Sao Tome and Principe
Citizenship by Investment
Minimum investment
USD 90,000
Processing time
officially targeted at 1-2.5 months from application to approval, with passport issuance around 3-4 months; however, as of mid-2026, independent trackers report the program experiencing significant delays, with applications now commonly taking 8 months or longer
Physical presence
none required — fully remote application, no residency, language, or interview requirement
- Investment route
- Non-refundable donation to the National Transformation Fund (NTF)
- Investment breakdown
- •USD 90,000 for a single applicant
- •USD 95,000 for a couple or family of up to 4
- •USD 5,000 for each additional dependant from the 5th onward
- •funds are directed to renewable energy, infrastructure, education, affordable housing, and eco-tourism projects
- •legal basis is Decree-Law No. 07/2025 and the earlier Nationality Act 07/2022
- Additional fees
- •USD 5,000 submission fee
- •approximately USD 750 in document fees (USD 250 citizenship certificate, USD 350 passport, USD 150 national ID)
- •contribution is payable only after approval-in-principle, with 90 days to settle (a further 90-day extension can be requested)
- Eligibility
- •18+
- •open to applicants of all nationalities except North Korea
- •clean criminal record
- •verifiable source of funds
- Due diligence
- •no interview requirement
- •standard KYC and source-of-funds review conducted by the Citizenship by Investment Unit, operationally supported by STP Service Advisory FZCO (Dubai) under a 10-year exclusive agreement
- •there is no official .gov website for the program, as all applications are processed through the Dubai-based Citizenship Investment Unit
- Family inclusion
- •spouse
- •dependent children
- •parents
- •grandparents — citizenship extends to future generations of the applicant's descendants under the Citizenship Act
- Naturalization
- citizenship is granted immediately on approval — no residency period
- Renewal
- citizenship is permanent, including a national ID card issued alongside the passport
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted — no requirement to renounce any prior nationality
- Key benefits
- •one of the lowest-cost CBI programs globally
- •fully remote with no interview
- •can elect to become a São Tomé tax resident with no capital gains, inheritance, or wealth tax, and personal tax rates of 0-25% with an extensive double-taxation-treaty network
- Taxation
- no personal income tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax
Application process
- 1.engage a licensed marketing agent (direct applications to the CIU are not accepted)
- 2.complete KYC and source-of-funds documentation
- 3.receive an approval-in-principle from the government
- 4.make the NTF contribution within 90 days of approval (extendable by a further 90 days)
- 5.name is published in a local gazette
- 6.receive citizenship certificate, national ID, and passport