20 Nov 2022

Investors can be considered for Botswana citizenship if they have been recommended by the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).

Answering a question in Parliament, Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Ms Annah Mokgethi said investors could get special dispensation from the President for citizenship of Botswana, under Section 10 of the Citizen Act.

She said the President could consider citizenship as an honour for an investor who has rendered distinguished service to Botswana.

Also, she said the investor could be considered for citizenship if there were special circumstances that the President saw as warranting such gesture.

Ms Mokgethi noted that from 2018 to date, of the 25 applications that were supported by BITC, 11 had been approved and one rejected while 13 were still under consideration.

Meanwhile, Ms Mokgethi said in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years three farmers at Pandamatenga applied for citizenship, with two approved and one rejected.

However, she said her Ministry facilitated long-term stay in Residence Permit and Permanent Residence permits.

She said prospective citizens should apply themselves and go an extra mile to demonstrate that they could contribute significantly to the development of this country once granted citizenship.

She was answering a question from MP for Nata/Gweta, Mr Paulson Majaga, who wanted to know if there was a special plan to grant foreign investors doing business in Botswana citizenship, especially those who had resided in the country for more than five years.

He also asked the minster if she was aware of farmers in Pandamatenga who had applied for citizenship, but were rejected without reasons. ENDS