South Africa and Nigeria are the top two African nations applying for citizenship and residency permits in other countries, including the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), according to recent research.

The research claims that there has been a notable upsurge in interest in foreign passports in these countries, with a 46% increase in inquiries in the third quarter of 2022.

The survey also shows that, after a 23 per cent spike in inquiries the previous year, African nations have continued to see increases in both global investment and market expansion.

South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria are among the top 20 nations in investment migration, according to a survey released by Hanley and Partners.

Furthermore, the top two countries on the list in 2022 seeking these applications were South Africa and Nigeria. The list also includes Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, and Uganda.

Weyinmi Oritsejafor, a client advisor at Henley & Partners UK, discussed the newest trend in her remarks.

The richest nations in Africa receive the greatest number of applications for citizenship and residency through investment schemes.

According to her, “This supports the idea that wealthy African investors want to safeguard their capital while also greatly boosting their prosperity, allowing them to leave a bigger legacy for future generations.”

Motive for the Second Citizenship Quest

Henley & Partners reports that a significant number of African individuals and investors are driven by the need to obtain stronger passports.

This dual advantage facilitates their travel and grants them visa-free entry into a greater portion of the world economy.

According to the October 2023 Henley Passport Power index, which rates passports based on the share of global GDP that each one allows its holders to travel without a visa, passport holders in South Africa, the wealthiest nation in Africa and home to the greatest number of millionaires, can travel to 107 (47%) of the 227 countries on the world passport list without a visa, but they only make up around 16% of the world’s GDP.

Egypt offers visa-free travel to just 54 locations, or 24% of the world’s total, and boasts the second-largest millionaire population in Africa. Even still, Egypt’s contribution to the global GDP is still quite small just 4%.

With the third-largest concentration of millionaires on the continent, Nigeria makes up approximately 0.5% of the global GDP.

Unfortunately, Nigerian passport holders can access only 44 out of 226 destinations worldwide with visa-free or visa-on-arrival options, covering about 1.5% of the global economy

“Improving your economic mobility and accessing a higher share of global GDP matters because it leads to greater financial freedoms that facilitate conducting business and international banking and investment, as well as entrepreneurial opportunities.

Greater visa-free access to more stable economies can also mitigate country- or jurisdiction-specific risk,” Weyinmi observed.

Implication on Nigeria’s Economy, the research said while investment migration can encourage global trade in general, such upward trends also showcase the decline in the economic landscape of a country like Nigeria.

In addition, investment migration can also result in scarce capital exportation from Nigeria to the host country for investment, further weakening the availability of capital in the country.

Lastly, the report also implies that African countries, Nigeria in particular, are not regarded as investment destinations for African investors.

This perception means it will be more difficult for countries to attract foreign direct investment. (New Telegraph)

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