Seychelles · Citizenship by investment
Citizenship by Investment (section 5C)
REPEALED. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 25 of 2023), assented by President Wavel Ramkalawan on 19 December 2023, is direct on this point. It repeals section 5C of the principal Act. Section 5C was the investor citizenship route, USD 1,000,000 plus 11 years' residence, inserted by Act 11 of 2013. The student route in section 5B was repealed at the same time. Presidential discretion was narrowed too, now limited to distinguished service and surviving spouses.
The strongest passport in Africa is no longer for sale at any price. It has not been since December 2023. Any agency still marketing Seychelles citizenship by investment is selling a section of the law that no longer exists. Treat that as a clear signal about how the firm operates.
Qualifying routes
USD 1m plus 11 years' residence. Repealed 19 December 2023.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $1M
- Total landed cost
- Not applicable. Repealed.
- Route type
- Citizenship by investment
- Physical presence
- Not applicable
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable
- Citizenship
- Only a few routes remain open. Marriage now requires 15 years married, up from 10 under the same 2023 Act, plus 2 years' aggregate residence, down from 5. There is also constitutional entitlement, and a presidential grant for distinguished service.
- Language test
- 80% in a qualifying examination in English, French or Seychellois Creole
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Repealed by Act 25 of 2023. If a firm quotes you a price for Seychelles citizenship by investment, it is either working from outdated material or misleading you.
- The marriage route was made harder at the same time, not easier. The marriage requirement went from 10 to 15 years, while the residence element fell from 5 to 2.
- As of July 2026, the government's own ICS FAQ page was still publishing the pre-2023 rule, 10 years of marriage and 5 years of residence, while a different ICS page publishes the post-2023 rule. Rely on the Act itself, not either page.
- Seychelles still guarantees dual citizenship under its constitution. No law can require renunciation as a condition of becoming a Seychellois citizen. That makes the repeal sting more, not less. It was the only African CBI programme whose passport was actually worth having and whose citizenship you could hold alongside another.