Foreign business owners in Seychelles need permission to work for themselves

Plan the founder’s occupation permit separately from the project

Foreign nationals planning to work in their own business in Seychelles need a Gainful Occupation Permit, including where they are self-employed. Immigration says the self-employed applicant completes the application personally. Its guidance prohibits taking up employment before obtaining the permit and states that paid, unpaid, full-time and part-time work are covered. Incorporating a business does not establish the founder’s personal work permission.

Immigration directs prospective business owners first to submit a project memorandum to the Seychelles Investment Board. The permit application is then a separate step. Use this guide for a founder who intends to operate the business personally; hiring foreign employees creates their own permission requirements and does not make the founder’s permit cover the workforce.

Prepare the project for referral agencies rather than treating acknowledgement as approval

The Investment Board’s project process begins with a business plan and supporting documents under its guidelines. When the documents are in order, it describes registering the project and issuing an acknowledgement within forty-eight hours. That acknowledgement is an institutional milestone, not approval to begin work or a promise that every agency has completed its assessment.

The Board circulates the proposal to relevant government referral agencies for comments and recommendations. A presentation may be requested by an agency or required where an economic-needs assessment applies. Only after the comments are received, with no adverse comments, does the process describe a project go-ahead, subject to the referral agencies’ conditions. Keep the feedback letter and conditions with the business plan so later applications describe the same project.

• Prepare the project memorandum and supporting documents.
• Retain the acknowledgement, feedback letter and referral conditions.
• Confirm whether a project presentation or economic-needs assessment is required.

Establish whether the economic-needs assessment applies

The Board’s economic-needs guidance explains that this assessment considers whether proposed foreign investment fills a gap in a sector. The committee evaluates and recommends; it does not itself approve the business activity or replace the appropriate licence and certification. Ask the Board to identify whether the actual proposed activity requires this assessment before relying on a general description of an eligible sector.

If referred, the project memorandum and other documents go to the committee through the Board, and the investor presents the proposal and answers questions. The published scoring pass mark is 75%. Criteria include new or innovative products or services, economic and environmental sustainability, technology and local employment opportunities. Explain those features with evidence relevant to the project. Reaching a score is not described as automatic immigration permission.

Keep the business licence decision and payment distinct

The Licensing Authority’s foreign-applicant procedure begins with the project submission to the Investment Board and the resulting feedback letter. The applicant then lodges the new licence application with the Authority, which verifies the supporting documents and processes the file for inspection. Inspectors and consulting agencies compile a report before the licence approval decision.

The published sequence places the debit note and licence payment after approval by the chief executive or deputy. Licence issuance follows payment. This is a different decision and payment from the occupation permit. The reviewed procedure does not give a universal business-licence price or a guaranteed inspection date, so obtain the activity-specific requirements and charge from the Authority rather than budget only for immigration. Its published customer-service number is 4283400.

Budget for the occupation permit and check the remaining conditions

The Investment Board FAQ lists the occupation-permit processing charge as SCR 1,000 and the monthly permit fee as SCR 500. Immigration says the fee for the whole requested duration, including part-months, is payable on submission. For illustration, twelve chargeable months at the published rate are SCR 6,000, plus the processing charge; that arithmetic is not an approval of a twelve-month request or a complete business-startup budget.

The Board says its own facilitation services and tax-identification registration are free, while company-registration and licensing charges are separate. Its FAQ also says non-citizens must submit their project even if they have permanent residence or are married to a Seychellois. Do not infer a project-review exemption from either status. Contact the Board on +248 429 5500 to establish the activity classification and outstanding referrals; immigration must settle the founder’s individual work-permit conditions before operations begin.