Lesotho

Lesotho · Africa · updated 27.08.2026

Some descriptions for this country are still Russian only: 94% translated. Numbers, prices and timelines are complete.

Entry

Entry rules depend on citizenship. Choose a passport to see the requirement for that one.

Work and visas

Visa types: Lesotho issues residence permits to foreigners under the Aliens Control Act 1966 - the government's one-stop portal (One-Stop Business Facilitation Centre, OBFC) cites articles 6, 7 and 16 of that act. The result of the procedure is called a permit for indefinite sojourn - a residence permit with no term stated; it is issued in two forms at once, as a separate document and as an endorsement in the passport. · The initial procedure is broken into thirteen steps, and ten of them are the medical examination at Queen Elizabeth II hospital: the microbiology request form, drawing blood, submitting the sample, eye, ear and teeth tests, an X-ray, collecting the results and, finally, the medical certificate itself. The charge for this part is 50 maloti (the loti is pegged one to one to the South African rand, that is, about 2.6 EUR). The remaining three steps - obtaining the forms, filing the application and the issue of the permit - take place at the OBFC. · The portal sets out the filing documents in full: a completed “Application to enter and sojourn in Lesotho”, a letter from the company, an employment contract, a police clearance certificate, a certified copy of the certificate of employment ID, a medical certificate, a certified manufacturing licence, a tax clearance certificate, a certified passport, a photograph, a payment receipt, the Aliens control payment form filled in and stamped by the revenue authority, and the “Particulars of foreigner to be entered” form. · Renewal is described as a separate nine-step procedure and costs markedly more than the initial application: 150 maloti and 3,000 maloti, 3,150 together (about 165 EUR). Built into it is obtaining a fresh police clearance certificate at the Maseru police headquarters - filing the application, having fingerprints taken and collecting the certificate - and then a second filing at the OBFC and the issue of a new permit for indefinite sojourn. · Two caveats matter here. First: the duration the portal lists (an hour and a half to seven and a half for the initial procedure, an hour and a quarter to three and a quarter for renewal) is the sum of time spent queuing and at the counter, not the time it takes to decide the application; how long the agency takes on the merits, the portal does not publish. Second: what is described is the route of an employee of a manufacturing company - a certified manufacturing licence and a letter from the employer are among the required documents - while the procedure for those arriving other than through employment is not set out on this resource.

The tariff has been found and read: the Seventh Schedule to the Aliens Control Act 1966 as amended by Legal Notice No. 37 of 2017 (Lesotho Government Gazette Vol. 62 No. 21 of 28 April 2017, pp. 216–218). It repeals the 2011 Schedule in full. Besides the fees for the grounds themselves it carries amounts that apply to the country as a whole rather than to any one route: a residence-permit application, 1,500 maloti; a pending permit for six months, 500; renewal of a temporary permit, 500; late renewal, 200 for each week or part of a week; any permit not listed in the Schedule, 2,000. Visas under the same Schedule: single entry, 1,000 maloti; multiple entry, 2,000. Citizenship fees sit in the Third Schedule to the Lesotho Citizenship Order 1971 as amended by Legal Notice No. 36 of 2017, printed in the same issue at p. 215: application, 2,000 maloti; registration, 40,000; naturalisation, 40,000; registration of a woman married to a Lesotho citizen, 3,000; a child of a person granted citizenship, 5,000. The ministry ties the right to apply for citizenship itself to five years of lawful residence. On top of the government fee, applying costs separate money to a contractor: permit applications are taken by VFS Global at the reception centre in Maseru, and its handling charge is 2,800 maloti per applicant, plus optional services (SMS notification 20 maloti, lounge 500). The government fee itself is paid not to the contractor but directly to the ministry. Both of the country's electronic channels are frozen, and their own pages say so. The ministry's eServices section states that the online visa application system is SUSPENDED and that applications are taken by email. The permit portal carries a notice that the Maseru centre is closed until 18 October 2022 because of the elections, and the ministry last updated its entry-visa requirements in September 2021 — the document lists still call for a negative covid test. The document lists and the prices nevertheless remain the only things the ministry publishes. The third government route is the OBFC one-stop portal on the UNCTAD eRegulations platform. It describes how an employee of a manufacturing company obtains a permit in thirteen steps, ten of which are a medical examination at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, and it names exactly one amount: 50 maloti for the examination. It publishes no fee for the permit itself. It cites the same legal basis — sections 6, 7 and 16 of the Aliens Control Act 1966.

