GlobeQuest

Botswana visas and residency

Who can visit Botswana without a visa, and the 5 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Botswana, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 90 daysUnited KingdomVisa-free · 90 daysIndiae-VisaCanadaVisa-free · 90 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 90 daysGermanyVisa-free · 90 daysFranceVisa-free · 90 daysNetherlandsVisa-free · 90 daysIrelandVisa-free · 90 daysSpainVisa-free · 90 daysItalyVisa-free · 90 daysPortugalVisa-free · 90 daysPolandVisa-free · 90 daysSwedenVisa-free · 90 daysSwitzerlandVisa-free · 90 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free · 90 days
Long stay

How you actually move to Botswana

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Work Permit + Residence Permit

Anyone employed in Botswana. The employer applies for the work permit at a Labour Office; the residence permit is a separate application to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and both are needed.

What you need
  • A copy of the job advertisement, not older than six months, evidencing that the post was offered to citizens first
  • Employment contract and appointment letter, plus a signed application letter
  • CV and certified educational certificates, translated into English where they are not in English
  • Certified passport copy and two passport photographs
  • Professional clearance from the relevant regulatory body where the occupation requires it — Botswana names specific trades and professions here, including drivers, farm workers, medical professionals, teachers, accountants, pilots, engineers and footballers
  • Residence permit application on Forms 15 and 3 with proof of financial support and a local supporter
How long it lasts
Work permits are commonly issued for one to two years and renewed, tied to the employer and the post. The National Immigrants Selection Board sets the validity on each grant.
Path to permanent residence
Permanent residence exists and is granted after a long period of continuous lawful residence, at the Board's discretion. Holders of permanent residence can apply for a Certificate of Exemption, which removes the need for a work permit thereafter.
Cost
Government fees are modest — gov.bw publishes P1,500 for the residence permit in the dependant (18–25), student and over-65 categories, and does not publish a figure for the immigrant or spouse-of-citizen categories on the same page. Confirm the current work-permit fee at a Labour Office; it is not published alongside the application requirements at all.
Processing time
The published service standard for a work permit is fourteen working days and for a residence permit thirty working days. In practice, allow longer, and note that renewals must be lodged six months before the current permit expires.
Worth knowing
  • Two ministries, two permits. A valid work permit without a valid residence permit leaves you unlawfully resident, and the reverse leaves you unable to work.
  • The renewal window is six months before expiry, which is much earlier than most countries. Missing it is the most common avoidable problem here.
  • The advertisement requirement is real evidence, not a formality — the advert has to have run and to have been open to citizens. Roles where a citizen could plausibly have applied are refused.
  • Botswana has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Remote work for a foreign employer has no route here; it is done, quietly, on visitor status, and that is not residence.
  • Permits are tied to the employer and the post. A change of either requires a fresh application, not an endorsement.
Sources:Government of Botswana — Work Permit ApplicationGovernment of Botswana — Residence Permit ApplicationGovernment of Botswana — Residency and Work
InvestmentLow confidenceVerified August 2026

Investor work and residence permit

Founders and shareholders establishing a business in Botswana, whose permit is granted on the strength of the enterprise rather than an employment contract.

What you need
  • Company registration documents and a business profile
  • Bank statements evidencing the capital available to the business
  • A list of employees, showing the citizen jobs the business creates or will create
  • Documentation of assets held by the business
  • The same residence permit application as any other applicant, in parallel
How long it lasts
Issued for a defined period aligned to the business case, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
Long-standing investors are among the categories considered for permanent residence, and thereafter for a Certificate of Exemption removing the work-permit requirement.
Cost
Driven by the capital the business actually needs. Botswana does not publish a single statutory investment threshold for this permit — the case is assessed on the business profile, so treat any quoted minimum from a consultancy with suspicion and confirm with the Department of Labour and Social Security.
Processing time
Weeks to a couple of months once company registration is complete.
Worth knowing
  • Certain sectors are reserved for citizens under Botswana's economic-empowerment policy — small-scale retail, some trades and services. Check whether your line of business is reserved before committing capital.
  • The citizen-employment element is assessed at renewal as well as at grant. A business that never hires locally is a weak renewal case.
  • Registering a company is straightforward; the permit is the constraint. Do not treat incorporation as evidence that residence will follow.
Sources:Government of Botswana — Work Permit ApplicationGovernment of Botswana — Residency and Work
FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Dependant residence permit

Spouses and children of permit holders, and foreign spouses of Botswana citizens.

What you need
  • Marriage certificate or certified birth certificates
  • The principal's work and residence permits, or the citizen spouse's Omang
  • Completed Forms 15 and 3, passport valid at least six months, and a passport photograph
  • Proof of financial support or a bank statement
  • A local supporter in Botswana
How long it lasts
Aligned to the principal's permit and renewed with it.
Path to permanent residence
The foreign spouse of a citizen has the strongest case for permanent residence and, in time, for citizenship — but neither is automatic on marriage.
Cost
P1,500 for the dependant (18–25) and over-65 categories per the gov.bw residence-permit page. The spouse-of-citizen category is listed without a published fee — ask Immigration directly.
Processing time
Thirty working days is the published standard.
Worth knowing
  • Anyone over 18 applies separately, including an adult child. A family does not file as one application.
  • A dependant residence permit does not carry work rights. A working spouse needs their own work permit with their own employer and their own job advertisement behind it.
Sources:Government of Botswana — Residence Permit ApplicationGovernment of Botswana — Residency and Work
StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Student residence permit

Students enrolled at the University of Botswana, BIUST, BAC or another recognised institution.

What you need
  • Admission letter from the institution
  • Completed Forms 15 and 3
  • Proof of financial support and a local supporter
  • Valid passport and a passport photograph
How long it lasts
For the length of the programme, renewed annually.
Path to permanent residence
None directly. Converting to work means an employer running the localisation advertisement and a fresh work permit.
Cost
P1,500 per the published residence-permit fee for students.
Processing time
Thirty working days.
Worth knowing
  • A student permit does not carry work rights, including part-time work.
  • Graduates get no automatic grace period to look for work. Line up the employment application before the permit expires.
Sources:Government of Botswana — Residence Permit Application
FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Certificate of Exemption (work-permit exemption)

Non-citizens exempted from holding a work permit — most commonly holders of permanent residence, and categories the Minister exempts by notice in the Government Gazette.

What you need
  • A qualifying basis, in practice usually a permanent residence permit
  • Application to the Department of Labour and Social Security
How long it lasts
As specified in the certificate; it removes the recurring work-permit cycle rather than adding a new one.
Path to permanent residence
It follows permanent residence rather than leading to it. It is the point at which employment in Botswana stops being permission-by-permission.
Cost
Application fees only.
Processing time
Weeks.
Worth knowing
  • This is the prize at the end of the process and it is why the long grind of permit renewals is worth tracking carefully — an unbroken residence record is what makes the permanent residence application, and hence the exemption, viable.
  • Exemption from a work permit is not exemption from a residence permit. Permanent residence has to be maintained.
Sources:Government of Botswana — Application for Certificate of ExemptionGovernment of Botswana — Residency and Work
On the ground

Where you'd land in Botswana

Gaborone

A small, well-run capital fifteen kilometres from South Africa, built on diamonds and unusually good governance.

Full Gaborone guide

Botswana at a glance

Capital
Gaborone
Population
2.6M
Languages
English, Setswana
Currency
BWP