Nauru

The Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program grants full citizenship and a passport in exchange for a single, non-refundable contribution to the national Treasury Fund, which finances climate resilience, infrastructure and economic diversification. It was established under the Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Act 2024 and is administered by the Nauru Program Office, with final approval by the Cabinet of the Republic of Nauru. Mirabello Consultancy classifies it as an emerging programme: it is open and accepting applications, but it is young and has no published track record of approval volumes, so we present it with that context in plain view.

There is one qualifying route, which keeps the decision unusually simple. The contribution is USD 90,000 for a principal applicant under a limited-time offer for applications filed until 31 December 2026, a USD 25,000 reduction on the standard USD 115,000, which resumes on 1 January 2027. There is no real estate, bond or business option, and applications can only be lodged through an agent licensed by the Nauru Program Office.

What the total cost actually looks like

A single applicant should budget approximately USD 102,700 all-in at the limited-time contribution, before professional fees. That total is built from the USD 90,000 contribution, a government application fee of USD 5,000, a due-diligence fee of USD 6,000, a bank due-diligence and transaction charge that starts at USD 1,200, and a passport fee of USD 500. Every government fee is non-refundable.

For a family, the contribution rises only modestly: USD 2,000 for each additional dependant aged 16 or over, and USD 15,000 for each sibling of the principal applicant or spouse. The application fee is USD 2,000 per dependant of any age, due diligence is USD 3,000 per dependant aged 16 or over (none under 16), the bank charge is tiered by family size between USD 1,200 and USD 2,200, and each passport costs USD 500. Because the limited-time price applies only to applications filed until 31 December 2026, timing matters: from 1 January 2027 the contribution alone returns to USD 115,000. Our full guide to Nauru citizenship costs and fees works through the arithmetic for typical families.

Timeline and what drives it

The Nauru Program Office states a standard processing time of three to four months from submission to citizenship approval, provided every document is in order. In practice, the speed of a file depends far more on preparation than on the government: complete police certificates, clear source-of-funds evidence and a well-organised application are what keep a case inside that window.

The sequence is straightforward. Your licensed agent submits the application with the application and due-diligence fees. Due diligence is then carried out on every applicant aged 16 or over by the Program Office's compliance officers, the Nauru Police Force and independent international due-diligence firms. Every principal applicant attends an interview with an approved due-diligence firm, held virtually or in person, and a dependant aged 16 or over may also be asked to attend. After Cabinet approval, the contribution is paid, the Oath of Allegiance is taken and the citizenship certificate and passports are issued. Police certificates are required from every country where an applicant has lived for more than six months in the last ten years, and the minimum age for a principal applicant is 18.

The passport, and what it does not give you

Nauru citizenship carries no residence requirement and no minimum stay, before or after approval. The whole process can be completed without travelling to Nauru: the interview may be held virtually, and the Oath of Allegiance can be taken in person, by audio-visual link or before a notary public in another jurisdiction. Nauru permits dual citizenship, so you can keep your current nationality where your home country also allows it.

The passport offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 86 destinations, with its strongest reach across Asia, the Pacific and the Gulf, including Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and the United Arab Emirates. It is important to be precise about what it does not include: a visa is required for the Schengen Area, for the United Kingdom and, since 2025, for Ireland. Our guide to Nauru passport visa-free countries sets out the access in detail.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion is one of the programme's genuine strengths. A principal applicant can include a spouse, dependent children, parents and siblings, which is broader than many citizenship programmes allow, and the contribution scales gently: USD 2,000 per additional dependant aged 16 or over, and USD 15,000 per sibling. Dependants under 16 add no contribution and no due-diligence fee, only the USD 2,000 application fee and their passport.

The precise definition of a qualifying dependant is confirmed case by case with the Program Office through your licensed agent, so we always map the full family before filing. Including every eligible family member in the original application is usually the most efficient route, because it keeps one due-diligence process and one timeline for everyone.

Tax treatment

Nauru citizenship does not, by itself, make you tax-resident in Nauru. Tax residence follows where you actually live, and for most applicants the decisive rules remain those of their current country of residence. Nauru has no broad personal income tax: its Employment and Services Tax applies to employment and services income, and its Business Tax Act applies to Nauru-source business profits, so a citizen who does not live or work in Nauru will generally fall outside both.

Nauru also levies no capital gains tax. A second citizenship is a mobility and family-security decision, not a tax plan, and we recommend independent tax counsel in your home jurisdiction alongside any application. This page is information, not tax advice.

An emerging programme: what that means in practice

The programme's status is emerging, and we say so plainly. It is legally established, operational and processing applications, with a clear fee schedule and a stated processing time, but it is only in its second year and has no public approval statistics yet. The current limited-time contribution was introduced to mark its first anniversary, and fees and terms of a young programme can change at short notice.

That is why we confirm the official fee schedule and processing position on the day you file, rather than relying on any figure published earlier. In the Mirabello Investment Migration Index, Nauru scores strongly for speed and cost and lower for mobility and stability, which is an honest summary of the trade-off.

Where this programme is a poor fit

Nauru is the wrong choice if visa-free travel to Europe or the United Kingdom is a priority. An established Caribbean programme such as Dominica, from USD 200,000 with visa-free access to 145 destinations, will serve that goal far better, at a higher cost. If speed is the overriding concern, Vanuatu, from USD 130,000 with a stated 45 to 60 days, is the natural Pacific comparison, and our Vanuatu and Nauru comparison sets the two side by side.

Nauru suits a different profile: an applicant who wants a cost-effective, politically neutral second citizenship, travels mainly within Asia, the Pacific and the Gulf, values a climate-focused contribution, and wants to include a wider family. To see it against every alternative, start with our citizenship-by-investment comparison. Mirabello Consultancy will confirm today's terms, test whether Nauru genuinely fits your objectives and tell you honestly if another programme fits better. Arrange a free, confidential consultation to begin.