Botswana
Botswana Economic Citizenship — legislated by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2025 (No. 30 of 2025), under implementation and not yet open
Africa's most closely watched forthcoming citizenship programme — announced by President Duma Boko on 26 September 2025 and legislated within three months. The case for Botswana is sovereign substance rather than raw mobility: one of the world's better-governed states, scoring 58/100 and ranking 41st on Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index — ahead of several EU members — rated Free by Freedom House at 75/100, a stable multi-party democracy of 2.5 million people with a US$19.9 billion economy, roughly 23 diplomatic missions worldwide and Commonwealth membership since 1966. The passport reaches roughly 80 destinations but the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada all require visas: this is a citizenship of standing in a substantial, well-run state, not a travel upgrade. The Act is passed and assented; the commencement order, the Regulations, the official price and the application procedure are still to come. Price signals circulating in the market are indicative, not statutory, and we quote none of them. We hold a waiting list and confirm the gazetted terms the day they exist.
Announced — not yet open · waiting list Figures drawn from primary law and official sources — programmes change, so we confirm the exact current terms with admitted local counsel before you applyHow you will qualify.
Contribution
No statutory minimum exists yet. The Minister told Parliament in December 2025 that the amount would be determined with the relevant stakeholders, and the operative figure awaits the Regulations and a gazetted fee schedule. Figures circulating in commercial registration material and in press coverage are indicative only, none of them statutory, and none is quoted here. We quote nothing until the schedule is gazetted; waiting-list registrants receive the confirmed figures the day they exist.
Global mobility.
Botswana is on the EU visa-required list (Annex I, Regulation (EU) 2018/1806), so a Schengen visa must be obtained before travel.
The UK imposed a visit-visa requirement on Botswana nationals on 14 October 2025 with immediate effect, ending visa-free entry and ETA eligibility.
Botswana is not in the US Visa Waiver Program, so ESTA is not available; a B-1/B-2 (or other) US visa is required.
There is no visa-free or eTA access for Botswana citizens.
Roughly 80 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations on the 2026 industry count. The genuine strengths sit regionally — South Africa and much of Southern Africa and the Commonwealth — while the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada all require visas. The proposition is the standing, stability and governance of the issuing state, held for life and hereditary; families who need European access pair it with an EU residence permit, which is exactly how we structure it.
Join the Botswana waiting list.
The framework is law; the final terms are not. No official price, dependant rules or application procedure have been published, and anyone quoting a figure today is quoting a number the government has not set. Joining the list commits you to nothing — it means that on the day the terms are gazetted, you hear from us first.
What you receive when it opens: the confirmed official figures, the process as enacted, and our honest view of whether Botswana is right for your family — weighed against the programmes already open, before you commit to anything.
Join the waiting list · Botswana
Leave your details and your place is held. We come back to you personally the day the official terms exist — and in the meantime, if a programme already open would serve you better, we say so.
Kestrel Private is a discreet private-client advisory led personally by Andrew J. Taylor, formerly Vice Chairman of Henley & Partners. He has served private clients from more than 30 countries, and at Kestrel you have one senior relationship from initial strategy through implementation.
What's involved in Botswana citizenship.
- Family inclusion
- Not yet prescribed. Dependant scope, family pricing and the documentary position for spouses and children sit in the forthcoming Regulations.
- Due diligence
- Not yet prescribed in detail, but the framework's boundaries are already legislated. During the December 2025 parliamentary debate the Minister confirmed that economic citizens will be excluded from registering or voting in elections, holding public office, free education in government-owned or funded schools, government funding, allocation of state or tribal land, and service in the disciplined forces. Vetting standards, fees and the application procedure follow in the Regulations.
- Timeline
- Announced 26 September 2025; the Bill was published 14 November 2025, passed by Parliament 17 December 2025 and assented to. The Ministry told Parliament in February 2026 that the Act takes effect on completion of its Regulations, expected during 2026 — and as of August 2026 applications have not opened. Registrations of interest are being taken while implementation completes, and we plan client conversations around the gazetted commencement rather than any marketed date.
- Physical presence
- Not yet prescribed. No residence, visit or language requirement has been published; the Regulations will state the position and we put it in writing once they exist.
- Tax
- Citizenship alone does not create Botswana tax residence — that turns on where you actually live. A client's existing tax residence, CRS reporting and any exit-tax exposure are unaffected by the passport itself, and we model the client's actual position before any commitment.
- 26 September 2025 — President Duma Boko announced the programme, and Botswana retained Arton Capital under a memorandum of understanding signed the same day at the UN General Assembly in New York.
