NTL Trust recently opened a new office in Banjul: capital of the Gambia and a business hub for West Africa. This is not only a big step for NTL Trust (our first office in Africa) and a great opportunity for investors who see the prospect in the region but also for West African business people who are interested in obtaining citizenship by investment.
Many investors who take care of themselves, their families, and capital and see a “plan B” second passport not as a luxury, but as a necessary attribute of modern life. Business people who need to travel frequently cannot afford to spend time applying for visas, so a passport with visa free access to Europe and the UK will open up many new opportunities.
A trend of opening companies that offer citizenship by investment in Africa has been seen recently.
“Citizenship by investment brings benefits to all involved. I feel sure that this initiative will also bring more foreign investors to the Gambia…. By way of example, NTL Trust also represents high net worth investors from other countries that are looking for opportunities in markets such as ours. There is already a well-advanced project from NTL Trust’s owners to set up a new Investment Bank here in the Gambia, something we are working on with GIEPA,” said Ted McEwan, Director of NTL Trust’s recently opened Gambia office.
Citizenship by investment basically involves creating a long term link with a foreign country by purchasing real estate. The real estate will typically be located on one of five Caribbean nations that have been quietly offering this incentive since the 1980s: St Kitts-Nevis, Antigua Grenada, St Lucia and Dominica. The real estate, such as an apartment, hotel room or property fraction, is available to the citizen and his family for vacation use, should produce a rental return, and can be resold after a designated holding period – typically 4-7 years. In return for this investment, starting at around US$250,000, the businessman, his family and their future offspring will receive citizenship and passports of the chosen Caribbean nation.
Why are people considering getting a second passport?
“If you have to ask that question, you probably don’t need one,” jokes McEwan. “But seriously… the sad fact is, our passports are not good for travel. You have to get visas to go anywhere. This is a form of discrimination. But it’s a problem that doesn’t apply, for example, to Caribbean passports that have easy visa-free access to the UK, Europe and beyond.”
Interested in learning more about the benefits of second citizenship? Our Gambia office can be contacted directly at gambia@ntltrust.com or simply fill in the simple quotation form to receive details of the fees and investment amounts for your family!
Does your current passport and citizenship create more worries and no benefits? Take a closer look at Citizenship by Investment programs and rediscover the world!
