setup Process

Establishing a trust

  1. 1
    Choose an FSC-licensed trustee company
    Verify their licence on fscmauritius.org before engaging.
  2. 2
    Draft the trust deed
    Sets out the trust purpose, beneficiaries, trustee powers and duration.
  3. 3
    Settle assets into the trust
    The settlor transfers assets to the trustee. Proper documentation required.
  4. 4
    Ongoing management and compliance
    Annual accounts, trustee meetings, regulatory filings and beneficiary distributions.

Alternative Structures

Foundations

The Mauritius Foundations Act 2012 introduced the foundation as an alternative wealth structuring vehicle. Unlike trusts, foundations are separate legal entities — closer to the civil law concept familiar to Continental European clients.

A foundation has a charter, a founder, beneficiaries (or a purpose), and a council that governs it. Assets belong to the foundation itself, not held on behalf of beneficiaries as in a trust.

Foundations are popular with French, Belgian, Swiss and Portuguese clients who find the structure more intuitive than common law trusts.

Regulatory check

All trust and fiduciary service providers must be licensed by the FSC. Verify any firm you engage at fscmauritius.org before proceeding.

Trust & fiduciary firms

We are building our directory of FSC-licensed trust and fiduciary service providers. If your firm offers these services, claim your listing below.

Trust & fiduciary firm?

List your firm on Mauritius Life and reach clients looking for FSC-licensed providers.

Claim Your Listing