Mauritius selling its citizenship to foreigners for Sh100m
Mauritius, the Indian Ocean Island nation famous for its beautiful beaches, lagoons and reefs, is selling its citizenship to foreigners for a cool $1 million (Sh100 million).
According to Africa News, the East Africa Island nation, which has a population of about 1.3 million people, is offering foreigners the chance to obtain Mauritian citizenship in exchange of a nonrefundable fee to the national sovereign wealth fund.
Applicants’ spouses and dependents are also eligible for citizenship with an additional contribution of $100,000 (Sh1 million) per family member.
PASSPORTS
Another scheme will offer Mauritian passports in exchange for a lesser sum of $500,000 (Sh50 million) paid to the Mauritius Sovereign Fund, and $50,000 (Sh5 million) per passport for family members.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, also the Finance Minister, in the country’s 2018 budget.
The move has however been condemned by opposition politicians with leader of the populist Rezistans ek Alternativ Party, Ashok Subron, saying the notion of nationality of a country is not a product hence it has no price and is in no way a commodity.