Considering a Move to Mauritius?

Moving to Mauritius from the UK

Abels Moving Services has provided discreet export packing and shipping for over 50 years. We work with discerning families and professionals moving to Mauritius.

Mauritius: Geography and the Republic

Mauritius sits off the south east coast of Africa, around 540 miles east of Madagascar. The main island forms part of the wider Republic of Mauritius. This also includes Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin, and the Agalega Islands.

Mauritius belongs to the Mascarene Islands group. Réunion, a French island, sits 170km (110 miles) to the south west. Rodrigues sits 570km (350 miles) to the east.

History

Arab sailors visited Mauritius in the Middle Ages, before any European power settled it. The Dutch, French and British each occupied the island in turn. Mauritius became independent in 1968 and a republic in 1992.

Population and Districts

Around 1.27 million people live in Mauritius, most of them in and around the capital, Port Louis. The island splits into nine districts. These are Black River, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Rivière du Rempart, and Savanne.

Economy, Tourism and Culture

Mauritius runs one of the most competitive economies in Africa. GDP per capita sits at around $12,000, among the highest on the continent.

Tourism plays a major role too. Mauritius has one of the highest returning-visitor rates in the world. Its coral reef and calm, shallow waters suit a wide range of water sports. Many people who move to Mauritius first fell for the island on holiday.

Football is the most popular sport to play, but horseracing holds the title of national sport. The Champ de Mars Racecourse, still in use today, is the oldest racecourse in the Southern Hemisphere. To ease growing traffic congestion, Mauritius plans to install a Light Rail Transit system between Curepipe and Port Louis.

Planning Your Move

Talk to a specialist international removal company before you move to Mauritius. The process has its own pitfalls, and a domestic mover won’t be familiar with them.

Before you call, think about whether you want to send everything you own or just a select few personal effects. Call our head office on +44 1842 816600 or email [email protected]. We’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your move.

For full house moves or large volumes, we recommend a home survey. One of our International Customer Service Managers will visit your home to discuss your requirements and answer any questions about the process. They’ll assess the items you’re packing and explain how best to protect them in transit, and confirm access for a larger removal vehicle or shipping container. Our colleague draws up a full list of items to take during the visit. Once we’ve collated all the costs (origin, freight, destination services), we’ll send you a detailed door-to-door removal proposal.

For smaller volumes, you can discuss your move over the phone, by email, or through our online service. We’ll assess your volume, access, packing requirements and shipping method from the information you give us. We’ll then send a detailed door-to-door proposal for you to consider.

Once you book with Abels, you’ll meet your Customer Liaison Move Coordinator. They work alongside your Customer Service Manager to manage the booking, organisation and day-to-day details of your move.

Export Packing

Export packing is essential for your belongings when you move to Mauritius. It protects your items in transit. We use either a 6-ply paper blanket with a wax inner and water-resistant outer. Or a tough bubble blanket with a soft cloth inner and robust outer that keeps corners protected. Certain items need an extra layer of card, cartoning, or wrap for additional protection. This includes polished furniture, antiques, delicate legs, and mirrored or glass-fronted units.

A domestic move by road needs less protection. A journey of thousands of miles in a 20ft or 40ft container needs far more. Your items get handled multiple times on that journey. They’re wrapped, loaded, and driven to port. They’re then lifted on and off the stack, and loaded onto the vessel. The same happens again in reverse at the other end. Robust export packing matters throughout.

We use the highest quality export materials throughout. We choose these to withstand a long export journey, not just a short domestic one. Containers stack up to two metres high in transit. Cartons at the bottom need to hold their shape and protect their contents for the whole journey.

Fine Art & Specialist Packing Services

Fine art needs particular care. Shipments to Mauritius involving valuable or delicate pieces call for enhanced export packing and careful handling throughout. This includes paintings, grandfather clocks, barometers, and chandeliers. In many cases, we build bespoke cases specifically for the item.

How we dismantle these items before shipping matters as much as how we pack them. Grandfather clocks need their main components taken apart and weights removed before casing. Barometers need specialist handling too, since we bung the tube to prevent the mercury inside from spilling.

Thorough training is what keeps our packing teams versed in the right handling and packing techniques for items like these. Find out more in our moving advice.

Airfreight

Mauritius has one international airport on the main island. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport sits in the Grand Port district, to the south east. A second airport, Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport, sits on the separate island of Rodrigues. It handles local flights between Rodrigues and the main island.

Sea transit typically takes around 8 weeks door to door, so consider airfreight for anything you need sooner. Security restrictions mean airfreighted goods need professional packing rather than owner-packed cartons. We load them into heat-treated modules of various sizes, with waterproof covering for extra protection. Allow around 2 weeks door to door for airfreight. This accounts for UK and Mauritian security and customs checks before delivery.

See more on airfreight shipments.

Customs Information

Import and export rules govern personal items and household goods entering Mauritius. Your Abels Move Manager will give you tailored guidance through this part of the process.

You’ll need specific documentation for customs clearance. The exact requirements depend on your personal circumstances, and our team will talk you through these ahead of your move. Explore the FIDI Customs Guide for Mauritius for further background before your move consultation with the Abels team.

Shipping Services

We ship larger volumes and full house moves in a 20ft or 40ft container. Where access allows, we load the container outside your residence, so you can see our team’s care and skill first-hand. We seal the container with our uniquely numbered bolt seals. Where access doesn’t suit a container of this size, we load goods at our warehouse instead (you’re welcome to attend). Or we use a shuttle truck between your home and the container.

Some shipping lines offer low-cost freight at the expense of container quality and transit time. Abels sources containers through an organisation that secures A1-class containers on our behalf. These arrive without fractures, dry, clean, odour-free, and with a reliably consistent transit time. An odour in the container will transfer to your goods, and any fractures risk water damage.

Smaller volumes travel as LCL (less than container load). We take these to our warehouse and load them into heat-treated wooden crates for shipping.

Transit from port to port in Mauritius typically takes 28 to 34 days by sea. Vessels depart the UK weekly to Port Louis. Door to door, allow around 8 weeks, depending on weather, strikes, re-routing, vessel availability and customs inspections.

Read more about shipping options when moving abroad.

Destination Services

We choose our destination partners for their accreditations. Most hold the FIDI-FAIM quality award. That means the standard you experience with Abels continues right through customs clearance and delivery in Mauritius.

We notify our destination partner as soon as your container departs the UK. They’ll contact you as delivery approaches and manage customs clearance on your behalf. Once cleared, they’ll arrange your delivery date. This normally includes delivery, unpacking, and set-up of standard furniture (excluding flat-pack items unless agreed). It also covers removal of packaging waste and return of the container to the wharf. Talk to your Abels Customer Service Manager or Customer Liaison if you’d like additional services. This includes a put-away service, cleaning, or settling-in support.

Our destination agents bring local knowledge of import documents, customs clearance and delivery. This keeps your arrival in Mauritius as smooth as possible.

Wherever your move takes you, we’d like to be the removal company you think of. That means this move, and the next one. If you’re moving to Mauritius, or anywhere else in the world, get in touch for a removal quotation.