Long-term visas and residence permits

Missionary’s permit (two-year residence permit)

Other

term 24 morenewablefee 5 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 2(d) of the Seventh Schedule — "Missionary", 5,000 maloti for the two-year permit. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Joining relative permit (two-year residence permit)

Family

term 24 morenewableprocessing time not published

Fee: The Schedule's two-year list knows only item 2(f) — "Child joining a parent", 500 maloti. An adult joining a relative appears nowhere in the two-year list; item 1(f), "any other permit not listed", is 2,000 maloti, but the Schedule nowhere says this case belongs there, and we will not assign it ourselves. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Teacher’s permit (two-year residence permit)

Work

term 24 morenewablefee 3 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 2(c) of the Seventh Schedule — "Employees of government, NGOS and private sector", 3,000 maloti. The tariff has no category called "teacher": the document list for this category demands a work permit, an employment contract and a letter from the employer, so what is meant is precisely an employee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Business people permit (two-year residence permit)

Investment

term 24 morenewablefee 3 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: The Schedule's two-year list splits business people between item 2(a), "Traders", and item 2(b), "Investors"; the tariff has no category called "business people". Both lines are 3,000 maloti, so the choice between them does not change the amount. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Spouse joining spouse permit (two-year residence permit)

Family

term 24 morenewablefee 1 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 2(e) of the Seventh Schedule — "Spouse joining spouse", 1,000 maloti. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Doctors & Nurses permit (two-year residence permit)

Work

term 24 morenewablefee 3 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 2(c) of the Seventh Schedule — "Employees of government, NGOS and private sector", 3,000 maloti. The tariff has no line of its own for medical staff, and the document list for this category demands a work permit and an employment contract. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Married women permit (two-year residence permit)

Family

term 24 morenewableprocessing time not published

Fee: The Schedule's two-year list has no such line: a woman married to a Lesotho citizen is priced only as an indefinite permit — item 3(f), "Women married to Lesotho citizens", 2,000 maloti. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Returning citizen’s permit (two-year residence permit)

Repatriation

term 24 morenewableprocessing time not published

Fee: The Schedule's two-year list has no such line: a returning former citizen is priced only as an indefinite permit — item 3(e), "Returning former citizens", 2,000 maloti. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Missionary’s permit (indefinite permit)

Other

fee 25 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(b) of the Seventh Schedule — "Missionary", 25,000 maloti for the indefinite permit. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Joining relative permit (indefinite permit)

Family

processing time not published

Fee: The Schedule splits this case by the applicant's age: item 3(g), "Minors joining relatives", is 3,000 maloti; item 3(h), "Adults joining relatives", is 10,000 maloti. The category has no single amount. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Teacher’s permit (indefinite permit)

Work

fee 25 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(a) of the Seventh Schedule — "Employees of government, NGOS and private sector", 25,000 maloti. The tariff has no category called "teacher". Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Business people permit (indefinite permit)

Investment

fee 25 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: The Schedule splits business people between item 3(c), "Traders", and item 3(d), "Investors"; both lines are 25,000 maloti, so the choice between them does not change the amount. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Spouse joining spouse permit (indefinite permit)

Family

fee 5 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(i) of the Seventh Schedule — "Spouse joining spouse", 5,000 maloti. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Doctors & Nurses permit (indefinite permit)

Work

fee 25 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(a) of the Seventh Schedule — "Employees of government, NGOS and private sector", 25,000 maloti. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Married women permit (indefinite permit)

Family

fee 2 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(f) of the Seventh Schedule — "Women married to Lesotho citizens", 2,000 maloti. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Returning citizen’s permit (indefinite permit)

Repatriation

fee 2 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 3(e) of the Seventh Schedule — "Returning former citizens", 2,000 maloti. The portal adds that dependants under twenty-one pay no fee. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Study permit (four years)

Study

term 48 morenewableprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 4 of the Seventh Schedule sets the fee not as a single amount but by level of study: pre-school, 500 maloti; primary school, 1,000; high school, 1,500; tertiary, 1,500. The ground has no single amount. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Temporary permit for 90 days

Other

term 3 morenewablefee 1 000 LSLprocessing time not published

Fee: Item 1(c) of the Seventh Schedule — "Temporary permit for 90 days", 1,000 maloti. The tariff treats renewal of a temporary permit as a line of its own: item 1(d), 500 maloti. Separately from the fee for the permit itself, the Seventh Schedule charges 1,500 maloti for the residence-permit application (item 1(a)) and 200 maloti for each week of late renewal (item 1(e)). Adding those figures up would be our arithmetic, not the source's, so the field carries only the fee for the ground itself. On top of the government fee, the contractor VFS Global charges 2,800 maloti per applicant for handling the application.

official source · read 2026-08-27

Programme terms change, and the final decision rests with the consulate or the country migration service. The data is collected from official sources on the date shown and is not legal advice.

Residence and citizenship

Documents

Document certification: apostille

The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.

