Citizenship of São Tomé andPríncipe by investment

There is no residence requirement either before filing or after citizenship is granted: the law expressly allows an investor to be exempted from the general conditions of five years’ residence and knowledge of the language. The application is filed electronically. The oath is taken before an official in São Tomé or before a consular officer of the country abroad — we agree the format before filing.

The state costs for a single applicant are $95,750: the $90,000 fund contribution, the $5,000 filing and due diligence fee per application and $750 per person for documents. For a composition of two to four people the contribution is a single $95,000. The BRIDGES fee, bank charges, translations, notarial certification and apostilles are paid separately.

No. The passport does not give visa-free entry to the Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. If a European visa waiver is what you need, the Caribbean programmes are worth considering — we say so at the first consultation. Europe opens with this passport not through a visa waiver but through a status: investment residence in Greece or Portugal is arranged on top of it.

Indirectly and not quickly. São Tomé and Príncipe belongs to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries together with Portugal and Brazil. Under Lei Orgânica No. 1/2026, published in Diário da República on 18 May 2026, Portugal grants citizens of CPLP countries naturalisation after 7 years of lawful residence against 10 for other foreigners. The same law changed how the period is counted: it runs from the date the residence card is issued, waiting for a decision on the permit does not count, and an examination on the history and culture of Portugal has been added. A São Tomé passport shortens the period; it does not replace the move.

A separate residence permit for CPLP citizens — under the Mobility Agreement signed in Luanda on 17 July 2021 and approved by Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic 313/2021. The order is: a CPLP consular visa at a Portuguese consulate, then a residence card, with a state fee of 15 euro. No investment and no proof of substantial capital are required, and under the agreement a refusal is possible only where there is a ban on entering Portugal or a threat to public order, security or health. The ground for living in the country — work, study or family reunification — is proven on general terms.

No. The terms of investment residence in Portugal are the same for citizens of every country outside the European Union: the investment thresholds, the source-of-funds checks and the presence requirement do not depend on a CPLP passport. The benefit of this passport lies elsewhere — in the separate CPLP residence route, where no investment is needed at all, and in the shorter naturalisation period: 7 years against 10.

Dual citizenship is permitted and you do not have to give up your current passport. But there is a limit that is usually not written about: under Article 11 of the Nationality Act, São Tomé citizenship is not granted to anyone holding more than two foreign citizenships, and a naturalised citizen who acquires a fourth citizenship loses the status immediately. That is the first thing we check.

Screening and a decision on the application take around 2-3 months, and around four months more pass from approval to the issue of the documents. A realistic full timeline is around six months from filing. There is no official processing standard: the authority may request further information and defer the decision, so we do not promise an exact date.

Before filing only the $5,000 fee is paid — it covers the consideration and due diligence and is not returned whatever the decision. The contribution to the National Transformation Fund is made after the application is approved, with 90 days allowed for payment. If the deadline is missed the case is closed.

The screening is carried out by independent accredited companies on the applicant and every adult family member: the biography, all current citizenships and residence permits, police clearance certificates, the source of funds and the origin of capital, corporate structures, sanctions and PEP factors and press coverage. An interview is possible, including by video. Compliance with AML/CFT standards is additionally overseen by the Screening Committee with the prosecutor’s office and the financial intelligence unit.

A spouse or de facto partner, children up to 30 who are unmarried and financially dependent, and parents and grandparents aged 55 and over. Siblings are not provided for by the programme. The right to include a particular relative and the list of supporting documents are agreed with the competent authority before payment.

That validity is set in the country: the passport is issued for 7 years, whereas most programmes issue documents for 10. It will have to be replaced more often, with a fee. The citizenship itself is open-ended, passes to children by descent and needs no renewal.

That risk exists and we say so plainly. The opposition and a group of lawyers are challenging the decree-law and seeking its annulment; an application to suspend the programme has been filed with the court and, as at the date this page was updated, has not been considered. The programme is meanwhile operating and issuing passports. In addition, the decree-law allows the government to change the contributions and fees by joint order — a change does not affect applications already accepted.

The filing and due diligence fee is not returned, and the fund contribution has not yet been made at that point — it is paid only after approval. That is exactly why we run a preliminary check before filing: it shows the risk of refusal in advance. If we see a material risk at that stage, we say so plainly and propose an alternative programme.