By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
Henley & Partners, a global leader in residence and citizenship by investment, has urged Nigerian investors to grab investment opportunities abroad.
Peoples Daily recalls that the concept of residence and citizenship by investment was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s.
The call was made on Tuesday in Abuja, during The Investment Migration West Africa Roadshow 2024.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Partner UK, Henley and Partners, Stuart Wakeling said they are giving opportunities to people who are open to change and who want to explore new opportunities, without forgetting their original heritage.
“Nigeria is a country rich with culture, opportunity and of course, it’s own its fair share of uncertainty and limitations.
“I was tasked with developing the Nigeria market for Henley and partners 8 years ago. In doing this, we saw demand for our services from Nigeria increase by over 1000% within the first 3 years. This is now mirrored across the globe, with international HNWI’s from all corners of the planet becoming increasingly aware of how important it is to have another residence or citizenship.
“If you are interested in exploring what we do, you are indeed in good company. Just to give a couple of examples, my team in London serviced more British people last year than ever before, and we have opened 5 offices in the US to cater for the demand in our services from American clients. We are growing steadily, because having a ‘plan b’ residence, …or having greater global mobility via an alternative citizenship,…or even increased business and lifestyle opportunity, is now paramount in an increasingly fractured and volatile world.
“It is a very simple fact that nobody can choose where they are born – it is indeed your own individual passport lottery. The jurisdiction of our birth can be a blessing, but it can also be the little document that holds us back, or even keeps us in danger. People like you and your clients want optionality without becoming any less Nigerian of course.
“This is where we at Henley and Partners can help. Along with our partner firms here today, we offer additional or alternative citizenship and residence in the worlds leading jurisdictions. We are in fact the global leaders in investment Migration and have over 25 years experience in revolutionising the industry and providing unparalleled levels of options and client satisfaction.”
He added that Henley and Partners have over 50 offices across the planet and well over 400 staff. “We offer over 45 residence and citizenship programs globally,….more than any of our so called competitors.”
Also speaking, Mehdi Kadri, the Executive Vice President, Mecan,
said the world of investment migration is increasingly dynamic and changing.
He said some of his past clients in Nigeria have already thanked him for persuading them to obtain an additional citizenship.
“ This is in no small part because we have witnessed just this year a large increase in costs for the Caribbean. Lately Portugal has removed its real estate entry point, Ireland has closed down, Montenegro closed down, Malta increase its prices along with Greece and Turkey and others.
“This means that now is the time to move forward because, as we have heard, demand for alternative or additional residence or citizenship is increasing dramatically and with that the prices and difficulties will follow.
On his part, Ry Guy, Regional Director and Program Manager the Canadian Startup Visa Services, said “We bring high net worth business people and their whole entire families to Canada to set up businesses to do bilateral trade with Nigeria and Canada.
He said the purpose of this Roadshow is for bilateral trade. “For a lot of people, Nigeria is doing so well, business wise, growth wise. So for us, a great way for Nigerians to expand into the Americas is by Canada. We actually accept more people into Canada than any other country. Nigeria is our third largest country that we bring into Canada. So for a lot of people, it’s access to capital, it’s access to education. So it’s to educate the youth. And the great thing about this as well, is when they get educated, they come back, when they come back, they’ve got fundings, they have grants, they have loans, and they have access to Canada, the United States and the Americas.
“So it is a great way to do bilateral trade, by education, by funding and by opportunities. So there’s a lot of things that Canada wants from Nigeria in West Africa, there’s a lot of things that West Africa and Nigeria wants from Canada and the Americas. So we do that gateway with Canadian startup.”
Also speaking, Fatima Cayir, Founder of Bridge and Partners, said they advise on fully relocation, assisting investors and families relocating to the UK and setting up their businesses .
“As a firm, we handle all the legal work when it comes to UK immigration, we work with partners, businesses, entrepreneurs globally. For example, if there’s a business trying to expand globally, mainly to the UK, which also gives access to Europe, we assist with all day relocation and setting up in the UK.
Legal Consultant Range Developments, Siobham Lloyed said the event is a great opportunity for Nigerian investors who are interested in obtaining a second citizenship, a passport, to get first hand information about what is obtained in the Caribbean.
“We are leading luxury hotel developer in the Caribbean. We operate out of three of the five jurisdictions that offer citizenship by investment programs. So we are in Grenada, Dominica and Saint Kitts. What we are offering today through our partnership with Indian partners, is a special on an investment in a the Intercontinental Grenada resorts, which is currently under construction. It’s 150 rooms that has an array of amenities.
“Also, the investor and his spouse, children, siblings, parents, will be citizens for life. They get visa free access to 140 countries. The jurisdiction is a very tax friendly jurisdiction. There’s no inheritance tax. There’s no need to reside there, but you can live and work and play as well in the Caribbean, whilst the hotel is under construction.”
On his part, Director of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, Hotel 101, said “We are working to simplify hotel investments.
“101 means that we are the basic foundation of the hotel
industry and we are ensuring transformation in the industry.
“The hotel is also a property technology providing easy services to people around the world.
“It also gives various opportunities for investors including residency”.
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