Family

Partner

Timeline: not officially published

The Ministry of Home Affairs of Lesotho publishes a catalogue of indefinite-stay permits, and the spouse is set out in it as a separate category - the “spouse joining spouse permit”. The ground is framed broadly: the permit is issued to a person whose spouse already lives in Lesotho, and the status of that spouse may be any of the three - a temporary permit, an indefinite permit or Lesotho citizenship. Alongside it in the same catalogue stand separate categories, a “joining relative permit” for other relatives and a “married women permit”. The ministry sets out the documents in full: a completed online form, two photographs, a medical certificate from a government practitioner drawn up inside Lesotho, a police clearance certificate from Lesotho, and for first-time applicants one from the country of origin as well, a letter from the applicant addressed to the Director of Immigration, a letter from the sponsor, proof of the relationship, a copy of the passport, copies of the sponsor’s passport and permit, on renewal a copy of the previous permit, and proof of payment. All copies are certified. Two concessions are stated outright: no police clearance is required under the age of 16, and dependants under 21 pay no visa fee. The ministry does not publish a processing time, and it says so on its own page in plain terms: there is a “Processing time” section, but instead of a figure it carries a caveat that the intake contractor has no influence on the timing, that the ministry itself handles the assessment, and that applicants are invited to follow the case through an application tracker. So the wait is of unknown length - not because the figure was not found, but because none is publicly set.

Parents

Partner's parents

Pets

Limit: no limit

Safety

Climate

14J

13F

12M

11O

12N

14D

Quality of life

Life expectancy: 57.8 years

Grocery basket

Bread, 500 g: $ 0,78
Milk, 1 l: $ 1,10
Eggs, 12: $ 1,75
Chicken breast, 1 kg: $ 6,29
Cheese, 1 kg: $ 5,95
Rice, 1 kg: $ 1,68
Potatoes, 1 kg: $ 1,57
Apples, 1 kg: $ 1,69
Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l: $ 1,19
Total: $ 22,0

The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.

Cost of living across the country

Rent, 1 bedroom: $ 122 a month
Rent, 3 bedrooms: $ 396 a month
Utility bills: $ 202 a month
Home internet: $ 35,5 a month
Monthly transport pass: $ 31,2 a month
Single transport ticket: $ 0,79
Petrol, litre: $ 1,18
Cold medicine: $ 3,50 for a week

Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.

Indicators

Life expectancy: 57,8 years2024
Homicides: 22,2 per 100k2024
Road deaths: 21,6 per 100k2021
Unemployment: 16,3 %2025
Unemployment, ages 15–24: 24,7 %2025
Inequality (Gini): 44,92017 · data lags behind
Health spending per person: $ 123 a year
Air pollution, PM2.5: 26,4 µg/m³2023
Access to clean water: 78,1 %2024

Governance

Political stability: below average · -0,3
Control of corruption: below average · -0,3
Rule of law: below average · -0,4
Government effectiveness: below average · -0,7

World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.

Natural hazards

Earthquakes: 0,1 out of 10
River floods: 2,1 out of 10
Coastal floods: 0 out of 10
Tropical cyclones: 0 out of 10
Droughts: 6,3 out of 10
Tsunamis: 0 out of 10

Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.

Compare with other countries in the region

Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Chad · Cote d'Ivoire · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · The Gambia · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Other countries in the region: Africa

Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Cote d'Ivoire · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · The Gambia · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe

All countries by region

Official sources

Ministry of Home Affairs Lesotho — Residence Permit Application Portal

The ministry keeps its catalogue of grounds on the application portal homeaffairslesotho.com rather than on its own domain: the link sits in the eServices section of the ministry's site under the word "Permits". The portal is run by VFS Global under contract to the ministry. Nine permit categories — missionary, joining a relative, teacher, business person, spouse joining spouse, doctors and nurses, married woman, returning citizen and study — and each is published twice, as a two-year permit and as an indefinite one, with document lists identical to the letter. The tariff uses DIFFERENT category names: the Seventh Schedule divides the same people into traders, investors, and employees of government, NGOs and the private sector, and treats the study permit as a four-year one. Where the names coincide, the amount stands in the record; where the Schedule divides the category differently, or does not know it at all, the field is empty and the reasoning sits in the note on the fee.

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eRegulations Lesotho — Obtain a resident permit (foreigners)

The Lesotho government's one-stop portal (OBFC) on UNCTAD's eRegulations platform: the step-by-step composition of the procedure, the list of documents, the fees and the legal basis - the Aliens Control Act 1966. The content of the procedures is loaded by script: curl and simple fetchers receive only the page shell, and the text is visible in a real browser alone. Renewal is a separate procedure, /procedure/83.

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Lesotho Government Gazette Vol. 62 No. 21, 28 April 2017 — Legal Notice No. 36 of 2017 (Lesotho Citizenship (Amendment) Regulations) and Legal Notice No. 37 of 2017 (Aliens Control (Amendment of Schedule) Regulations)

Citizenship fees: the Third Schedule to the Lesotho Citizenship Order 1971 as amended by Legal Notice No. 36 of 2017. The gazette issue is published not on a government site but on the permit application portal — the ministry links to it from there as the fee list in force. It is a scan with no text layer and the pages are rotated ninety degrees; the figures were read by eye from the page images.

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