The questions the diaspora actually asks, each answered in a few plain sentences and linked to the full sourced page. Every answer here restates something we have already checked and cited. If a number could change, the page it links to tells you when we last reviewed it.
The UN DESA 2024 revision counts about 22,000 Seychelles-born people abroad (22,191 in 2024). But 80% of that total is attributed to Mozambique, a near-certain statistical artifact, so outside that phantom the counted diaspora is closer to 4,500. Nobody has ever run a full, reliable count.
Yes. Under the Constitution, article 11, a person born outside Seychelles after the Constitution came into force on 21 June 1993 is a citizen at birth if, at that date, the father or mother is a citizen. Either parent counts. It is automatic; you document it through Immigration and Civil Status.
Yes. The Constitution expressly allows a citizen of Seychelles to hold another nationality at the same time. Confirming Seychellois citizenship does not require you to renounce another passport. A foreigner who naturalises may need permission to retain another nationality.
Fifteen years of marriage and an aggregate of two years of legal residence, plus a national-language examination. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2023 raised this from ten years and five (in force 22 December 2023). Time on a visitor's permit does not count as legal residence.
No. Seychelles currently has no out-of-country voting. A citizen who wants to vote must do so in Seychelles. Overseas voting has been discussed but is not in force.
Only three missions issue passports overseas: the High Commission in London, the Embassy in Paris and the Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Before you apply, verify your record with Immigration and Civil Status, the step people most often miss.
About 154 destinations are visa-free or visa-on-arrival for Seychellois, the strongest passport in Africa (Henley rank about 22). The full 193-destination table, sourced and dated, is on our visa page.
If you are a Seychellois citizen, you apply on your spouse's behalf for a Dependant's Permit, which grants residence but not the right to work. To work, the spouse needs their own Gainful Occupation Permit. The citizen makes the application, with proof of the marriage and means of support.
Kreol Seselwa, a French-based creole (ISO 639-3 crs), is the mother tongue and a national language alongside English and French. It was standardised with an official orthography in 1981 and was among the first creoles used as a medium of primary-school instruction, from 1982.
Dr Patrick Herminie, of United Seychelles, who won the October 2025 run-off and is the sixth President of the Republic. The Vice-President is Mr Sebastien Pillay.
Festival Kreol, the world's oldest international Creole culture festival, is held every October. First staged in 1985, it returns in October 2026. The full cultural calendar is on our events page.
Start with the civil registers, which run from 1893, and the Roman Catholic parish registers that predate them, held by the National Archives and the Civil Status Office. For records held abroad, the French colonial archive (ANOM), Kew in the UK and FamilySearch help. Our genealogy guide sets out the order.