In November, I went with my team to Sierra Leone to investigate the country’s new Citizenship by Investment program.
Being on the ground in West Africa, you realize that it truly is the final frontier of global economic development. The opportunities are quite literally limitless.
But at the end of the day, it’s not an easy place to do business, and operating as a foreigner adds a layer of complication.
Being African in Africa is a significant value-add when doing business. It means reduced red tape on everything from visas, to banking, to investments to partnerships.
We went to the immigration HQ to sit down with the Chief Immigration Officer to understand why the government is so interested in backing this program. We found an administration that is rolling out the red carpet for foreign capital and that the passport is just one part of a multifaceted effort to draw foreign investors into Sierra Leone.
I am not sleeping on Africa
Just last month, I added to my portfolio of Kenyan real estate. I routinely advise clients to increase their sovereign and financial exposure to the continent.
In this video with the Chief Immigration Officer of Sierra Leone, we discuss how the Citizenship by Investment program goes hand in hand with the initiatives of the President Julias Maada Bio and the National Investment Board to bolster the economic future of the country.
Contact us to apply for the Sierra Leone Citizenship by Investment Program
We are licensed agents of the Sierra Leone Citizenship by Investment program. Investment fees start at $140,000 for an individual or $100,000 if you can prove African descent via a DNA test.
Immediate family dependents can join your application for an additional $10,000 per person. You can also add broad range of extended family members as special dependents for $20,000 per person, as well as one unrelated business partner for $30,000. Because of this expanded dependent eligibility, the Sierra Leone CBI can be the most affordable Plan B passport on a per person basis.
A Sierra Leonean passport grants you the ability to live and invest with ease in the 12 countries that make up the ECOWAS economic community, what some call the “EU of Africa.” Not to mention, the citizenship is inherited by your posterity, who can capitalize on the staggering demographic and economic growth that will take place here in the coming decades.
To a World of Opportunities,
The Wandering Investor.
Services in Sierra Leone:
Articles on Sierra Leone:
- Sierra Leone Citizenship by Investment – a conversation with the program architect
- Sierra Leone Citizenship by Investment program – Who should apply?
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Transcript of “The Sierra Leone CBI is not just about the passport” – Chief Immigration Officer”
LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello everyone, Ladislas Maurice of The Wandering Investor. Today we are in beautiful Freetown in Sierra Leone together with Dr. Baio, the Chief Immigration Officer of Sierra Leone. How are you, Doctor?
DR BAIO:Yeah. Good morning. Thank God.
LADISLAS MAURICE: So, we’re here to discuss the Go for Gold citizenship and permanent residency program that Sierra Leone has developed to attract foreign investment.
Vision for Sierra Leone’s economic development
LADISLAS MAURICE: So, can you tell us, doctor, a little bit about the the vision for the country?
DR BAIO:I think um let me just draw attention to his Excellency, the retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio’s vision, and if he recall, he also serves as the chairperson currently for the United Nations Security Council. And uh he has envisaged Sierra Leone where we move this country for a third world country to an immediate middle-income country. And uh what he has tried to do is part of his global leadership strategy to reposition Sierra Leone, which is once a destination for tourism and foreign direct investment. And as a result of that, um that gave birth to the initiative of the Go for Gold program, which is a special naturalization program designed to attract foreign direct investment, to be able to provide um address issues of youth employment, and um provide capital for private sector growth in different areas within the economy, most especially in agriculture, which has made this flagship program because part of taking the country to a million-income country, you should be able to feed ourselves. And that is a very corner, a central to part of his big game changer that he has envisaged for Sierra Leone.
Facilitating foreign direct investment to Sierra Leone
LADISLAS MAURICE: So, Doctor, how does the Go for Gold citizenship and permanent residency program attract foreign direct investment?
DR BAIO:First, the special citizenship program, the Go for Gold, is our partners with the Hong Kong Center for Invest, uh, for a Hong Kong center for citizenship. Uh, we are working with also other local partners, which is the National Investment Board. NIB actually is a one-stop center designed by the government under the leadership of President Bio to coordinate all investments, portfolios for people who are interested in investing in Sierra Leone. It’s a special purpose vehicle designed for that. So, the Go for Gold, the special naturalization program of Go for Gold initiative is already intertwined into the broader scope of the National Investment Board. So, what that means is that it also facilitates. It’s not only about giving you citizenship or a passport, but it also facilitates the would-be investors or potential investors, uh, take them into the, show them the various investment opportunities in the country, facilitate your business registration, and also provide for you aftercare services and investment protection as well. That is very fundamental and also very key. It’s not only about luring you to come and invest into Sierra Leone, but they have to give you the assurance how that investment is being protected.
How does the National Investment Board of Sierra Leone protect investors?
DR BAIO:And um, so that is actually the cornerstone for the the Go for Gold program. And that’s why we are, like I said, it’s a partnership program with the National Investment Board. So, first, we facilitate investment. Second, we enable you settle down the investment, and we also provide protection for you, and as well as aftercare services so that you’ll be able to not just bring your resources into Sierra Leone, but be able to to achieve your goal as an investor.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Thank you, Doctor. We also had an interesting conversation with the Executive Director of the National Investment Board, and he’s fully on board. He thinks it’s great. Um, and yeah, essentially when you go through the program, um, then you have full access to the National Investment Board that can then help you with your investments in Sierra Leone with full government support. So, it’s a very clever way. It’s a very visionary way for a small country to attract high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals who want to invest large sums into an economy and feel very secure and understand that by doing this, they also have access to all the right contacts and support to make sure their their investments are are safe and secure and minimize also the the bureaucratic challenges.
Reducing red tape and bureaucracy in Sierra Leone
DR BAIO:Yeah, that is so true. And this is all fits into so again the one government concept envisioned by his Excellency, the President, retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio. Um, you know, like you rightly said, you know, there are a lot of red tapes and bureaucracies across governance, especially investing in countries like third world countries like Sierra Leone. So, to minimize or cut all those bureaucracies or red tapes, that’s why they created the single window, that. the NIB, to serve as a single window platform to facilitate foreign direct investment to Sierra Leone. And that’s why this partnership is very important because having the Go for Good program, and this high-networth investors which we are trying to attract through the special citizenship program, so their investment protection is also very key, and how fast they could be able to settle down is also very important. So, basically, very much, you know, I’m not surprised by the sentiment or comments expressed by the Executive Director for the National Investment Board of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is open and encouraging investment
LADISLAS MAURICE: Look, and as a foreign investor, and you you look at different markets in West Africa, and there’s a little country, beautiful Sierra Leone that says, come invest, and you know, unlike in other larger countries that I won’t necessarily mention here, but here they, you know, they’ll grant you citizenship, they’ll give you all the right contacts, they’ll give you the support from A to Z, the one-stop shop, like you say. It definitely makes one lean towards investing here in Sierra Leone than in other destinations.
We’re licensed agents for the Sierra Leone Special Naturalization Program and would be very happy to help you go through the whole process. There are more details below. And Doctor, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it.
DR BAIO:Thank you very much. I appreciate too. You’re welcome.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Make sure to download my free ebook, 12 Mistakes to Avoid When Investing in International Real Estate, which you can find on my website link below, and feel free to follow me on Instagram @thewanderinginvestor. I look forward to hearing from you.
