Getting a Mauritian National ID for Citizens Born Abroad
If you were born outside Mauritius but have a Mauritian parent, you may already be a Mauritian citizen by descent. If you are eligible, one of the most useful documents to obtain when you are in Mauritius is your Mauritius National Identity Card.
The process is slightly different from applying for a National ID when you were born in Mauritius. Citizens born abroad must first obtain clearance from the Citizenship Section of the Prime Minister’s Office. Only after that clearance can you proceed to the National Identity Card Unit for registration.
The good news is that the official process is fairly clear once you know which documents to prepare. The less good news is that the document list is longer than many people expect, particularly if your parents have lived abroad for many years.
This guide walks through the current process, the documents you need, where to go in Port Louis and what to do afterwards if you also want a Mauritian passport.
Important: This guide is for people who are already eligible to be Mauritian citizens by descent. It is not a guide to applying for Mauritian citizenship. If you are unsure about your citizenship status, contact the Citizenship Section before travelling with a folder full of documents.
First: Are You Actually a Mauritian Citizen by Descent?
This is the most important question to answer before worrying about the ID card.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, a person born outside Mauritius is a Mauritian citizen by descent if either of their parents is a citizen of Mauritius by birth. That wording matters.
Simply having a parent who currently holds a Mauritian passport does not necessarily tell you how that parent acquired Mauritian citizenship. If your parent was themselves born outside Mauritius, acquired citizenship later through registration or naturalisation, or your family circumstances are more complicated, you should confirm your position directly with the Citizenship Section.
If your mother or father was born in Mauritius and was a Mauritian citizen by birth, the situation is generally much more straightforward. The National ID procedure described below is specifically for eligible Mauritian citizens born abroad.
If you are thinking about spending more time on the island after sorting out your documents, you may also find our guides to the pros and cons of living in Mauritius and the cost of living in Mauritius useful.
What Documents Do You Need?
This is where most of the preparation happens. Do not arrive at the Prime Minister’s Office with only your passport and your parents’ old Mauritian documents and expect the rest to be sorted out there.
The current official checklist for Mauritian citizens born abroad is quite specific.
| Document | What the Current Official Checklist Requires |
|---|---|
| Your birth certificate | Your full or unabridged birth certificate, duly apostilled. |
| Parent’s birth certificate if born in Mauritius | A Mauritius Civil Status certificate in A4 format issued less than three months ago. |
| Parent’s birth certificate if born abroad | The foreign birth certificate, duly apostilled. |
| Your parents’ marriage certificate | If the marriage took place outside Mauritius, the certificate must be duly apostilled. |
| Your marriage certificate | If applicable and the marriage took place abroad, it must be duly apostilled. |
| Your passport | A valid foreign or Mauritian passport. |
| Your parents’ Mauritian passports | The current official checklist asks for the Mauritian passport of the applicant’s parents. |
| Parents’ foreign nationality certificate | A certificate showing the foreign nationality of the parents and the date on which it was acquired, duly apostilled. |
| Parents’ residence documents abroad | Evidence of their residence permit abroad, duly apostilled. |
| Name discrepancy documents | An affidavit may be required if your name or your parents’ names differ between documents. |
| Name change documents | Bring the relevant official documents if you or your parents have changed names. |
| Proof of address | Current proof of address is required. |
Bring every required document in its original form plus one photocopy. The Citizenship Section specifically states that it will only accept a complete dossier.
Documents must be in English or French. If a document has been translated, the current government guidance states that the translated document must also be duly apostilled. The office can ask for additional documentation depending on your particular circumstances, so unusual family histories, nationality changes, different spellings of names and missing documents are all good reasons to contact the Citizenship Section before your visit.
Apostilles are more important than revenue stamps
You may find older online guides telling applicants to buy revenue stamps, certify every photocopy in Mauritius or take documents to several offices before approaching the Prime Minister’s Office. That is not what the current official born-abroad checklist says.
The present process focuses on presenting original documents plus one copy and ensuring the relevant foreign documents are properly apostilled. Do not spend a day running around Port Louis certifying documents simply because an old forum post tells you to. Start with the current government checklist.
