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Sierra Leone Expands Citizenship Program to Include Extended Families and Business Partners · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sierra Leone's Go for Gold Citizenship Program has announced substantial changes following a six-month pilot that naturalized 13 families, according to an update from the program's master agent, Hong Kong Visa Center Limited, and TG 2050 Ltd.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: The changes introduce what the master agent describes as the investment migration industry's most inclusive family structure, allowing applicants to include extended relatives and business partners in a single application.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Applicants can now include multiple spouses, siblings under 30, spouses of siblings, adult children, and even last remaining relatives to their citizenship applications under a new special dependence category, the master agent's announcement reveals.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: A separate plus one business partner pathway lets co-investors join applications without proving any prior business relationship.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Business partners cannot add any of their dependents to the application.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Program architect Stephen Barnes says these additions represent a departure from the nuclear family model that dominates most citizenship by investment programs, accommodating what he describes as the extended family structures common in the global south and other regions.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: The announcement outlines three dependent categories beyond the main applicant,$140,000.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Normal dependents, spouses, children under 18, parents, grandparents, ten thousand dollars, special dependents, adult children, siblings under eighteen, thirty spouses of siblings, last remaining relatives, twenty thousand dollars, plus one business partner, thirty thousand dollars and alternative structure for two business partners at eighty-five thousand dollars each.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Due diligence fees are families of up to five people, five thousand dollars, families of six to ten, ten thousand dollars, each additional person beyond ten, nine hundred dollars.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jeremy Savory, CEO at Savory and Partners, notes that the pricing structure creates new market opportunities.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: He argues that, quote, Sierra Leone's new dependent criteria brings the cost down to five figures per applicant, and there's a market for that, end quote.
• 2:26
  unknown: Dr.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Moses Tiffabio, Chief Immigration Officer, confirmed the program operates under Section 27A of the Sierra Leone Citizenship Act nineteen seventy three, which grants the president discretionary authority to confer citizenship.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: According to Dr.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Bayo, the framework remains the operative legal basis for all current grants of citizenship and ensures that every approval today is fully compliant within the scope of existing law.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: The government memo describes the initiative as operating under a citizenship by exception framework, pending statutory amendments that will formalize the special naturalization pathway.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Forthcoming legislation will introduce amendments to the Citizenship Act 1973 and the Citizenship Special Naturalization Regulation 2025, which the announcement says will codify offshore processing, automatic residency waivers, and authority for the Chief Immigration Officer to issue interim documentation before presidential certification.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: The update explains that the fee structure accommodates complex family arrangements common across different cultures.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Two examples illustrate the flexibility.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Multi-generational family, a main applicant with two spouses, two minor children, one adult child, one last remaining relative, and one business partner would pay.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Main applicant,$140,000, two spouses,$20,000, two minor children,$20,000, one adult child,$20,000, one last remaining relative,$20,000, one business partner,$30,000.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Due diligence, eight people,$10,000, total of$260,000.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sibling group application is a main applicant with three siblings, each married with one child would pay.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Main applicant$140,000.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Three siblings,$60,000.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Three siblings spouses,$60,000.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Three siblings children,$60,000.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Due diligence,$10 people,$10,000.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Total of$330,000.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: According to the announcement, every approved applicant receives an incorporated Sierra Leone company and corporate bank account with either Sierra Leone Commercial Bank or Access Bank.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Both activate immediately upon receiving a letter of approval from the chief immigration officer, creating what Barnes calls an immediate economic footprint for new citizens.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Barnes states say Herit Associates Limited, a UK-based investigative firm, now performs due diligence.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: The update cites the firm's completion of over 2,000 citizenship by investment cases across 100 plus countries, a 15% high risk detection rate, and investment migration council, referred to as accredited investigators, processing timeline, due diligence clearance, approximately two weeks, letter of approval 30 to 60 days, passport and naturalization certificate, 60 to 90 days.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Barnes revealed that applications move entirely online through an AI powered portal that handles document certification, oath administration, and case management via Zoom.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: According to the update, the president signs naturalization certificates in batches.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: He positions the expanded structure as culturally necessary for attracting investment from regions where nuclear families don't dominate.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: According to Barnes, quote, the global South seeks access to Africa through frameworks that are safe, inclusive, and culturally aligned, because the extended family, the clan, is recognized as a source of strength, stability, and enterprise, end quote.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: He frames the policy as economically strategic rather than merely transactional.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: He argues Sierra Leone is, quote, creating the social foundation for sustained inward investment, end quote, by targeting 4,000 families for special naturalization over five years as part of President Bayo's goal to achieve middle income status by 2039.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Savory sees the program within a broader continental shift.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: He describes the continent as transforming from primarily a source market into a growing immigration destination, noting that Africa now offers three CBI programs with Botswana expected to launch a fourth.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: He observes that after the Caribbean price war, we now have an African price war targeting a different price segment, adding that the ball is in Botswana's court.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: He believes market appetite exists for citizenship by exception in CBI frameworks, pointing to strong demand for Saint Tome since its launch, and notes, the market is warming to CBE options.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: He characterizes these programs as having the inherent Africa risk priced into the product, making them attractive to investors who understand and accept that risk profile.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Rafael Chintron, CEO at Wealthy Expat, expects the model to influence other jurisdictions.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: He believes this structure will incentivize other countries to adopt similar frameworks, allowing business partners and even employees to be included in applications.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: He anticipates additional African countries will launch programs, citing Namibia, Eswatini, and Kenya as potential entrants.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: CINTRUN expresses optimism about Africa's investment migration future, particularly if Mortius introduces a golden visa with low physical presence requirements.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: The update states all funds will sit in escrow until due diligence clears and approval letters are issued.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: It also states that applicants can offset program fees through gold bullion purchases of up to 20 kilograms over five years at a 2% discount to market rates, reinforcing what the Barnes describes as the gold-backed foundation of the initiative.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: IMI has not independently verified these updates with official Sierra Leone government sources and is reporting based on information provided by the program's master agent.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: The claims and program details outlined above reflect the master agent's representations and have not been confirmed through official government documentation at the time of publication.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Amada Bas on IMIDAily.com.
• 9:13
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• 9:19
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