- 14 November 2025 — Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Bill No. 30 of 2025) published in the Gazette.
- 16 December 2025 — the Minister told Parliament the investment amount would be determined with stakeholders, and confirmed the civic-rights boundaries: economic citizens will not vote or stand in elections, hold public office, access free government schooling or government funding, be allocated state or tribal land, or serve in the disciplined forces.
- 17 December 2025 — Parliament voted in favour of the Bill; the Act (No. 30 of 2025) has been assented to.
- 12 December 2025 / 16 April 2026 — the companion National Registration (Amendment) Bill (No. 35 of 2025), providing for multiple citizenship and economic citizenship in the national registration system, was published and then presented to the National Assembly.
- 26 February 2026 — the Ministry told the Committee of Supply that the Act will come into effect upon completion of its Regulations during the course of 2026.
- As of August 2026 — no commencement order, gazetted fee schedule or open application procedure exists. The figures circulating in registration material and press coverage are indicative, not statutory, and are not quoted.
- The sovereign-substance case: 58/100 and rank 41 on Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, Freedom House 75/100 (Free, 2026), population 2.52 million, GDP US$19.9 billion (World Bank, 2025), roughly 23 diplomatic missions worldwide, and Commonwealth membership since 1966.
The governing law — in our library.
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2025 (No. 30 of 2025): the Bill was published in the Gazette on 14 November 2025, passed by Parliament on 17 December 2025 and has been assented to. The Ministry told Parliament's Committee of Supply on 26 February 2026 that the Act will come into effect upon completion of its Regulations during the course of 2026 — as of August 2026 no commencement order, gazetted fee schedule or open application procedure exists. A companion National Registration (Amendment) Bill (No. 35 of 2025), providing for multiple citizenship and economic citizenship in the national registration system, was published on 12 December 2025 and presented to the National Assembly on 16 April 2026. · Administered by Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Republic of Botswana — the Bill was tabled by the Minister, Maj. Gen. Pius Mokgware. Programme development is supported by Arton Capital under a memorandum of understanding signed at the UN General Assembly in New York on 26 September 2025, the day President Duma Boko announced the initiative..
Documents marked “held by Kestrel” are mirrored on our own servers from the official source, so the reference is always available.
Botswana, answered.
- How much will Botswana citizenship by investment cost?
- No statutory minimum exists yet. The Minister told Parliament in December 2025 that the amount would be determined with the relevant stakeholders, and the operative figure awaits the Regulations and a gazetted fee schedule. Figures circulating in commercial registration material and in press coverage are indicative only, none of them statutory, and none is quoted here. We quote nothing until the schedule is gazetted; waiting-list registrants receive the confirmed figures the day they exist.
- When will Botswana's citizenship-by-investment programme open?
- Announced 26 September 2025; the Bill was published 14 November 2025, passed by Parliament 17 December 2025 and assented to. The Ministry told Parliament in February 2026 that the Act takes effect on completion of its Regulations, expected during 2026 — and as of August 2026 applications have not opened. Registrations of interest are being taken while implementation completes, and we plan client conversations around the gazetted commencement rather than any marketed date.
- Does the Botswana passport allow visa-free travel to the Schengen Area?
- Visa required. Botswana is on the EU visa-required list (Annex I, Regulation (EU) 2018/1806), so a Schengen visa must be obtained before travel.
- Can I include my family in the Botswana application?
- Not yet prescribed. Dependant scope, family pricing and the documentary position for spouses and children sit in the forthcoming Regulations.
- What due diligence does Botswana require?
- Not yet prescribed in detail, but the framework's boundaries are already legislated. During the December 2025 parliamentary debate the Minister confirmed that economic citizens will be excluded from registering or voting in elections, holding public office, free education in government-owned or funded schools, government funding, allocation of state or tribal land, and service in the disciplined forces. Vetting standards, fees and the application procedure follow in the Regulations.
- Does Botswana citizenship grant the right to live in the European Union?
- No. Botswana citizenship can confer a second passport and visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel, but it grants no right to live, work or settle in the EU and no path to an EU passport. For a European foothold, residence by investment is the direct route.
First through the door, or better served elsewhere.
The programme is legislated but not yet open. Join the waiting list above and we confirm the gazetted terms the day they exist — or tell us what the family is trying to achieve now, and we weigh Botswana honestly against the programmes already open. A private conversation with the Founder and Managing Partner, in confidence and without obligation.
General guidance, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Figures are verified to 2026 against official primary sources, and eligibility, thresholds and timelines are confirmed in writing before you commit to anything.