Botswana

Investor work permit. A noncitizen investor must show investment through bank statements, operating premises, company registration, a trade licence, company profile, employee list and identified assets, plus passport and photos.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Investor work permit

Permission to invest for profit in the approved Botswana business. A separate residence permit is required for a stay beyond the visitation period.

Who qualifies

A noncitizen investor must show investment through bank statements, operating premises, company registration, a trade licence, company profile, employee list and identified assets, plus passport and photos.
Botswana government, work permit application
A separate Botswana residence permit is required for a stay beyond the visitation period; the government lists a 30-working-day service target.
Botswana government, residence permit application

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

It could fit.

A noncitizen investor must show investment through bank statements, operating premises, company registration, a trade licence, company profile, employee list and identified assets, plus passport and photos.

Every option that fits your family

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Time: Government service target: 14 working days for the work permit; separate residence application target: 30 working days.
Cost: Budget for the application documents, certification, police or medical records and travel in addition to any charge collected at filing.
The hard part: Proving an operating investment and obtaining both work and residence approvals.

Citizens by 2039.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
2 years, renewable for 2 years at a time.
2029
Renew the permit
Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 2 years.
2031
Renew the permit
Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 2 years.
2032
Permanent residence
Permanent residence is a separate discretionary application after at least five years’ lawful residence, supported by residence and work records, means and good character.
2038
Apply for citizenship
With a language test.
2039
Citizenship

Language: Sufficient Setswana or a language spoken by a Botswana tribal community.
Time away: The whole 12 months immediately before applying, plus at least ten years in total during the preceding 12 years.
Two passports: Usually not: new citizens are asked to give up their other citizenship.

The investor work permit must be paired with residence permission; lawful residence can then build the separate permanence and naturalisation applications.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
This country asks new citizens to give up their other citizenship.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax: Where you become tax resident follows the days you spend there and where your home is. We map it for your family before you move.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Open the official investor work permit procedure and assemble the listed filing documents.Open gov.bw ↗
Gather these documents.
- The business plan, and the endorsement or approval it needs
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

Postern can run this for you.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.One membership, the whole family. Bank accounts and help putting your plan into action are included.

Postern runs it for One adult US citizen applying alone, already lawfully in Gaborone, with an incorporated, trade-licensed Botswana company, premises, documented invested funds, assets and employee records; company formation and trade licensing are separate: Labour work-permit application and collection, Immigration residence endorsement and recurring renewal of both permissions in Gaborone.

19 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Opening your bank accounts there is included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Government fees, record fees and other costs you approve are extra.

Run it for my family →

ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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POSTERN