The Pacific island nation of Nauru is selling citizenship to raise money for mass inland relocation due to rising sea levels.
This was reported by President David Adeang.
Nauru, a nation of 13 000, is planning to move people away from a coastal area that is being flooded as a result of the man-made climate crisis.
The state will raise funding by selling passports to foreigners for $105 000, although such a "golden passport" scheme is considered suitable for criminal exploitation.
Nauru claims that its passport will provide visa-free entry to 89 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
"This is more than survival. Itʼs about ensuring that future generations have a safe, sustainable and secure home," said David Adeang.
The Nauruan government believes that 90% of the population will eventually have to be relocated — at a cost of over $60 million in the first phase alone.
However, Nauru’s previous attempt to sell passports ended in scandal, when the country sold citizenship to al-Qaeda members who were later arrested in an Asian country. Now, Nauruan officials say they will only offer passports to like-minded investors who have passed “the most rigorous and thorough vetting procedures”.
The island nation is located on a small plateau of phosphate rock in the sparsely populated South Pacific Ocean northeast of Australia. With a total area of 21 square kilometers, Nauru is one of the smallest countries in the world.
Photo of Nauru from space.
Nauru was first brought to attention when it was discovered to have exceptionally pure deposits of phosphate, a key ingredient in fertilizer. But those reserves have since been depleted, and researchers now believe that 80 percent of Nauru has been rendered uninhabitable by mining. The remaining land is threatened by rising tides.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.