Nauru Island Is Promoting Citizenship for $105,000

In November, following the newest U.S. presidential election, the variety of Google searches for methods to “depart the nation” elevated by 1,514 %, based on knowledge by VisaGuide.World. However as many rapidly realized, transferring to a different nation is not as simple as it might appear. There’s often a visa course of concerned, loads of immigration legal professionals in between, and a prolonged wait time earlier than you’ll be able to acquire that coveted second passport. Nonetheless, one tiny island nation is hoping to make issues a little bit simpler by promoting citizenship for $105,000—and it could possibly be the one factor that saves it from local weather catastrophe. 

In 2025, the island nation of Nauru, situated within the South Pacific between the Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands, launched its new passport scheme, permitting folks to buy citizenship by funding. It is the vacation spot’s method of elevating as a lot money as attainable to maneuver a lot of its 12,000 residents to increased floor because the coastal areas of the eight-square-mile island are getting ravaged by erosion resulting from local weather change. Moreover, massive swaths that have been as soon as used to mine phosphate deposits (an ingredient in fertilizer) have each dried up and made some 80 % of the land uninhabitable, based on The Guardian.

“For Nauru, it’s not nearly adapting to local weather change, however about securing a sustainable and affluent future for generations to come back,” David Adeang, the nation’s president, shared with AFP. “That is about greater than survival. It’s about guaranteeing future generations have a protected, resilient, and sustainable house. We’re prepared for the journey forward.”

It is price noting that whereas you should buy the passport, there is no requirement to reside there in an effort to achieve or keep citizenship.

“A second passport isn’t only a luxurious—it’s a strategic asset. It unlocks larger international mobility, granting visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to extra locations,” Armand Arton, the founding father of the Passport Index, shared with Journey + Leisure. “Whereas these with highly effective passports take seamless journey as a right, tens of millions face bureaucratic, time-consuming hurdles at each border. That’s why residency and citizenship by funding (CBI) applications stay in excessive demand, providing freedom, safety, and new alternatives.” 

As for who this system targets, Arton famous it is an awesome choice for anybody whose passport limits their journey choices. “With visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to 90 international locations, together with South Korea and Hong Kong, Nauru citizenship is a strategic improve for these with restricted mobility.” 

Kyle Maltz, the COO at Greenback Flight Membership, agreed it is a implausible solution to see extra of the world if you happen to in any other case cannot, however added that this explicit visa comes with one different main bonus.

“Probably the most distinctive issues about this program is the truth that you are investing in a real-world environmental challenge that may have a considerable influence for a small group,” he stated. “Investing on this challenge additionally comes with the advantage of a further passport/citizenship, which is a cool bonus.”

In response to Edward Clark, the pinnacle of Nauru’s Financial and Local weather Resilience Citizenship Program, the passport scheme is already attracting candidates. Clark instructed the AFP the federal government is hoping to obtain 66 purposes this 12 months, however its long-term purpose is way increased, with the purpose of attracting 500 candidates, which works out to about $52.5 million. “Creating climate-vulnerable international locations are disproportionately affected by local weather change,” Clark instructed AFP. “And there’s subsequently an pressing want to make sure they disproportionately profit from local weather innovation.”