Nigerians spend over $1 billion buying foreign citizenship, golden visas – report
By Agencies -December 13, 2020

Some Nigerians have spent over $1billion this year, 2020, buying themselves citizenship of other countries or golden visas as they plan ahead for safe haven should Nigeria collapse as a nation.

The $1billion is a conservative estimate, given the number of applications processed by the citizenship advisory firms.

According to a report published by Al Jazeera, more Nigerians paid for citizenship or golden visas in 2020 more than any other year.

At London-based Henley & Partners, one of the world’s largest citizenship advisory firms, applications by Nigerians increased by 185% during the eight months to September 2020; making them the second-largest nationality to apply for such schemes after Indians.

More than 1,000 Nigerians have enquired about the citizenship of another country through Henley & Partners this year alone, which Paddy Blewer, Head of Marketing, said “is unheard of.”

“We’ve never had this many people contacting us”, Blewer said.

Arton Capital, a citizenship advisory group, said “demand from Nigerian families for Antigua and Barbuda citizenship is up 15% in 2020 compared with the last.”

St Lucia has also seen a record number of Nigerians applying in 2020. “It’s more than it’s ever been over the past four years,” says Nestor Alfred, CEO of the St Lucia Citizenship-by-Investment Unit.

The rush to escape from Nigeria reached the apogee in July, with the coronavirus epidemic raging.

Another propelling factor has been the recent #EndSARS protest, according to the report.

A Nigerian interviewed in the report, cited the escalation of COVID-19 cases as a reason wealthy Nigerians started looking more seriously at citizenship abroad.

“Those with medical conditions that could not fly out – a lot of them are buying passports just because if there is any problem they can fly out,” said Olusegun Paul Andrew, 56, a Nigerian entrepreneur and investor who spends much of the year in the Netherlands.



“Flying out” of Nigeria is hard and not just because of the coronavirus pandemic. Just 26 countries allow Nigerian passport holders visa-free entry, many of them part of West Africa’s ECOWAS arrangement. Both the United Kingdom and Europe’s Schengen zone require Nigerians to obtain visas ahead of travelling.

For the wealthy, this is too much hassle. “They don’t want to be queueing for visas for any EU country or whatever”, says Andrew. Instead, why not purchase the citizenship of a country with visa-free access to Europe?

According to the report, the destinations of Nigerians seeking citizenship or golden visas are Malta and many Caribbean nations.

In Malta, all they need to do for citizenship is to have an investment of between $100,000 to $800,000 in the country.

In St Kitts and Nevis, a passport can cost as much as $400,000.

The passport opens doors to Europe and America, where they do not to get visas anymore.

Bimpe, a wealthy Nigerian who was interviewed for the report said she has three passports. One Nigerian, which she says she never uses, and two from Caribbean nations: St Kitts and Nevis; and Grenada.

The St. Kitts and Nevis passport, which cost her $400,000 via a real estate investment programme, was useful when she travelled between London and New York on business as it allows for visa-free travel to the UK and Europe.

But now that she has retired in Abuja, Bimpe, whose husband has passed away, wants her three adult sons to have the same opportunities to travel and live abroad.

“My kids were interested in visa-free travel. They are young graduates, wanting to explore the world. So that was the reason for my investment”, she explains.

Her investment to gain a Grenada passport for herself and her sons took the form of a $300,000 stake in the Six Senses La Sagesse hotel on the Caribbean island, which she bought in 2015.


https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/nigerians-spend-1-billion-buying-foreign-citizenship-golden-visas-report-332750

Buhari has turned the whole of Nigeria to IDP that everyone is trying hard to escape from it

Who wouldn't grap the next available flight? This administration has succeeded in turning the country to refugees camp.
Brace up for the worst is yet to come.


Politics aside
Contact me for your voice transcription and audio editing.

Even me wey no get money i wrote ielts 7 times. Because i knew i had to japa. Make my unborn no con dey curse me. God bless Canada

Wao so it has gotten this bad....but I bet it's same politicians that have ruined the country that are paying for it.


I hope it doesn't happen for we way no get money to buy citizenship of other countries....

APC supporters I hope u r happy...thanks for spoiling the dreams of the younger generation

People initially fled the country for economic reasons but now security has been added to the list. If not for strict immigration policy by other countries, 90% of Nigerians would have been long gone.

E don dey happen leave the zoo everyone

one day dis kon3 go just fall comont from earth. na where we dey go naim I don't know.

People want to japa

Over the 60 year period of Nigeria's "independence", a handful of approx 8000 - 10000 ministers, senators, governors, presidents etc..(most of which are recycled into the position of power over and over again), have destroyed a highly promising nation, stolen our wealth and subjected 200+million citizens to poverty, frustration and lack.

These same individuals have then used stolen wealth to purchase citizenship of other nations for themselves and their families, thus leaving the masses to wallow in a state of hopelessness.

Hmmm.


P.S. This is why I warn people to stop listening to Phrankleen on Youtube... selling false hope that Nigeria is better than abroad. Our dear country is done for with no recovery in sight

Lamba

The only people who still believe in Nigeria are those who cannot afford a dual citizenship.

Sensible Nigerians know that Nigeria is finished

That's why many reasonable people want out of the dysfunctional union.

I insist that every separatist group has a strong reason why they don't want to belong to Nigeria anymore.

Unfortunately, this wouldn't change the approach to governance of our country.

Damnnnnn niggarrr
Isoright

Wahala for who no buy citizenship.
Let me know If you have Toyota 2007 9ja used for sale in Ibadan

Hmm, everybody is running fast out of this country. Imagine, people will spend their hard time working to make money in this country only to use the same money to run out of this country. That should tell you a lot. Even those who are making money in this country are not happy with the system, everybody is just suffering and smiling.

.


London-based Henley & Partners


The day I learnt Henley & partners open another of their office in Lagos (one of the few in Africa) was the day I believed investment Visas are very much applied for by Nigerians.


.

But hardly to hear that citizens from other countries are buying citizenship in nigeria. I believe Other countries do got palpitation and change mind when they remember the unleashing of havocs and atrocities by Terrorists, herdsmen, and bad gorvernance in nigeria.

The people in power are securing their family for the future,while the zombies here keep supporting them..

Please let someone me love pl

As I dey like this, even if na cargo dem go cargo, make I just commot ffrom this damned country..
It is not a good country to raise kids as even the teens are into fraud thereby damaging the country's future and their future

With the way people are migrating out of the country, I don't think we will have up to 5% of the people living in the country in the next two years under this slowspoke government. Just imagine the way and manner the country is loosing human resource control to other countries. Qualified People that are meant to develop Nigeria are moving out to develop other countries at the expense of poor leadership and nepotism.

I swear