Sao Tome and Principe · Residency by investment
Sao Tome and Principe Citizenship by Investment Programme
A statutory direct-citizenship programme established under Decree-Law No. 07/2025, building on Nationality Law No. 07/2022. It launched in August 2025, applications opened in September 2025, and the first passport was issued in January 2026. It is operated by a Citizenship by Investment Unit run as a public-private partnership from Dubai, under a reported 10-year exclusive mandate held by a private operator, Passport Legacy.
This is one of the lowest-cost direct-citizenship routes anywhere. But what you are buying is a weak passport from an untested programme, not meaningful mobility.
Qualifying routes
A non-refundable contribution to the state National Transformation Fund, for a single applicant.
This covers the main applicant plus a spouse and dependants, up to a family of four. Each additional dependant from the fifth person onward adds USD 5,000. There is also a separate, non-refundable processing fee, reported at around USD 5,000.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $90k
- Total landed cost
- Figure on roughly USD 90,000 for a single applicant, or USD 100,000+ for a family of four. That is before due diligence, processing (about USD 5,000) and licensed-agent fees. All in, expect something in the USD 100k-120k range.
- Route type
- Residency by investment
- Timeline
- 1–6 months (The provider reports an average of about 2.5 months to approval, with the fastest cases closer to 4 weeks. Passport issuance can add further months on top of that. Because this is a first-cohort programme, these timelines are largely unproven at scale.)
- Physical presence
- None. No visit to Sao Tome is required before, during or after the application. The unit is administered from Dubai.
- Family
- SpouseChildrenParentsGrandparents
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable. The programme grants full citizenship directly, not residency.
- Citizenship
- Immediate. Approved applicants receive citizenship and a passport with no prior residency period required.
- Language test
- None. The investment route carries no Portuguese language requirement, no residence requirement and no interview.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- The main applicant must be at least 18 years old.A clean criminal record, and a pass on the government's due-diligence and background checks.Proof of good financial standing and a lawful source of funds.A non-refundable contribution to the National Transformation Fund, at or above the applicable threshold.An application filed through a government-authorised agent.
- The programme is brand new. Its first passport was issued only in January 2026, so there is no track record yet. Long-term recognition, stability, and even whether the enabling Decree-Law survives future governments are all unproven. Treat this as high political and continuity risk.
- It is run as a public-private partnership, operated from Dubai by a private company rather than directly by Sao Tome's authorities. Sao Tome also has a documented history of dubious or fraudulent passport schemes. Verify the licence chain, and pay only into official government accounts, never a personal one.
- The passport itself is genuinely weak, covering roughly 56-61 destinations, with no visa-free access to the Schengen area, the UK or the US. Marketing figures of 90+ are inflated and should not factor into your decision.
- The programme and its network of providers are still new, so agent quality, refund terms and the rigor of due diligence vary widely. Confirm that your agent is officially authorised, and read the refund and failure clauses carefully before you pay.