Offshore Banking - Mauritius , anyone has experience?

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jacksonc

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Does anyone has the experience of offshore banking in mauritius for personal finance ? which banks, how its done ?
 
You can open an acount there.
I was there this year, and ran into a bank.

You need a passport, proof of residence IIRC, and some recommendation or motivational letter from your bank in ZAR.
 
Agent40Seven said:
You can open an acount there.
I was there this year, and ran into a bank.

You need a passport, proof of residence IIRC, and some recommendation or motivational letter from your bank in ZAR.
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Motivational letter from your bank in za? Say what? What bank would feel like indirectly encouraging the transfer out of money from them to an offshore bank?
 
I have an account at in USD at MCB that I opened from 3 years ago from Johannesburg, I actually barely use it anymore. Received all the documents by DHL and sent them back.

I needed also a letter of recommendation from my bank, it's part of the KYC in Mauritius.
 
Think they want a certificate of conduct from sa bank for verification of income etc.
 
jacksonc said:
Does anyone has the experience of offshore banking in mauritius for personal finance ? which banks, how its done ?
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Not Mauritius specifically but yeah I do have some experience on this.

I'd suggest dropping the offshore idea - its over-rated. Rather look for a foreign bank account denominated in a stable currency plus a brokerage account with access to a wide range of markets. Preferably somewhere with good SA DTAs. So something like Ireland should work.

As for the how on the offshore locations - the better locations are quite fussy & it'll be challenging to open one remotely (if not impossible - some require local proof of res/local business presence).

DisasterRelief said:
Why Mauritius?
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Not the offshore location I'd pick either...might be easier to open an account than some of the better locations though. I'd probably try Lux first if it has to be one of the classic offshore locations. That won't have a ZA DTA though (I'm guessing - didn't check) - so good luck with that tax return.:erm:

cyberbob1979 said:
Tax haven
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No. It has little tax benefit for individuals unless you're planning on straight up lying to SARS which A) is illegal and B) doesn't require a foreign account.

To actually gain a legitimate tax benefit as an individual you'd have to live on site - a bit like the F1 drivers living in Monaco etc. Doable...but those places tend to be expensive to live in. And well you need to be a F1 driver or something.

DisasterRelief said:
I belief there are agreements in place between the SA and Mauritius to specifically prevent this.
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Nope. As per above no benefit for individuals baring very specific circumstances.
 
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