Hi Al, and welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure if you can apply for residency just on entry. Do you have any special skills you can offer the UK? I got my leave to remain because I'm married to an English citizen. Other ways you can qualify for a long-term visa are if you have skills which are in demand in England, and are not found in quantity (medical field, for instance), or if you have a grandparent who is/was English. Although you'll need to provide proof of that, like a birth certificate.

Ivory Coast isn't part of the Commonwealth, is it? Anyone from within the Commonwealth can also come live here on an extended visa, but I think Ivory Coast used to be French. I'm not sure about that, of course, and hopefully you'll know better than I. If that's the case, I bet you could easily relocate to France though.

I'm not sure if I helped or not. Please let me know if there's anything else I can try to answer for you though.

Cheers, Lily