Sierra Leone Citizenship by Investment

Ordinary naturalisation in Sierra Leone is slow. The Citizenship Act 1973 requires years of residence (commonly cited as 8 years for applicants of Negro-African descent and 15 years for others), knowledge of an indigenous language and a contribution to the country^[20]. GO-FOR-GOLD bypasses all of that through Section 27A of the Act, which provides that "nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the President to cause any person to be registered as a citizen of Sierra Leone"^[5]. Grants are therefore an exercise of presidential discretion. An investor has no statutory right to citizenship, and the programme describes itself as "citizenship by exception"^[5].

Who runs it

The Sierra Leone Immigration Department (SLID) processes applications. The Chief Immigration Officer issues the Letter of Approval, and the President signs naturalisation certificates in batches^[5]. Marketing, the online application hub and partner relations are run by TG 2050 Ltd, which operates the GO-FOR-GOLD Center from Freetown and Hong Kong^[4]. Due diligence is outsourced to Harod Associates, a UK investigative firm^[5]. In a November 2025 programme update, Chief Immigration Officer Dr Moses Tiffa Baio said SLID runs a "Special Naturalisation Protocol" under Section 27(a) and that this framework is the operative legal basis "pending the formal adjustment of the Citizenship Act by Parliament"^[5].

Status of the implementing law

The same update said two instruments were being prepared: an amendment to the Citizenship Act adding a new Section 8(3) and a "special circumstances" paragraph to the Second Schedule, and a Citizenship (Special Naturalization) Regulation 2025 to be gazetted under Section 27(a). The regulation would codify offshore processing, waive the residence and employment conditions and presume Negro-African descent for qualified applicants^[5]. Secondary sources disagree on what has happened since. CitizenX describes the Citizenship (Special Naturalization) Regulation as a statutory instrument already in operation from its publication in the Gazette^[18], while a 2026 analysis by Murblz says it has not yet been passed^[19]. We could not find the gazette text, so treat the regulation's status as unconfirmed. The programme says citizenship already granted under Section 27A stays valid when the new law arrives^[5].

Track record

The programme reports that 13 families were naturalised during a six-month pilot^[5]. No later official figures on applications, approvals or revenue have been published. Local commentators have criticised the scheme for launching without parliamentary debate and without clarity on where the money goes^[19].

Every GO-FOR-GOLD route is in substance a non-refundable programme fee, a contribution rather than an asset you keep. Nothing is held, nothing is repaid and there is no exit value, so for budgeting it works like the donation routes in Dominica's citizenship programme or São Tomé and Príncipe. The programme says the price and the due-diligence fee are paid into escrow, with parties licensed in West Africa or with the applicant's own lawyer. Money is released only after a clean due-diligence report and the Chief Immigration Officer's Letter of Approval^[5][21]. If an application is refused, the escrow is refunded less administrative and due-diligence costs, and the due-diligence fee itself is non-refundable^[3][5]. The programme also offers a gold-bullion feature: after approval you may buy up to 20 kg of gold over five years at a 2% discount to market, which it says can "offset" programme fees^[5]. This is an optional purchase, not part of the qualifying payment.

The names "Solo Entrepreneur" and "Enterprise" suggest a business investment, but the reports describe fixed fees, not capital invested in a company you own^[6][7][8]. Until October 2026 every approved main applicant received a newly incorporated Sierra Leone limited company and a corporate bank account with Sierra Leone Commercial Bank or Access Bank, included in the price^[5]. Under the reported restructuring, incorporation becomes optional^[7][8]. If you do keep a company, registered-office and nominee fees apply from year two at standard rates^[3].

Solo Entrepreneur

The Solo route is reported at US$95,000 plus US$5,000 due diligence, US$100,000 in total, for one adult with no spouse, children or parents on the file and no DNA test^[6][7][8]. For a single applicant without African ancestry it is US$45,000 cheaper than Fast-Track, and it is US$25,000 cheaper than Heritage at the reported new Heritage price^[6].

Enterprise Citizenship

Enterprise lets exactly two unrelated adults apply together at US$80,000 each and share one US$5,000 due-diligence fee, US$165,000 for the pair. Neither may add dependants, and an extra US$1,000 applies if the partners need separate notary sessions^[6][7][8]. Sierraloaded's first report put the price at US$82,500 per applicant^[9]. That matches US$80,000 plus half of the shared due-diligence fee, so the sources do not actually conflict. Enterprise replaces the older "+1 Business Partner" maths, under which a Fast-Track main applicant plus a US$30,000 partner worked out at US$85,000 per person^[5]. No proof of a business relationship between the partners is required^[5].

