Reply: The Employment Division which operates under the aegis of my Ministry issues Work Permits to foreign workers in line with the Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act 1970. On the other hand, Occupation Permits and Young Professional Occupation Permits are issued by the Economic Development Board under the Economic Development Board Act 2017 and the Immigration Act 2022. With regard to part (a) of the question, as at 31 October 2025, there were 47,680 expatriates holding a valid Work Permit as compared to 37,768 as at December 2023 and 48,004 as at December 2024. As for Occupation Permits, I am informed that there were 5,049 holders of Occupation Permits, including 77 Young professionals for period ending 31 October 2025. As at 31 December 2023, there were 3,403 holders of Occupation Permit including 44 Young Professionals and 5,019 Occupation Permit holders as at 31 December 2024 including 75 Young professionals. With regard to part (b) of the question, the required information is being placed in the Library of the National Assembly. I wish to inform the House that, as at 31 October 2025, 95% of the foreign workforce with a valid Work Permit consisted of workers from India, Nepal, Madagascar, and Bangladesh. Approximately 80% of the workers work in the Manufacturing and Construction sectors. Work Permits issued cover some 4,541 different occupations.

151 As for the eligibility criteria, same would depend on the sectors of activity under which the Work Permit is being issued. In line with the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Work Permit Issues, the principles of Permission in Principle, ratio and quota are no longer applicable. Employers have to show evidence of efforts made to recruit locally in the first instance by contacting the Employment Information Centres for list of eligible jobseekers and by posting their vacancies on the MauritiusJobs platform. If they are unable to recruit locally, they are provided with a report to show evidence of inability to recruit which makes them eligible to employ foreign workers. For Work Permit, the assessment process involves basic verification of the employer’s profile and ensuring that conditions pertaining to the conditions of contract of employment and lodging arrangements are in line with existing legal provisions. New applications are assessed by a Technical Committee on Work Permit prior to approval by my Ministry. With a view to streamlining the assessment process, the Technical Committee, which was previously under the Prime Minister’s Office, has now been transferred to my Ministry as recommended in the Inter- Ministerial Committee Report. As for Occupation Permits issued by the EDB, same are assessed by a Joint Committee at the level of the Prime Minister’s Office. I am informed that for Occupation Permits, the average processing time is 23 working days as from the date of effective application, that is, from the date the application is complete, while the average processing time for Work Permits is 22 working days as from the date of payment of the application fee. A significant increase in the number of applications received has been noted this year and to cope with the increased workload, my Ministry has taken numerous measures to streamline procedures. Since 01 September 2025, Work Permits are being issued electronically to employers, thus eliminating the need to print and manually sign the Work Permits. Applications for Work Permits are now processed concurrently with applications for Lodging and Accommodation Permits so as to save on processing time. Enhancements are being brought to the National Electronic Licensing System for faster processing of applications. Furthermore, in view of the substantial increase in the number of applications received, my Ministry has made a request for additional staff for processing the applications. The request has

152 been approved and additional Management Support Officers are being posted to the Work Permit Unit of my Ministry. The Prime Minister’s Office, the Economic Development Board and my Ministry are working on a new system for the processing and grant of Work Permits, namely the Rules Based Work Permit System and this system is expected to further reduce the processing time for the issue of work permits by my Ministry. BEAU PLATEAU ROAD (GOODLANDS TO COTTAGE) – ROAD EXPANSION, PAVEMENTS & HANDRAILS INSTALLATION