Photo: RNZ / Walter Zweifel
Nauru has launched a "groundbreaking" citizenship by investment scheme at the United Nations climate change summit COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Micronesian island nation is the world's smallest independent republic and the third-smallest country, with an estimated population of 11,000.
Its Minister for Climate Change and National Resilience, Asterio Appi, announced the 'Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme' while addressing COP29 delegates on Thursday.
"The innovative financing initiative [offers] an opportunity for conscientious investors to acquire an additional citizenship while contributing to climate adaptation and sustainable development projects in the Pacific region," the Nauru government said in a statement.
It said that the international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners has been appointed to design, set up, and manage the program.
The firm's government advisory practice has assisted over 20 countries worldwide in similar investment-related residence and citizenship programmes, it added.
Appi said investors who chose Nauru's citizenship programme "aren't merely securing their own future - they're investing in the future of our planet."
Nauru's Minister for Climate Change and National Resilience, Asterio Appi, at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Facebook / The Government of the Republic of Nauru
The Pacific Islands News Association (PACNEWS) reported that the UN has "repeatedly stressed" that access to climate finance is a critical for enabling Small Island Developing States (SIDS) achieve their Sustainable Development Goals.
Nauru's Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme Office director of compliance, Isa Seow, said the citizenship scheme demonstrates the island's "resilience and innovation, pioneering a unique approach to citizenship that combines economic growth with environmental stewardship."
The programme, according to Seow, will offer "a streamlined path to citizenship, with processing times of just three to four months".
"Investors can secure Nauruan citizenship through a contribution to the National Treasury Fund, starting at US$105,000 for a single applicant.
"This investment unlocks benefits for international investors including visa-free access to 89 destinations, unrestricted dual citizenship, and the ability to extend citizenship to family members."
President David Adeang said, "investment migration has emerged as a powerful mechanism for mitigating sustainability risks and enhancing climate resilience".
"Nauru's program sets a new standard in this realm, channelling investments directly into projects that safeguard the nation's future and contribute to global environmental preservation."
'A true win-win' - Henley & Partners
The company's chief executive Dr Juerg Steffen said residence and citizenship by investment programmes "enhance the sovereign equity of the nations that host them" in comparison debt-driven financing approaches.
"They do not require compromising or sacrificing one strategic objective to achieve another," he said.
"Investment migration is a true win-win, long-term, sustainable solution for all stakeholders, whether they are investors or nation states and their citizens.
"More and more governments are seeing the benefits of residence and citizenship programs as a mechanism to mitigate sustainability risks by financing development initiatives."