- From Egypt to Botswana, African States Compete for Global Wealth Through Investment Migration
African countries are expanding citizenship- and residency-by-investment programmes as the European Union’s retreat from so-called golden passports pushes wealthy investors to search for alternative routes to mobility, residence and geographic diversification.
The shift does not mean African passports can replicate the benefits of European Union citizenship, particularly free movement across the bloc. But it is creating a new competitive market in which governments are trying to convert global demand for mobility and residency into foreign investment.
A new 519-page report by Kestrel Private argues that the disappearance of formal investor-citizenship programmes across the EU has not removed the motivations that made them attractive. Wealthy families continue to seek easier international mobility, residence rights, access to international assets and greater flexibility over where they live, invest and educate their children.
Egypt already operates one of the continent’s established citizenship-by-investment schemes, with a minimum investment threshold of US$250,000. São Tomé and Príncipe introduced its programme in 2025, with citizenship available through a contribution to the National Transformation Fund reportedly beginning at US$90,000. Sierra Leone also offers investment-linked citizenship and permanent residence through its Go For Gold programme.
But some of the most notable developments are emerging in residency rather than outright citizenship.
Ethiopia plans to introduce a 10-year Golden Visa during the 2026/27 fiscal year, requiring a minimum investment of US$10 million. Investors committing US$5 million could potentially qualify where projects create significant local employment, giving Ethiopia one of Africa’s highest proposed thresholds for an investor-residence scheme.
Mauritius is pursuing a different strategy. Its proposed Golden Visa targets up to 100 high-net-worth investors annually, with a minimum commitment of US$1 million. The programme is intended to channel capital towards sectors including fintech, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy and global treasury services.
Botswana is also preparing an Impact Citizenship Programme that would provide citizenship through an investment contribution, although further legal and implementation work is required before the scheme becomes fully operational.
The different approaches suggest Africa is not developing a single golden-passport model. Some countries are willing to offer citizenship, while others prefer long-term residence tied to substantial investment, job creation or strategic sectors.
Investment-migration programmes offer governments a means of attracting capital without relying entirely on conventional foreign direct investment promotion. Depending on how programmes are structured, funds can be channelled into infrastructure, development funds, real estate, technology or other productive activities.
For smaller economies, even a limited number of high-net-worth applicants can represent meaningful foreign-exchange inflows.
Yet the programmes also raise a more difficult policy question: whether governments are merely selling access or successfully transforming investor interest into productive domestic capital.
A programme that simply exchanges citizenship for a payment may generate immediate revenue but relatively limited long-term economic spillovers. A system requiring investors to establish businesses, create jobs or commit capital to productive sectors could potentially generate stronger development benefits, although it may prove less attractive to applicants seeking speed and flexibility.
The market itself remains sizeable. European Parliament research cited by Kestrel found that 3,811 citizenship-by-investment applications in EU member states between 2011 and 2019 covered 8,769 people, including relatives. Investor-residence programmes were considerably larger, accounting for 38,369 applications covering 123,374 people.
Greece continues to offer investor residency despite the wider collapse of EU citizenship-by-investment schemes. Kestrel reported that Greece had 30,439 investor permits and 56,917 permits for family members in force as of March 2026, covering 87,356 people. New initial applications, however, fell from 864 in March 2025 to 427 a year later.
An African passport obtained through investment does not confer EU citizenship. Likewise, an African Golden Visa provides residence rights in the issuing country rather than automatic freedom to live and work throughout Europe.
Instead, the emerging market may become more fragmented, with wealthy families combining different legal instruments across jurisdictions.
Kestrel’s report, for example, examines a hypothetical structure combining São Tomé and Príncipe citizenship, Greek investor residence and qualifying property in Greece. Each instrument remains legally separate, providing different benefits rather than one passport delivering everything.
That could strengthen Africa’s position even if the continent cannot reproduce the value proposition of an EU passport.
Countries may compete instead on tax frameworks, residence security, business opportunities, lifestyle, investment returns and access to regional markets. For African applicants themselves, second citizenship or residence can also provide greater mobility, education options, asset diversification and contingency planning.
Investor-citizenship schemes globally have faced scrutiny over due diligence, money laundering, tax evasion and the principle of allowing wealth to accelerate access to nationality. African governments entering the market will therefore need screening systems strong enough to protect the credibility of their passports and financial systems.
The commercial opportunity is consequently inseparable from governance.
Countries that design programmes purely around low entry prices may attract applicants quickly but risk undermining long-term confidence if vetting, transparency and use of proceeds are weak. Those that combine rigorous due diligence with credible investment requirements may be better positioned to convert mobility demand into durable economic value.
Europe’s retreat from golden passports has therefore not ended investment migration. It has changed its geography.
Africa is emerging as one of the regions attempting to capture some of that displaced demand, but the most successful programmes are unlikely to be those that simply offer the cheapest second passport.
The bigger opportunity lies in turning globally mobile wealth into businesses, jobs, technology and long-term capital ensuring that investment migration becomes more than a transaction between a passport and a cheque.
