The African countries offering citizenship to diasporans
By Pamela Ephraim
This story by Pamela Ephraim originally appeared on Global Voices on August 17, 2025 (CC BY 3.0). The illustration and description have been modified from the original version.
Africa is not merely inviting its diaspora home but cultivating them as partners in a continental renaissance.
Some West African nations have introduced laws granting citizenship to members of the African diaspora as part of broader efforts toward reconciliation, recognition, and reconnection. These policies aim to address the historical injustices of the transatlantic slave trade by formally recognizing descendants of enslaved Africans as compatriots.
Implemented initiatives
In the earlier “Back to Africa” movement of the 18th to 20th centuries, freed enslaved people were resettled on the continent through colonial or missionary-led projects. Sierra Leone’s founding in the late 1700s brought Black Loyalists (people of African descent who sided with the British during the American Revolution) and Maroons to Freetown under British oversight, while Liberia’s 19th-century establishment resettled African Americans via the American Colonization Society.
Today’s initiatives focus on voluntary return, heritage reconnection, and mutual economic benefit.
In 2024, Benin, a key historical hub of the slave trade, enacted a law granting citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. The law, which was initiated by President Patrice Talon, is open to applicants over 18 who hold no other African citizenship and can provide proof of Sub-Saharan African ancestry through DNA tests, authenticated testimonies, or family records. The government activated a digital platform where applicants can apply for a provisional certificate of eligibility for Beninese nationality, but approved applicants must finalize the process in Benin.
While marking the International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent on July 25th, American pop star Ciara received a certificate of nationality in Benin.
In January 2025, the Government of Guinea-Bissau, under its Decade of Return initiative, which was launched in 2021 to reconnect Afro-descendants, particularly those with proven ancestral ties to ethnic groups like the Balanta, Fula, Djola, Baga, or Mandinka, granted citizenship to nine Afro-descendants who are members of the US-based Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society.
Following the success of the 2019 Year of Return, which attracted thousands of African-Americans and Caribbeans to Ghana, the country expanded its diaspora engagement through the Beyond the Return initiative (2020–2030). The program promotes cultural reconnection, tourism, and investment while offering long-term residency and, in select cases, full citizenship to descendants of enslaved Africans. Most applicants obtain the “right of abode,” granting indefinite residency, but vetted individuals with proven ancestral or cultural ties may be naturalized, such as the 126 granted citizenship in 2019.
African nations are extending beyond symbolic gestures, positioning diaspora citizenship as both a cultural reconciliation and strategic development tool. Many governments view their global communities as engaged citizens with financial and human capital. Remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa reached USD 54 billion in 2023. Recognizing this, Ghana has established forums and instruments such as a diaspora investment forum and business-matching platforms like WIDU.africa that channel diaspora capital into SME finance, infrastructure, and job creation.
Impact on returnees and locals
For returnees, the impact is deeply personal. Deijha Gordon, who moved from New York to Ghana, told AP that gaining citizenship “just feels good to have a connection to an African country as an African-American, as a Black American. Because back in America, we don’t have anything to trace our roots to but Africa. To have that connection here, I feel like I’ve done something right.”
One advantage of acquiring West African citizenship is access to the ECOWAS passport, which grants holders the ability to travel freely across 15 West African member countries.
Nevertheless, challenges persist. In Ghana, the “Year of Return” contributed to tourism surges, but critics warn its economic gains have been unevenly distributed and risk inflating costs for locals. Diasporan returnees, particularly from the West, pose challenges in Ghana through displays of privilege that undermine local laws and rights. Gentrification in Accra has driven up land prices, forcing locals into the suburbs, reducing green spaces, and privatizing beaches.
Through these evolving frameworks, Africa is not merely inviting its diaspora home but cultivating them as partners in a continental renaissance.
About the author
Pamela Ephraim is a Nigerian journalist currently based in Abuja, where she has reported for various news outlets.
The views expressed are solely those of the author(s), not of the Center.