Should Americans Get African Passports?

Last week I wrote about new countries joining the citizenship-by-investment (CBI) market. Eight newcomers have announced their intention to sell citizenship, nearly doubling the existing offerings.

Most of these new CBI programs are in the conceptual stages. But this week I saw an article discussing expressions of interest to the southern African country of Botswana, whose program is scheduled to open early next year. Preliminary as they are, the statistics are revealing.

Remember that CBI is a way to get a second citizenship and thereby a passport from another country without having ancestral links or spending time to naturalize as a citizen. Once you’re approved, you pay your money, and you get your citizenship and passport. You don’t have to live there, or in many cases, ever visit.

But as I mentioned last week, countries that go overboard with a laissez-faire approach to CBI run the risk of losing visa-free access to regions like the European Union and the US. To avoid trouble, potential CBI citizens should choose countries with a good track record of governance and limited corruption. And if a Plan B abroad in an emergency is part of your planning, it should be a pleasant enough place to live.

Botswana ticks both of those boxes and more besides.

• Botswana has historically enjoyed good governance, strong rule of law, and prudent economic management. It’s rated as the least corrupt country in Africa.
• English is the lingua franca, and the culture is more relaxed and peaceful than neighboring South Africa and Zimbabwe. Crime is very low. Healthcare is delivered by the public sector and is good for the African context. Anyone needing more advanced care simply goes to South Africa.
• Thanks to one of the world’s largest diamond mines, along with a highly successful tourism industry, GDP per capita is in upper-middle-income range.
• Most of the country is semi-arid bushland with large chunks of desert and the seasonal Okavango Delta. The population density is very low so there is plenty of space for newcomers.
• The capital Gaborone is only an hour’s flight from Johannesburg, with connections all over the globe.
• Foreign-source income is not subject to local taxation, the same as popular expat destinations like Panama and Costa Rica.

Notably, holders of Botswana passports don’t enjoy visa-free access to the EU, the US, or Canada. That means Botswana passports will be of little interest to people from typically disfavored countries like Russia and China. As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, however, Batswana does enjoy expanded travel rights to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

This mix of pros and cons, I predict, will make Botswana attractive to potential CBI citizens interested in more than just a passport—in other words, people like you and me. It’s a lovely little country, peaceful, well-run, beautiful and with a nice climate… a perfect place to go if things get to be too much at home.

The evidence suggests I am right:

• 98% of people who signed an expression of interest in Botswana CBI between September 26th and October 3rd this year represented themselves, and did not use a migration agency, which is typically the case with applicants focused on a passport.
• Nearly half of potential applicants were from Western countries—and almost half of those from the US. (In other words: Nearly a quarter of all those who expressed interest were American.)
• 70% of those expressing interest had a net worth of less than $1 million. Only 6% had a net worth of larger than $10 million, which is a far cry from CBI in places like the Caribbean.

This last point reflects the fact that a retired couple applying jointly will end up paying only a little over $100,000 to get Botswana citizenship and a passport. The current proposals are for a $75,000 contribution for an individual with $90,000 for a couple. Fees are likely to add around $10,000 to both.

This would make Botswana’s CBI program the cheapest in the world (apart from Pakistan’s at $18,000, which is only available to nationals of 54 countries and hardly ever used.)

I’ve spent a lot of time in that part of Africa, and I can tell you it’s absolutely glorious. Thousands of South Africans have second homes in Botswana or have lived there on and off. It’s highly regarded in this part of the world and deserves the serious attention of anyone looking for a Plan B through CBI.

And of course, as someone who both lives in the region and is an expert in international migration, I’m well qualified to help if you’d like to check it out for yourself!