Botswana’s attempt to enter the global citizenship-by-investment market has stalled with the much-hyped programme failing to open on schedule. The result is that would-be investors have been left in limbo.
The Impact Citizenship Program which was promoted as a gateway to citizenship in exchange for a financial contribution is still not operational and is not accepting applications. This is according to the latest update from DirectCitizenship.com. The platform says the government is still scrambling to finalise the legal, institutional and administrative machinery needed to launch the scheme. What was marketed as a fast-track entry into Botswana citizenship has instead turned into a drawn-out delay. This has raised questions about whether the programme is ready for international investors at all.
First unveiled in 2025, the programme was designed to attract foreign capital and position Botswana as a new player in the controversial global ‘citizenship-for-sale’ industry. Early proposals suggested investors could obtain citizenship through contributions estimated between US$75,000 and US$90,000, alongside a licensed-agent system and acceptance of dual citizenship. But the launch expected in early 2026 never materialised. Instead, officials are still working behind the scenes to build the framework required to process applications effectively freezing the programme before it has even begun.
‘Botswana has moved materially towards establishing citizenship by investment, but the announced programme has not yet become an active application route,’ DirectCitizenship.com noted in its assessment. The setback comes despite Botswana’s Parliament approving citizenship legislation in December 2025, a move intended to allow dual nationality and enable the investment-linked citizenship model. However, the legal green light has proven insufficient. The legislation did not activate the programme itself, and key regulatory systems including application processing structures and compliance mechanisms remain incomplete. According to DirectCitizenship.com, these missing components are essential before any formal applications can be accepted. In other words, the law exists but the programme does not.
While a registration portal has allowed interested individuals to submit expressions of interest, officials have made clear that this does not constitute an application and offers no guarantee of future approval. More than 600 prospective investors are reported to have registered interest during the programme’s development phase, but none have been able to proceed further.
DirectCitizenship.com says Botswana has no confirmed launch date and no applications are currently being processed. It warns that the delay also risks undermining Botswana’s attempt to compete in a growing African citizenship-by-investment market. Other countries have already moved ahead. São Tomé and Príncipe offers citizenship from around US$90,000, while Sierra Leone’s programme starts at approximately US$140,000 for a single applicant. Botswana, once positioned as a potentially more affordable and stable alternative, now finds itself stuck on the sidelines. For now Botswana’s citizenship-by-investment initiative exists largely on paper. The promise of a streamlined, contribution-based route to citizenship has not translated into a functioning system.