São Tomé and Príncipe Government has opened CIP unit headquartered in Dubai for processing of applications. The official website has also been unveiled to attract future investments into the country. The STP CIP Unit is a specialized technical-administrative body responsible for receiving, instructing and proposing decisions on applications for nationality by investment and donation and issuing licenses for marketing agents.
According to the official statement published by the CIP unit “We are proud to announce the official opening of the São Tomé and Príncipe Citizenship Investment Unit (CIU) office.
Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, our new premises represents an important step in establishing a dedicated institution to oversee and manage the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.”
The São Tomé and Príncipe Citizenship by Investment Unit is the official authority responsible for administering the Citizenship by Investment Program. Established under the mandate of STP Service Advisory, the Unit oversees the program implementation, compliance, and policy development in line with national objectives.
The Government of São Tomé and Príncipe officially officially launched citizenship by investment program on Aug 1, 2025. The Program provides a legal pathway to citizenship through a government-approved contribution.
“The establishment of the CIU signifies an important milestone in the Government’s commitment to building a program that contributes to the sustainable development of São Tomé and Príncipe through the National Transformation Fund”
The CIP Unit uses independent and qualified entities to carry out due diligence on all candidates” with a view to “verifying the integrity, legality of funds and compliance with international standards for preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism”, before referring the process to the Public Prosecutor’s Office
With the office now fully operational, the CIU has commenced the processing of new applications from investors and marketing agents .
The CIU has assured investors and stakeholders in maintaining the integrity and credibility of the process with a mandate to ensure that every application is handled with the highest standards of transparency, due diligence, and efficiency, in line with international best practices.
