Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation February 26, 2025
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Nauru says its passport will allow visa-free entry to 89 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong.
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation
Laura CHUNG
The Pacific microstate of Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas, President David Adeang told AFP, kicking off a controversial “golden passport” scheme as other climate funding runs out.
The low-lying island nation of around 13,000 is planning a mass relocation inland as the seas begin to erode its fertile coastline.
The nation will raise funds by selling passports to foreigners for $105,000 each, despite fears that such schemes are ripe for criminal exploitation.
“For Nauru, it's not just about adapting to climate change, it's about ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come,” said Adeang.
“It's about more than survival. It's about ensuring that future generations have a safe, resilient, and sustainable home. We are ready for the journey ahead.”
The island republic sits on a small phosphate rock plateau in the sparsely populated South Pacific.
With a total land mass of just 21 square kilometers (eight square miles), it is one of the smallest nations in the world.
Deposits of unusually pure phosphate, an essential ingredient for fertilizers, once made Nauru one of the richest places on the planet per capita.
But these supplies have long since been exhausted and today researchers estimate that 80% of Nauru has become uninhabitable due to mining.
What little land Nauru has left is threatened by encroaching tides - scientists have measured that sea levels are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average.
- Golden passports
Existing climate finance efforts are “not enough” to meet the challenge, said Edward Clark, who heads Nauru's new Economic Citizenship and Climate Resilience Program.
“Debt financing places an undue burden on future generations and there is not enough help,” he told AFP.
The Nauru government expects to get $5.7 million in the first year of the program, which equates to about 66 successful applications, Clark said.
The government expects this to gradually increase to US$43 million - or around 500 successful applications - which would represent almost 20% of the government's total revenue.
The Nauru authorities believe that 90% of the population will need to move to higher ground.
It is estimated that the first phase of this mass relocation will cost more than 60 million dollars.
To foot the bill, Nauru has pinned its hopes on the new citizenship-by-investment program.
Clark said it was a kind of “innovation”.
“It is well known that climate-vulnerable developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change and therefore there is an urgent need to ensure that they benefit disproportionately from climate innovation,” he said.
Nations like Nauru “have both the need and the right to be prosperous,” Clark added.
Nauru claims that its passport will allow visa-free entry to 89 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong.
- A “pioneering” solution?
More than 60 different nations offer some form of migration for investment schemes, according to Australia's Lowy Institute.
Pacific countries such as Vanuatu, Samoa, and Tonga have already been involved in selling passports, according to the think tank.
Australian National University expert Henrietta McNeill said that while these schemes have helped increase government revenue, they are also prone to exploitation.
She said criminals could use these documents to evade law enforcement, launder money, or exploit visa-free entry rules.
A previous attempt by Nauru to sell passports ended in disaster.
In 2003, Nauru authorities sold citizenship to Al-Qaeda members who were later arrested in Asia, according to Australian broadcaster ABC.
Clark said that this time, Nauru would only offer passports to like-minded investors who passed the “most rigorous and thorough due diligence procedures”.
“This program is not just about acquiring another passport,” he said.
“It's about joining a community dedicated to pioneering solutions to global challenges.”
Nauru has accepted millions of dollars from the Australian government since 2012 to house migrants seeking asylum in Australia.
But the scheme was phased out after 14 deaths of detainees, several suicide attempts, and at least six referrals to the International Criminal Court.
Nauru was still housing 87 people as of August 31, 2024, according to the latest Australian government figures.
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