I am looking to obtain a temporary resident permit somewhere that enables me to open a bank account and the benefit of easy access to neighboring countries.

Examples I know:

If you live in Saudi Arabia, you can enter any other GCC (example: UAE, Qatar) without needing visa.

If you live in Hungary you can visit all of the Schengen countries without visa for less than 90 days in every 6 months.

If you live in Ecuador, you might still need visa to most countries in South America but I'm sure it's easier from there than it is from Nigeria where the number of applicants is higher (Ecuador citizens can roam freely in South America).

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What I found so far:

UK: you open a business worth 400,000 USD and you get your visa (TOO EXPENSIVE!)
UAE: you can become an investor in a real estate company and be hired as a manager where you get a 2 year residency (120,000 USD!!)
USA: you all know the 500,000 dollar investment deal, green card right away.
Ecuador: 25,000 USD worth of property purchase gets you a resident permit. Kind of reasonable but you're restricted on travel as you cannot be outside the country for more than 90 days per year.
Hungary: 40,000 USD start up company gets you the temporary visa and you have to renew it every year, after 5 years you're Hungarian. The unknown here is how long are you allowed to be outside of Hungary before you lose your permit.

.....Edited.... (I'm not Nigerian) and if I become a resident can I travel to other ECOWAS countries without visa? (similar to GCC situation)

For those wondering: I run an online business so I'm location independent. I'm looking for a temporary stay somewhere that makes access easier to other parts of the world. I don't have a 1st world passport so like you Nigerians I need a lot of visa stamps. I'm looking for a way around it. Interested in West Africa, South America, Central Asia, Mediterranean, and Europe. [really anywhere that is not USA, Canada, or Australia].

Thank you for reading and helping with suggestions.

l think for UAE, you don't need to invest up to 120,000 dollars to qualify for the residence permit, l have few friends who spent less than that amount and they have the residence permit without working for the organisation that sponsored their applications, you don't have to work with the firm/organisation that sponsors you, and once you have the residence permit, you can be outside the UAE for a period not more than 6 months, it means you can have the residence and be away for 4 or 5 months, and you can transact your business and open any account you choose to.

Again, but, mind you the company that sponsors the residence will be your backbone/backup, so you have nothing to fear, lots of guys are using it in the UAE and it is working without any problem.

Lastly, you can also do what l call ""shared licence"", which implies, the same company/firm that sponsors your residence and work permit, allows you to use their licence for any business transactions,but, you work out an agreed percentage to give them from every business you do.

@ogakpatakpata Thank you for the information. I really felt that whoever offered me the UAE deal was trying to rip me off straight up. They wanted 120,000 US dollars that they said they would give me back as salary 50,000 a month for two years (so they eat 20 thousand as fees) PLUS they wanted 30,000 USD for two journeys to Dubai to arrange everything. It was some guy from Singapore. I smelled something fishy and ignored it.

How much can you get a resident permit in UAE for? And do you know if having that UAE permit makes travel visas much easier for your Nigerian friends? Thanks again.

temsa7: @ogakpatakpata Thank you for the information. I really felt that whoever offered me the UAE deal was trying to rip me off straight up. They wanted 120,000 US dollars that they said they would give me back as salary 50,000 a month for two years (so they eat 20 thousand as fees) PLUS they wanted 30,000 USD for two journeys to Dubai to arrange everything. It was some guy from Singapore. I smelled something fishy and ignored it.

How much can you get a resident permit in UAE for? And do you know if having that UAE permit makes travel visas much easier for your Nigerian friends? Thanks again.

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To be candid and sincere with you, few of my close friends and associates who have that kind of residence permit, did not spend up to $10,000 dollars to get it, in fact, the relationship you have with your sponsor will determine the price, there is a close family friend in the forum, l will not like to mention names to protect their privacy, he spent about $8000 dollars to get his own, some others spent more than that, so it means you can spend from $8,000 dollars upwards to get the residence permit, but certainly NOT $120,000, they wanted to rip you off.

l will suggest if you really want it, arrive the UAE and do proper networking with sincere people, you wont have any issues getting around the wall, don't do it outside the UAE, be on ground and you wont have any problem.

l am not talking hearsay, is what l have seen with so many of my friends, close family members and they are doing very well with it without any issues whatsoever. Lastly, with the residence permit, you can get visa to any country of your choice, in fact, the company that sponsors the residence permit will also use his licence and bank documents to guarantee your visa application/issuance, is not a big deal,but, you will pay for them to do it.

ogakpatakpata: .

To be candid and sincere with you, few of my close friends and associates who have that kind of residence permit, did not spend up to $10,000 dollars to get it, in fact, the relationship you have with your sponsor will determine the price, there is a close family friend in the forum, l will not like to mention names to protect their privacy, he spent about $8000 dollars to get his own, some others spent more than that, so it means you can spend from $8,000 dollars upwards to get the residence permit, but certainly NOT $20,000, they wanted to rip you off.

l will suggest if you really want it, arrive the UAE and do proper networking with sincere people, you wont have any issues getting around the wall, don't do it outside the UAE, be on ground and you wont have any problem.

l am not talking hearsay, is what l have seen with so many of my friends, close family members and they are doing very well with it without any issues whatsoever. Lastly, with the residence permit, you can get visa to any country of your choice, in fact, the company that sponsors the residence permit will also use his licence and bank documents to guarantee your visa application/issuance, is not a big deal,but, you will pay for them to do it.

Thank you very much. I will keep this in mind. Any ideas other than UAE? Can this sort of thing be done in South Africa? Also do you know much about how ECOWAS countries work, is it like GCC? You just roam freely if you're a resident?

temsa7:

Thank you very much. I will keep this in mind. Any ideas other than UAE? Can this sort of thing be done in South Africa? Also do you know much about how ECOWAS countries work, is it like GCC? You just roam freely if you're a resident?

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l have no idea how it works in South Africa,but, l know with your passport as an Ecowas/national citizen there is free movement amongst the member countries, l also don't think it might be a big issue once you are citizen of any of the Ecowas countries to move freely amongst the member group, although, when entering through the land borders, over-zealous security personnel sometimes infringe on your rights and disregard the Ecowas treaty, just because they want bribes and tips, so get that at the back of your mind.


Notice: A quick addition as regard the UAE, you MUST pass the medicals (HIV, Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis ) before you are issued the residence & work permit.

What about Ukraine?

Alex U84: What about Ukraine?

Do you live there? I hear they treat African immigrants poorly.