In November, following the latest U.S. presidential election, the variety of Google searches for find out how to “go away the nation” elevated by 1,514 p.c, in response to information by VisaGuide.World. However as many rapidly discovered, transferring to a different nation is not as simple as it could appear. There’s normally a visa course of concerned, loads of immigration attorneys in between, and a prolonged wait time earlier than you’ll be able to receive that coveted second passport. Nonetheless, one tiny island nation is hoping to make issues somewhat simpler by promoting citizenship for $105,000—and it may very well 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 means of funding. It is the vacation spot’s method of elevating as a lot money as potential to maneuver lots of its 12,000 residents to greater floor because the coastal areas of the eight-square-mile island are getting ravaged by erosion because of 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 p.c of the land uninhabitable, in response to The Guardian.
“For Nauru, it’s not nearly adapting to local weather change, however about securing a sustainable and affluent future for generations to return,” David Adeang, the nation’s president, shared with AFP. “That is about greater than survival. It’s about making certain future generations have a protected, resilient, and sustainable dwelling. We’re prepared for the journey forward.”
It is value noting that whereas you should buy the passport, there isn’t any requirement to reside there to be able to achieve or keep citizenship.
“A second passport isn’t only a luxurious—it’s a strategic asset. It unlocks higher world 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, hundreds of thousands 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 incredible possibility 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 strategy to see extra of the world in case you in any other case cannot, however added that this specific visa comes with one different main bonus.
“One of the distinctive issues about this program is the truth that you are investing in a real-world environmental challenge that may have a considerable affect for a small group,” he stated. “Investing on this challenge additionally comes with the advantage of an extra 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 advised the AFP the federal government is hoping to obtain 66 functions this yr, however its long-term purpose is way greater, with the intention of attracting 500 candidates, which works out to about $52.5 million. “Growing climate-vulnerable international locations are disproportionately affected by local weather change,” Clark advised AFP. “And there may be subsequently an pressing want to make sure they disproportionately profit from local weather innovation.”