Nauru, a tiny 8 square miles island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, has taken an unusual and ambitious initiative: selling citizenship for $105,000 through a “golden passport” program in order to raise critical funds to combat the existential threats posed by climate change to the island and its people.
The low-lying island is in danger of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and increasingly severe storm surges — all consequences of global warming. Furthermore, phosphate mining has added to the risks, which for nearly a century scarred much of the island’s interior, leaving about 80% of the land barren and uninhabitable. Consequently, most of its roughly 12,500 residents are concentrated along the coastline, where they face direct exposure to the effects of climate change.
With limited natural resources and minimal financial aid from the international community, Nauru’s government deems selling citizenship as a practical way to generate revenue. The funds raised will help finance a plan to relocate 90% of the population to higher ground and build a safer, more resilient community inland.
Golden passports, however, are controversial. These programs, which sell citizenship or residency rights to wealthy individuals, have historically faced criticism for enabling money laundering, tax evasion, and other criminal activities. Nauru has stated it will exclude applicants with certain criminal records to mitigate these risks. The government hopes the program will be a responsible source of income, especially as global climate funding has worsened because of the funding withdrawal from the United States.
According to CNN, President David Adeang emphasized the urgency of the program saying, “While the world debates climate action, we must take proactive steps to secure our nation’s future.” For a $105,000 fee, successful applicants will gain Nauruan citizenship, which includes visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 89 countries, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
“Most buyers are unlikely to ever visit Nauru, but the citizenship offers “global mobility,” Kirstin Surak told CNN, an associate professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics. For individuals with passports that limit travel options, a Nauruan passport can provide valuable freedom to live, work, or travel internationally.
Nauru’s troubles extend beyond climate threats. Its phosphate industry, once the backbone of its economy, was exhausted decades ago, leaving the country economically vulnerable. In recent years, it served as an offshore detention site for refugees and asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia — a role that ended amid criticism following detainee deaths. Additionally, Nauru is now exploring deep-sea mining for materials essential to the green energy transition, a controversial venture that raises environmental and ethical questions.
Even as the island seeks new sources of income, its residents face immediate hardships. Tyrone Deiye, a Nauruan researcher at Monash Business School in Australia, notes that many coastal residents have already lost homes and land to king tides and rising waters, underscoring the urgent need for adaptation and relocation.
Economically, the citizenship sales could be beneficial for Nauru. The government projects earning $5.6 million in the program’s first year, with plans to increase that figure to $42 million annually over time. According to Edward Clark, CEO of the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program, nearly 19% of total government revenue might be generated. The rollout will be gradual, allowing officials to monitor for any unintended consequences or negative impacts.
Nauru is not the only country using this approach; it follows the Caribbean island nation of Dominica, which has been selling citizenship since 1993 and recently began using some of the proceeds to fund its ambition to become the world’s first climate-resilient country by 2030.
As the costs of climate change continue to rise — and as traditional funding sources become less dependable — small, vulnerable nations like Nauru may increasingly turn to citizenship sales as a vital source of revenue. This strategy highlights the urgent need for global climate justice and innovative financial solutions to support those on the front lines of a warming planet.