Pay particular attention to your parents’ documents
This is probably the part most likely to catch applicants out. If your Mauritian parent was born in Mauritius, the current checklist asks for a recent A4 birth certificate issued by the Mauritius Civil Status Office and dated within the last three months.
An old handwritten birth certificate that has been sitting in the family cupboard for thirty years may be interesting family history, but it is not what the current clearance checklist asks for.
The Citizenship Section also asks for information relating to your parents’ foreign nationality and residence abroad. If your parents emigrated decades ago, became citizens of another country or no longer have easy access to old immigration records, it is worth contacting the office in advance rather than assuming those documents will not be required.
Step 1: Get Clearance from the Prime Minister’s Office
Once your documents are ready, the first official step is to visit the Citizenship Section of the Prime Minister’s Office. You need to make the application in person. The current contact details are:
Citizenship Section
Prime Minister’s Office
4th Floor, New Government Centre
Port Louis, Mauritius
Telephone: +230 201 1495 / 201 3362 / 201 2773 / 201 2208
Email: pmo.citizenship@govmu.org
View the current official National ID clearance requirements
At the Citizenship Section, the officer will review your dossier and determine whether everything required for clearance has been provided. This is why preparing the documents correctly matters more than trying to arrive at the office extremely early with an incomplete file.
Take your originals and photocopies in a folder and keep the different family documents separated. It sounds obvious, but when you have birth certificates, passports, marriage certificates, apostilles and nationality documents covering two generations, organisation makes the appointment considerably easier.
The official government page currently states that the clearance process takes two working days. After that period, eligible applicants can proceed to the ID Card Unit of the Central Civil Status Division in Port Louis for registration.
Step 2: Register for Your Mauritius National Identity Card
After the Prime Minister’s Office has processed your clearance, the next stage is the National Identity Card Unit in Port Louis. The current government listing gives the main National Identity Card Unit as:
Mauritius National Identity Card Unit
Ground Floor
Emmanuel Anquetil Building
Port Louis
Telephone: +230 207 5300 / 207 5301 / 207 5302
This is the registration stage for your National Identity Card. Follow the instructions provided by the Citizenship Section and National Identity Card Unit, and bring your original documentation with you again unless you have specifically been told otherwise.
The official born-abroad clearance page does not currently publish a fixed promise for when every new National ID will be ready for collection. For that reason, I would not plan a flight home based on an unofficial claim that every card is issued within a particular number of days.
When you complete registration, the National Identity Card Unit will provide the relevant instructions for collection. National Identity Card collection centres used by the authorities include Port Louis, Rose Hill and Central Flacq. Follow the collection location and instructions given on your own application rather than assuming you can collect from any centre.
Keep any collection slip or receipt you receive. Government guidance for National ID collections specifically asks applicants to present their collection slip when collecting the card.
How long should you allow?
If you are travelling to Mauritius specifically to complete this process, do not schedule the entire trip around one or two working days.
The PMO clearance itself is officially stated as taking two working days, but you still need time for the National ID registration and collection stages. Missing documentation, public holidays or a document discrepancy can also extend the process. If possible, leave yourself several working days in Mauritius rather than arranging the application immediately before your return flight. And remember that “working days” do not mean weekends or public holidays.
Once You Have the ID, Can You Apply for a Mauritian Passport?
Yes. If you are a Mauritian citizen and meet the application requirements, you can also apply for a Mauritius passport.
For a first adult passport, the Passport and Immigration Office currently asks for documents including your birth certificate, Mauritius National Identity Card, two recent passport photographs and additional documentation where applicable.
For an applicant born abroad, the current passport checklist also asks for:
- The birth certificate of the Mauritian parent
- The certificate of foreign citizenship of the parent or parents
- Your own foreign citizenship or overseas residence documentation where applicable
- Your marriage certificate where applicable
The application uses form PF136, which can be collected from the Passport and Immigration Office, certain police stations or downloaded from the official passport website. The current fee for a new adult Mauritius passport is Rs700. Different fees apply to minors, senior citizens and certain other categories.
