According to Forbes Africa, the Nigerian passport is one of the lowest ranking passports in West Africa, with visa-free access to just 2.1 percent of the world’s GDP.
Nigerian citizens currently have visa-free access to 54 destinations, a modest 23.7 per cent of the 227 countries and territories in the world. Less than Ghana, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire whose citizens enjoy visa-free access to 73, 61, and 67 countries respectively.
Speaking on the limitations of the Nigerian passport and how Nigerians can step up global travel in search of opportunities, Paul Williams, Chief Executive Officer of LaVida Golden Visas, one of the world’s leading citizenship by investment facilitators, explained, “As a standalone passport, Nigerians have visa-free travel to just 54 countries and territories worldwide. Many of which are other African countries such as Ghana and Ethiopia. For High Net worth individuals and business people from Nigeria, this is very limiting and could be holding them back from various opportunities, restricting them with business, education and leisure.”
Nigeria’s visa-free list mainly consists of other African countries and does not include destinations such as Europe, USA, China, or the UK- regions at the fore of global development, and places many Nigerians may strive to do business, study or visit for leisure.
However, Williams explained, “Investing in a quality government-approved citizenship by investment programme will enhance your visa-free travel access dramatically, and in turn, open up other opportunities.
“Through LaVida Golden Visas for example, if you pair a Grenadian passport with a Nigerian passport, one will gain access to 163 destinations worldwide, which includes the UK, EU Schengen zone, China, and Russia. Now you have visa-free access to 58.7 percent of the world’s GDP, a huge improvement on the 2.1 percent that a standalone Nigerian passport offers.”
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The island of Grenada, in the Caribbean, offers citizenship by investment in only 60-90 days from $220,000 and is one of the world’s top-ranked CBI programmes. And popular with West African’s due to the historical-cultural connection. By investing in a government-approved real estate project like Kimpton Kawana Bay, investors will benefit from tax incentives, increased visa-free travel and even opportunities to live and work in the USA through the E-2 visa.
“When you do your citizenship research, you will see Grenada and Kawana Bay stand out”, says Kingsley, a Nigerian Kimpton Kawana Bay CBI investor.
