Gaboroneculture & etiquette

The work permit comes from the Department of Labour and Social Security; the residence permit comes from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Both are required, they are applied for separately, and the National Immigrants Selection Board sets the validity on each. Holding a valid work permit while your residence permit has lapsed leaves you unlawfully resident even though your employment is lawful. Track both expiry dates independently.

The Government of Botswana's own guidance is that work permit renewal applications should be submitted six months before the current permit expires. That is much earlier than most countries and it is the single most common avoidable problem for foreign workers here. Put a reminder in at month six, not month eleven.

Botswana's policy is that a post goes to a citizen unless the employer can demonstrate otherwise, and the evidence required is concrete: a copy of the job advertisement, not more than six months old, showing the role was offered to citizens. Certain professions also need clearance from their regulatory body before a permit is issued — the government names drivers, farm workers, medical professionals, teachers, accountants, pilots, engineers and footballers among them. If a role could plausibly be filled locally, expect a refusal rather than a negotiation.

Botswana requires resident foreign licence holders to convert after 90 days — but holders of driving licences issued within SADC states are expressly exempted, with conversion optional. For anyone arriving from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe or Zambia that removes an entire errand. Everyone else needs a certified copy of the licence plus a letter from the issuing authority or their embassy verifying it is genuine, which takes longer to obtain than the conversion itself.

Resident individuals pay nothing on the first BWP 48,000 a year and a top marginal rate of 25% above BWP 156,000 — one of the lower burdens in the region. Non-residents pay from the first pula with no free band, which is a real difference. VAT is 14% under the Value Added Tax Act 2026, in force from 1 July 2026, with a defined list of zero-rated basics: maize meal, sorghum, millet, wheat grain, rice, samp, brown bread and bread flour, sugar, cooking oil, and specified fresh fruit and vegetables — but only in their natural state, not prepared or mixed.

The Tlokweng border is about fifteen kilometres from central Gaborone and Johannesburg is a four-hour drive. A great deal of specialist shopping, medical referral and long-haul air travel runs through South Africa, and many residents drive to OR Tambo rather than connect through Sir Seretse Khama International. Budget for a car, check your medical scheme covers treatment in South Africa, and make sure your Botswana permits allow re-entry before you cross casually.