In March 2021 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora created its first Diaspora Unit, and with it a voluntary e-registration system for Seychellois living abroad. This guide explains what it is, why it exists, and why you should be on it.
What the e-registration is
A voluntary register of Seychellois citizens abroad, run by the Consular and Diaspora Affairs Division of the MFA. You give the ministry your location and contact details, and the state finally gets what it has never had, an actual picture of where its overseas third lives.
Register directly with the ministry at mfa.gov.sc/diaspora. The unit also runs a direct hotline, +248 2 72 70 77, and a dedicated address, diaspora@mfa.gov.sc, and posts updates on the ministry's Facebook page.
Why it matters
- Emergencies. Crisis in your country of residence, a cyclone, a war, a pandemic. The consular division can only contact and assist citizens it can find.
- Being counted. Diaspora policy, from voting rights to investment schemes, gets built on numbers. An uncounted diaspora is an ignored diaspora.
- Staying connected. The unit engages communities abroad and shares official updates with registered citizens.
What it is not
It is not surveillance, not a tax register, and not binding. It is a contact list held by your own foreign ministry, and it is voluntary from start to finish.
Where our registry fits
The MFA registry connects you to the state. The Seychelles Abroad registry connects you to each other, city by city, and welcomes second-generation Seselwa and people of Seychellois descent whom the citizen register does not cover. Do both. They answer different questions.
A note on voting
Seychellois citizens abroad currently cannot vote in national elections from overseas. That conversation is live in Seselwa politics, and a well-counted, well-organised diaspora argues for itself far better than a scattered one.