18 Dec 2025

The National Assembly on Wednesday voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill of 2025, tabled by the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware.
The amendments to the current Citizenship Act brought about by the bill would permit multiple citizenship, where a person is legally permitted to be a citizen of Botswana and other countries simultaneously, in particular targeting high end investors.
Maj. Gen. Mokgware said Botswana was part of a globally competitive economic environment and thus sought to lure investors to be domiciled in the country, in order to create jobs, increase the country’s revenue streams and help finance its economic transformation efforts.
The minister said there were many considerations that investors made before choosing where to locate their business, and the citizenship programme would make Botswana a more conducive climate for luring capital into the country.
He allayed MPs’ concerns that the new piece of legislation could engender economic crime, stating that Botswana had the capacity to vet out any criminal elements, and only target genuine investors, and there would be requisite checks and balances.
The Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Ms Nono Kgafela-Mokoka said her experience of visiting the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was that their city developed rapidly, turning a desert to world class status, owing to the UAE freely permitting high value individuals to gain citizenship while holding their original nationality.
She said the bill clearly stipulated in section 4 that it specifically targeted people who would be involved in manufacturing, mining and energy, agriculture, infrastructure, financial services, tourism, technology and digitalisation, sport and creatives, health, green energy and renewable energy, as well as other sectors as prescribed.
Francistown South MP and Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said permitting multiple citizenship would help Botswana to curb the brain drain of citizen doctors and other professionals trained at a great cost to the country renouncing Botswana citizenship upon getting job offers elsewhere.
He said the country needed to be industrialised and through the bill, Botswana was seeking to lure investors to create jobs and generate wealth in areas such as the manufacturing sector.
Mr Mmolotsi said those who gained citizenship under the system would be denied full rights such as the right to vote, in recognition of the fact that they would also have allegiance to their other countries of citizenship, but in this country, their citizenship would principally facilitate their investment.
To the contrary, Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana said the new bill would pose challenges, particularly since there was no cap on the number of citizenships of other states the Botswana passport holder could have.
Mr Nkawana said the new legislation could open a route for Botswana to be utilised by unscrupulous businessmen engaged in such corrupt practices.
Maun East MP, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile said he had publicly supported the notion of the introduction of dual citizenship, particularly to cater for children who were born to a Motswana parent married to a non-citizen, in order that they would not have to renounce their Botswana citizenship as had been the case before.
But he said he was against multiple citizenship offered for economic purposes as it could make Botswana susceptible to corruption and economic crime. Mr Kekgonegile said this could lead to the Botswana passport losing its value, whereas it had hitherto been globally recognised as one of the most respected in the African continent with visa free entry to many jurisdictions.
Kgatleng East MP, Mr Mabuse Pule said a piece of legislation was not necessary, stating that targeted investors could be offered permanent residence instead of citizenship.
Mr Pule said those offered multiple citizenship might in future legally seek the full rights of citizenship. The majority of MPs voted in favour of the bill, which now passes the second reading and heads to the committee stage for detailed clause by clause scrutiny before it could pass and await to be signed into law. ENDS