View the official documents required for a new Mauritius passport
If you normally live overseas and do not want to apply while in Mauritius, passport applications from citizens abroad can also be submitted through a Mauritius High Commission, Embassy or Consulate, subject to the relevant requirements.
Tips That Can Save You a Wasted Trip
Check the government page again shortly before going. Administrative procedures change, and a blog article should never take priority over instructions published by the Citizenship Section itself.
Do not assume an old birth certificate is enough. For a parent born in Mauritius, the current checklist specifically asks for an A4 Civil Status certificate issued less than three months ago.
Sort apostilles before travelling. If your documents were issued abroad and need to be apostilled, it is generally much easier to resolve that in the issuing country than after arriving in Mauritius.
Check every spelling. A missing middle name, different surname or spelling variation between a passport and birth certificate can create questions. The official checklist specifically mentions affidavits where there are discrepancies in names.
Bring originals and copies. The current requirement is original plus one copy. I would still carry an additional spare photocopy of important documents for your own records.
Do not book your flight home too tightly. The Citizenship Section quotes two working days for its clearance, but the National ID registration and collection are additional stages.
Contact the office if your parents’ circumstances are unusual. If a parent is deceased, documents are unavailable, citizenship changed several times or your family history does not fit the standard checklist neatly, contact the Citizenship Section before travelling rather than guessing which documents can be omitted.
National ID Checklist for Citizens Born Abroad
Before heading to Port Louis, run through this simplified checklist:
- ☐ Confirm that you are eligible for Mauritian citizenship by descent.
- ☐ Obtain your full/unabridged foreign birth certificate.
- ☐ Have the foreign birth certificate duly apostilled.
- ☐ Obtain recent A4 Mauritius birth certificate(s) for parent(s) born in Mauritius.
- ☐ Obtain apostilled birth certificate(s) for any parent born abroad.
- ☐ Bring your parents’ marriage certificate where applicable.
- ☐ Bring your own marriage certificate where applicable.
- ☐ Bring your valid passport.
- ☐ Prepare your parents’ Mauritian passport documentation.
- ☐ Prepare the required foreign-nationality and overseas-residence evidence for your parents.
- ☐ Prepare documentation for any name changes or discrepancies.
- ☐ Bring proof of address.
- ☐ Make one photocopy of every required document.
- ☐ Ensure required foreign and translated documents are properly apostilled.
- ☐ Visit the Citizenship Section in person.
- ☐ Allow the stated two working days for PMO clearance.
- ☐ Proceed to the National Identity Card Unit in Port Louis for registration.
- ☐ Keep your collection slip and follow the collection instructions given to you.
Is Getting a Mauritius National ID Worth Doing?
If you are a Mauritian citizen born abroad and regularly visit Mauritius, plan to live here or want to deal with government and private institutions as a citizen, obtaining your National ID is well worth doing.
The card is one of the country’s main forms of identification and is routinely used for administrative transactions, government services and proving your identity as a Mauritian citizen. It also makes the next step, such as applying for your first Mauritian passport, considerably more straightforward because the National Identity Card is part of the adult passport application requirements.
Most importantly, however, the process formalises something that can feel surprisingly significant if you grew up overseas. You may have spent your entire life hearing Mauritian Creole at home, eating Mauritian food and visiting family on the island, but receiving your own Mauritian ID makes that connection considerably more tangible. Just arrive prepared. The process is far less intimidating when you walk into the Citizenship Section with exactly the documents the government currently asks for.
If you are returning to Mauritius for a longer stay, our guide to Mauritius as a Plan B country explores some of the reasons people with connections to the island consider living here. For the travel side of your visit, start with our updated Ultimate Guide to Mauritius.
Official Sources
- Prime Minister’s Office – Mauritius National Identity Card for Eligible Mauritians Born Abroad
- Prime Minister’s Office – Mauritius Citizenship
- Government of Mauritius – National Identity Card Unit
Disclaimer: Government procedures, document requirements and office arrangements can change. This guide was checked against official Mauritius government information in September 2026. Always confirm the current requirements with the Citizenship Section before travelling or submitting your application.
Questions and tips