The official pages present the route price as an all-in programme fee. The 2025 launch coverage said the Fast-Track price included fees, legal costs and documentation^[16], and Sierra Leone has no property route, so there is no stamp duty, VAT or transfer tax to add. Budget separately for:

• Agent or lawyer fees. Not published. Applications go through "Official Partners"^[4], and some agents quote extra charges on top of the programme price. CitizenX, for example, lists about US$24,575 in fees on top of the US$140,000 Fast-Track contribution^[18]. Ask for a written, itemised quote and check whether the agent's fee is inside or outside the escrowed amount.
• DNA test (Heritage only), document certification, translations and courier costs.
• Extras sold by agents, such as a name change or a Sierra Leone tax-residency certificate, each quoted by CitizenX at US$10,000^[18]. These are not required.
• Company upkeep from year two, if you keep the incorporated company^[3].

For a single applicant a realistic all-in budget is therefore roughly US$100,000–110,000 on the Solo route and US$145,000–170,000 on Fast-Track, depending on the agent. We could not verify agent fees independently.

• Age and capacity: the main applicant must be an adult over 18^[2].
• Nationality: open to all nationalities except North Korea^[5].
• Net worth: the official route pages set no minimum net worth^[1][2]. CitizenX quotes a US$1,000,000 minimum^[18], which we could not confirm with the programme, so ask your agent whether it is a programme rule or the agent's own policy.
• Clean due diligence: identity verification, source-of-wealth analysis, sanctions and PEP screening, litigation and criminal checks, and media sweeps by Harod Associates, usually completed in about two weeks^[3][5].
• Documents: passport bio page, passport photo, birth certificate and, where relevant, marriage certificate, all as certified copies^[1][2].
• African ancestry (Heritage only): a DNA test report confirming African ancestry^[2]. Solo, Enterprise and Fast-Track do not need one^[1][6].
• Declaration and oath: a notarised declaration under section 9 of the Citizenship Act and an Oath of Allegiance, both done remotely by video^[5]. The 2006 amendment makes an oath and a declaration on residence and employment conditions for any naturalisation certificate^[10], and the programme deals with the residence condition by waiver.
• No residence, visit or language test: the programme states that there is no in-country requirement to acquire or keep citizenship^[1][2] and that the whole process can be done remotely^[21].

Only Heritage and Fast-Track accept dependants. Solo and Enterprise are reported as strictly individual^[6][7]. The family rules are among the broadest in the industry^[1][2][5]:

• Normal dependants, US$10,000 each: spouse or spouses (multiple-spouse families are accepted), children under 18, parents and grandparents^[1][5].
• Special dependants, US$20,000 each: adult children, siblings under 30, a sibling's spouse, a sibling's children under 18 and a "last remaining relative"^[1][2].
• Plus One, US$30,000: one unrelated adult co-applicant added to a Heritage or Fast-Track file, with no need to prove a business relationship^[1][5][7].

Heritage advertises that three generations of a family can be included^[2]. Each dependant counts toward the due-diligence bands: US$5,000 covers up to five people, US$10,000 covers six to ten, and US$900 is added for each person beyond ten^[1]. Note that the US$10,000 dependant fee is the same whatever the route, so once you add a spouse the Solo route's saving disappears. A couple pays US$155,000 on Fast-Track (US$140,000 + US$10,000 + US$5,000 due diligence), against US$100,000 for one Solo applicant.

The programme describes a fully online sequence: KYC, document upload, escrow deposit, due diligence, notarised declaration and oath, Letter of Approval, then passport and certificate^[5].

On the 2026 Henley Passport Index the Sierra Leone passport ranks 75th, with 63 destinations reachable without a prior visa: 40 visa-free, 19 with visa on arrival and 4 with an electronic travel authorisation. That is down from 67 in 2024 and 66 in 2025^[13]. The official programme pages claim 76 countries^[1], and some agents claim "90+"^[21]. Those higher figures do not match Henley's count.

Where it works

Visa-free destinations include Singapore, Malaysia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, The Gambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Fiji, Vanuatu and a group of Caribbean states such as Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. Cambodia, Ethiopia, the Maldives, Nepal and Macao give visas on arrival^[13]. The programme's main selling point is ECOWAS free movement, with the right to live, work and do business across West Africa^[3][4]. ECOWAS now has 12 members, not the 15 still cited in programme marketing, because Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger left the bloc on 29 January 2025. ECOWAS asked its remaining members to keep recognising the three countries' national passports and trading with them until further notice^[17].

Where it does not

You need a visa for the Schengen area, the UK, Canada and most of the Gulf; Henley lists Qatar, Oman and Bahrain as e-visa destinations^[13]. For the United States, Proclamation 10998 of 16 December 2025 fully suspended entry of Sierra Leone nationals from 1 January 2026. Its Sierra Leone entry cites a 16.48% B-1/B-2 overstay rate, a 35.83% student and exchange-visa overstay rate and a history of not accepting back removable nationals. The proclamation names citizenship by investment without residence as a general vetting concern, and as the stated ground for restricting Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, but not in Sierra Leone's own entry^[11]. Dual nationals travelling on a passport of a non-designated country are exempt^[11]. The suspension is reviewed every 180 days and is not described as permanent^[12].

The programme markets "no national taxation consequences"^[1][2] and says residents are taxed only on Sierra Leone-source income^[3]. The official position is less clear-cut, so read this section carefully.

