Mauritius Trusts for French Resident Families

A French resident trust in Mauritius starts from a simple fact: the trust exists under Mauritian law, but the family lives under French law. Mauritius decides whether the trust is valid and how it is run. France decides how its own residents, and its own tax administration, treat that structure. The two systems do not always give the same answer, and the gaps are where families run into trouble.

This page explains the two views side by side and lists the declarations that typically arise. It is general information, not advice. The French side in particular depends on the residence, assets and family situation of each person, so it needs a French adviser alongside a Mauritian one.

How Mauritius sees the trust

Under the Trusts Act 2001, which came into force on 1 December 2001, a trust is a relationship, not a legal person. The assets are held by the trustee for the beneficiaries. For the wider framework, see Mauritius trust law for families.

A few Mauritian rules matter directly to a French family:

• A trust is presumed irrevocable by the settlor unless it expressly provides for revocation (section 11).
• The settlor may also be trustee, beneficiary, protector or enforcer, but cannot be the only beneficiary (section 8). The same section provides that a transfer by a non-citizen settlor cannot be set aside under the succession rules of the settlor's domicile or nationality.
• A qualified trustee is a FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence), or another Mauritius-resident person authorised by the FSC to provide trustee services (section 2).

That last point on succession rules is a statement about Mauritian courts. It does not bind a French court, which applies its own rules on heirs and on gifts. This is why forced heirship deserves separate attention for a French family.

How French law and the French tax administration tend to see it

France has no trust of its own in the Anglo-Saxon sense, and it approaches foreign trusts mainly through tax law. Without going into the detail of each provision, three ideas recur:

1. Look-through. A French resident settlor, or a French resident beneficiary, is often treated as the person connected to the assets for tax purposes, whatever the trust deed says about legal ownership.
2. Transparency obligations. French rules require declarations about foreign trusts and about the persons linked to them, and there is a dedicated reporting regime for trusts with a French connection. Penalties for omission are significant, which is why late discovery is expensive.
3. Characterisation of transfers. A transfer into the trust, a distribution out of it and the death of the settlor can each be analysed by French tax rules as a gift, an inheritance or a taxable event. The treatment depends on the type of trust, the powers kept by the settlor and the relationship between settlor and beneficiaries.

None of this is a ban. It means the trust does not remove the family from French rules; it adds a layer to them. How the French view applies to a given structure is a question for a French tax lawyer. For the Mauritian comparison with the French civil-law fiduciary arrangement, see fiducie and trust compared.

Two views of the same trust

What Mauritius taxes, and what that means for a French family

Under the Income Tax Act as consolidated to the Finance Act 2026, a trust is taxable on its taxable income at the Part IV rate of the First Schedule, which is 15%. Section 46(2) still refers to a trust whose settlor is non-resident (or a Global Business Licence holder) and whose beneficiaries are all non-resident, but that trust remains taxed at the same 15% rate.

The former exemption for a non-resident trust on filing a declaration of non-residence, section 46(3), was repealed by the Finance Act 2021 with deemed effect from 1 July 2021. It no longer exists in the consolidated text. Any older document that relies on it is out of date.

A distribution to a beneficiary is deemed to be a dividend for that beneficiary under section 46(4). What a French resident beneficiary then owes in France is a separate question; see tax for non-resident beneficiaries and the general page on how trusts are taxed in Mauritius. Mauritian tax paid does not automatically cancel French tax, and the relief available depends on the facts and on the tax treaty between the two countries.

Information shared between Mauritius and France

A French family should assume that information about the structure can reach the French administration. Two channels are worth knowing:

• The Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Mauritian financial institutions report each year to the Mauritius Revenue Authority the financial accounts held by non-residents, for exchange with treaty partners.
• Beneficial ownership records. Under the FIAMLA 2002, the beneficial owner of a trust-type arrangement includes the settlor, the trustee, any protector, each beneficiary (or the class of beneficiaries and the objects of a power) and any other individual with ultimate effective control, including through a chain of control. A qualified trustee is a reporting person, must apply customer due diligence and must report suspicious transactions. Knowingly giving false due diligence information can be punished by a fine of up to Rs 500 000 and 5 years' imprisonment.

The trustee must also keep accounts and records, and an alphabetical register of the names and last known addresses of each beneficiary and settlor, including for a foreign non-resident trust it administers. Accounting records are kept for at least 5 years after the operations concerned are completed (section 38(3) of the Trusts Act). For the public side of this, see whether there is a register of trusts: the FSC keeps a register under section 26A of the Financial Services Act 2007 for domestic trusts and for foreign trusts with at least one qualified trustee.

A French settlor should therefore expect that their identity is known to the trustee, to the banks dealing with the trust and, through the relevant channels, to the authorities.

Which declarations typically arise in France

The exact list depends on the family. These are the categories to check with a French adviser, not a complete statement of French law:

• A declaration of the existence of the trust and of its parties, as a settlor or beneficiary resident in France.
• Declarations of foreign accounts held by or for the trust, where the French resident is linked to them.
• Reporting of transfers into the trust, of distributions and of any change of trustee, beneficiary or settlor powers.
• Declarations on the death of the settlor, when French inheritance rules may be engaged.
• Annual income tax reporting of any income attributed to the French resident.

The trustee in Mauritius cannot make these declarations on behalf of the family. They sit with the French resident, so the trustee should be asked early for the documents the French adviser will need: the trust deed, the accounts, the register of beneficiaries and the trustee's confirmation of who holds which powers.

Choosing the structure with France in mind

Several design choices change how the French side reads the trust.

Settlor powers. A settlor who keeps wide powers makes the link to the assets stronger in French eyes. The Trusts Act allows broad reserved powers, but wide powers and a light separation of assets can also invite the argument that the arrangement is a sham trust. Discuss the balance with an adviser. See also the role of the settlor.

Revocability. Because Mauritian law presumes irrevocability, a trust that is expressly revocable is a deliberate choice and tends to be treated differently for tax purposes.

Protector. Section 24 allows a protector, who may be the settlor, with powers that can include removing and appointing trustees and changing the governing law, unless the deed says otherwise. A protector holding wide powers will be seen as a person with effective control under the FIAMLA definition.

Foundation or trust. A Mauritian foundation is a different vehicle: it is taxed at 15% on its taxable income under section 49A, and its distributions are treated as dividends. The exemption for a foundation with non-resident founder and beneficiaries, formerly in sections 49A(2) and (3), was repealed by the Finance Act 2021. For the comparison, see trust vs foundation.

A way to organise the work

Checklist before going further

• Confirm the tax residence of the settlor and of each beneficiary
• Ask a French adviser how the trust would be characterised for French tax
• List the French heirs and check the effect on them
• Decide how much power the settlor keeps, and whether a protector is needed
• Check that the trust deed is not revocable by mistake or by design
• Collect identity and source-of-wealth documents for the trustee's due diligence
• Identify each French declaration and who files it
• Keep copies of the deed, accounts and register for the French file
• Review the whole structure each year, for example with the annual trust review checklist

When the trust is not the right tool

For some French families the trust adds complexity without a clear benefit. If the aim is to organise inheritance among children, French civil rules may already offer the tools, and a trust may raise as many questions as it answers. The decision path below is a first filter, not a recommendation.

If you want a Mauritian licensed provider to look at a specific case, send a request through the contact form.