Investment
A New Haven, Dual Citizenship Firm Plans to Set Up in Nigeria
Nigerians Can Now Apply for Dual Citizenship in Nigeria
A Zurich-based firm, Henley & Partners Group, a citizenship and residency advisory firm plan to set up an office in Lagos, the most populous city in Nigeria.
According to the firm, the wealthy Africans expression of interest in passport and residency rights surged from 750 in 2019 to over 1000 in the first quarter of this year. The office in Lagos would be the second outpost in Africa, the first outpost was in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa.
The two biggest economies in Africa, Nigeria and South Africa provides over 85 percent of the Africans that purchased the firm service in 2019.
Nigeria, the largest economy and biggest crude oil producer in Africa, has more than 700 people with a net worth greater than $30 million and that figure is forecast to grow by 13% in the next five years, according to Knight Frank’s 2020 Wealth Report estimates.
The country which has a population of about 200 million, also has the most people living in extreme poverty.
Henley & Partners are setting up in Lagos to support the wealthy citizens to secure citizenship of various Caribbean countries including St. Kitts and Nevis, that allow more widespread visa-free travel, as well as a select few European Union members such as Cyprus and Malta.
Costs range from less than $200,000 for Caribbean passports — once vetted by both Henley and the government — to a contribution of more than $1 million for European nations.
According to the head of sales, Dominic Volex, the firm has been rendering service to Nigerian clients for more than three years.
“We have been engaging with Nigerian and West African clients for over three years now and have seen constant growth. ”
He added that “The significant increase in wealth creation in the region has created a consequent surge in demand for our services.”