• Residence test. Under the Income Tax Act 2000, an individual is resident if present in Sierra Leone for 182 days or more in a 12-month period^[14][15]. The National Revenue Authority's 2022 guide also lists "a citizen, including one who is temporarily absent from Sierra Leone or has a permanent home outside Sierra Leone" as resident, and says residents are taxed on worldwide income^[14]. The PKF summary of the same Act does not include a citizenship test^[15]. We found no evidence that the rule is enforced against non-resident economic citizens, but it is unresolved. Get written local tax advice before relying on the marketing claim.
• Rates. Personal income tax runs from 0% to 30%, capital gains tax is 25% and GST is 15%^[14][15]. The NRA guide lists no wealth, inheritance or estate tax^[14].
• Your home country. A second passport does not change tax residence elsewhere. US citizens remain taxable in the US on worldwide income whatever other nationality they hold.

GO-FOR-GOLD grants full citizenship directly. You receive a naturalisation certificate and a passport, with no residence phase first^[1]. Sierra Leone has allowed dual citizenship since the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2006, whose new section 10 says "a citizen of Sierra Leone may hold a citizenship of another country in addition to his citizenship of Sierra Leone"^[10]. You do not have to renounce your existing nationality.

Revocation risk

Naturalised citizens are more exposed than citizens by birth. Under section 16 as replaced in 2006, the Minister may by order deprive a naturalised citizen of citizenship if satisfied that it "would not be conducive to the public good" for that person to remain a citizen. An appeal goes to a committee chaired by a judge^[10]. The programme also says citizenship can be revoked for fraud, misrepresentation or concealment^[5]. Commentators also point to a provision allowing loss of citizenship after about seven years' continuous residence abroad without consular registration^[19][20]. Ask your lawyer whether and how that applies to programme citizens, and register with a Sierra Leone mission if advised.

Residency first, if you prefer

The programme also sells permanent residency at US$65,000 for a single applicant, US$75,000 for a nuclear family and US$100,000 for an extended family, plus due diligence. An "Upgrade Naturalization" option lets PR holders move to citizenship later^[3]. PR does not give a Sierra Leone passport or ECOWAS citizen rights^[3].

• December 2024: GO-FOR-GOLD launches as a gold-linked permanent residency programme^[7].
• January 2025: Fast-Track (US$140,000, 90 days) and Heritage (US$100,000, 60 days) citizenship routes launch^[16].
• 21 October – 1 November 2025: SLID confirms the Special Naturalisation Protocol, Harod Associates becomes the due-diligence provider, the new due-diligence fee bands apply, and special dependants and the +1 Business Partner are added^[5].
• 1 January 2026: the US moves Sierra Leone from a partial to a full entry suspension^[11].
• 26 September 2026: local media carry the first reports of Solo and Enterprise routes^[9].
• 1 October 2026 (reported): Solo at US$95,000, Enterprise at US$80,000 per person, Heritage up to US$120,000, Fast-Track unchanged and company incorporation optional^[6][7][8].

What to watch: publication of the new tiers on the official site; gazetting of the Citizenship Act amendment and the Special Naturalization Regulation; the US proclamation's 180-day reviews; and any change of policy after the President's second term ends in 2028, since the programme is explicitly tied to his 2025–2028 investment agenda^[5].

It suits single applicants or two business partners who want a low-cost second nationality mainly for West African business, residence and banking, and who do not need the US or Europe. It also suits families of African descent who can use Heritage and value a symbolic link to the country, and large extended families who cannot be included in most other programmes.

Look elsewhere if you need visa-free Schengen or UK travel, any US travel, or a programme with a statutory basis, published statistics and a long track record. A Caribbean passport costs more but reaches about 140–150 destinations, including Schengen; see our comparison of Caribbean citizenship programmes. Investors who can wait for naturalisation should compare a residence-first route; our guide to citizenship by investment vs golden visas explains the trade-off.

• São Tomé and Príncipe citizenship by donation: US$90,000 single or US$95,000 for a family of up to four, under a published decree, but with only 59 Henley destinations^[13].
• Nauru's economic and climate resilience citizenship: a Pacific option at a similar entry price, with 84 Henley destinations in 2026^[13].
• Vanuatu citizenship by contribution: a long-running programme with 86 destinations^[13] and no US ban on its nationals.
• Dominica economic citizenship: about twice the price, but 144 destinations including Schengen^[13]; note that since 1 January 2026 Dominica nationals face a partial US suspension of immigrant, B and F/M/J visas^[11].
• Egypt citizenship by investment and Cambodian citizenship by donation: other non-Caribbean options in the US$250,000 range.
• Watch Nigeria's proposed citizenship by investment bill for a future West African alternative with ECOWAS rights.

For side-by-side prices see our ranking of low-cost citizenship programmes and our tracker of recently launched schemes. For travel access, see passport strength by investment programme. All programmes are listed in the citizenship by investment directory.