16 Dec 2025

The government has brought before Parliament a bill to introduce citizenship by investment programme, to attract investors and stimulate economic growth.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2025 was presented by Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Maj. Gen. Mokgware on Monday.
Key among the major changes in the law is the introduction of multiple citizenship, which is a departure from  the recently introduced dual citizenship and introduction of citizenship by investment, which Minister Mokgware said with the country faced with high unemployment rate, particularly among youth, the amendment aimed to lure investors who would, in turn, assist in job creation and bring more skills into the country, thus creating employment opportunities.
Unlike dual citizenship, which demands a waiting period of up to 10 years before applying, he said the citizenship programme would allow multiple citizenship, as well as allowing those interested to apply immediately.
Nonetheless, there would be set requirements they would have to satisfy.The minister said an investor would be expected to have a set amount of money and invest in the country within an agreed period.
Failure to comply with the set contractual agreement would lead to the loss or withdrawal of Botswana citizenship.
Minister Mokgware explained that even developed countries have similar programmes targeting investors and people with specific skills, he further noted that investors would be thoroughly assessed by multiple stakeholders, including security organs, to ensure that they had no linkages or records of criminal behaviour, such as money laundering, illicit drugs, and human trafficking, among others.
He said this was to ensure that the country did not fall back into grey listing.
However, the minister said he was not in a position to state the amount of money that would be required for one to qualify for the country’s citizenship, but it would be determined by all relevant stakeholders, though the country should be competitive and also compare with what was happening in other countries.
Among the skills the country would be looking to attract include manufacturing, mining and energy, agriculture, infrastructure, financial services, and green economy and renewable energy, among others, or such sectors that might be prescribed.
Even with Botswana citizenship, the minister said such investors would not be allowed to among others, register or vote in the general elections or any elections under the Local Government Act, hold public office, have access to free education in any school owned or funded by the government, apply for government funding, be allocated state or tribal land, and work in disciplined forces.
The money from the programme would be channeled into the Economic Citizenship, whose minister would prescribe its use, Minister Mokgware said and added that such citizens would not have to commit any financial crime while in Botswana or outside the country, and that the minister could withdraw their citizenship should they fail to fulfill their obligations.
However, Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile, said the bill looked good from a distance, as it could present good economic opportunities, but warned that it also exposed the country to financial terrorism, corruption, and eventually grey listing.
He doubted that government had the capacity to implement such a law, adding that the government had failed to implement the dual citizenship programme, especially for people living along border lines.
Mr Kekgonegile said the country lacked the capacity to implement multiple citizenship and the ability to detect money laundering.
He also said the proposed bill raised litigation dilemmas, as it intended to withhold certain rights from the programme beneficiaries, yet the Constitution bestowed such rights upon them.
The legislator therefore, called on the government to ensure that the vetting process would be thoroughly done, to protect the interests of the country, as well as the value of the country’s passport.
Letsweletau-Lephephe MP, Mr Tshenolo Bogatsu, supported the bill on the basis that it sought to introduce what many other countries were doing to grow their economies and attract skills.
Mr Bogatsu further noted that luring investors through investment could also be advantageous for rural communities, which were struggling to attract foreign direct investment.
The MP noted that most communities, like his constituency, had resources that needed investors to partner with, stressing that the bill could provide a solution, once turned into law.
He dismissed those arguing that the bill opened the door to state capture, noting that many countries had the same arrangement but had never experienced anything of the sort. ENDS