Nauru

Yes. The Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme was established under the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Act 2024, with first applications accepted from 1 January 2025. It is the newest CBI programme in the world, and it carries no residence, visit or minimum-stay requirement. But it is only about eleven months old and has already lost the United Kingdom. Treat it as genuine, but young and volatile.

The pricing is genuinely ambiguous and the government's own site contradicts itself. The official contribution page shows USD 90,000 for the principal applicant with a USD 25,000 discount running to 31 December 2026, while the official news page says that discount applies only to applications filed before 30 June 2026 — a date now past. The undiscounted contribution is therefore USD 115,000, Henley quotes a USD 120,000 standard and USD 95,000 promotional rate, and the March 2025 launch price was USD 105,000. At the discounted rate the all-in single-applicant cost is roughly USD 102,700; at the standard rate roughly USD 127,700. Confirm the current figure with the Programme Office before relying on any number, because a government that cannot state its own price consistently is sending a governance signal, not a clerical one.

No, on both counts. Since 9 December 2025, Nauru nationals need a visit visa for the UK and are no longer eligible for the Electronic Travel Authorisation. The Migration Minister described citizenship-by-investment as inherently high-risk, saying it grants a new identity with minimal ties to the issuing jurisdiction. There is no Schengen access, and there never was. Nauru sits in Annex I of the EU visa regulation. Any material claiming UK, Irish or European mobility for this passport is either quoting a pre-December-2025 list or is simply wrong.

It carries 85 visa-free destinations as of June 2026, ranking 58th on the Henley index, tied with Jamaica and Oman. The trend runs in one direction only. The passport is worth strictly less than it was at launch. The UK loss is the clearest example. The EU's visa-suspension mechanism, finalised by member states in June 2025, explicitly targets CBI schemes that lack genuine ties to the country. That description fits Nauru precisely, which leaves its remaining destinations exposed. Nauru is one of the smallest and least diplomatically weighty states in the world. It has minimal capacity to defend the passport's standing when a partner withdraws access.

The Programme Office states three to four months from submission to approval. In practice, the timeline runs roughly three to five months. Family eligibility is broad. It covers a spouse, dependent children, parents and even siblings, though each sibling adds USD 15,000 to the contribution. Dependants aged 16 and over add their own contribution, application and due-diligence fees. Nauru allows dual citizenship, so no renunciation is required. The contribution is paid only after due diligence clears.

It is essentially marketing. The revenue funds Nauru's general budget rather than a ring-fenced adaptation project. Nauru's fiscal history, from the phosphate collapse to offshore detention rents to the 1990s banking episode, is not a record of durable programme administration. The discount-window urgency, with rolling deadlines and a price that has moved repeatedly from USD 105,000 at launch to a USD 115,000–120,000 standard, is a sales tactic. Treat the deadlines with scepticism and the price as unstable.

Almost certainly not. Nauru levies only an Employment and Services Tax: 20% on employment and services income above roughly AUD 9,240 per month, using the Australian dollar. There is no general income tax on investment income, and no capital gains, wealth or inheritance tax. But this is irrelevant to nearly every CBI buyer, who will never be tax resident in Nauru. Nauru is also not a CRS participant, but that does not change the tax residency of someone living elsewhere.

Realistically, this suits only two kinds of buyer. The first wants the cheapest lawful CBI available and genuinely does not need UK or European mobility. The second already holds a weak passport and wants a backup document with no presence obligation, and is willing to accept real revocation and de-recognition risk. Banking with a Nauru CBI passport is difficult. The programme's newness, combined with the UK's stated position, means enhanced due diligence at best. Anyone drawn to Nauru for mobility should look elsewhere. The destinations that matter most are already closed or exposed.