Nauru and Vanuatu citizenship by investment programmes
Vanuatu launched citizenship by investment programme in 2017 and Nauru joined the league in 2024.
These little nations from the Pacific are trying to grab their piece of CBI cake. Will it work out? We will see.
Nowadays, these are advertised to be the most affordable citizenship by investment programmes, but in fact they are not. I have solutions in reputable St. Lucia that can beat Vanuatu's price tag.
The story of Vanuatu citizenship by investment
Vanuatu CBI used to be the cheapest pathway to visa-free travel around the Globe. But Vanuatu Government refused to ban Russian nationals from the programme in 2022 and therefore European states have implemented visa restrictions on Vanuatu citizens. Therefore, nowadays Vanuatu passport doesn't give you any travel advantages.
The only reason to apply for Vanuatu citizenship today is the time frames. If managed properly, Vanuatu route to citizenship can take upto 2 months and it makes it the only superfast CBI available. Moreover, Vanuatu authorities do not perform comprehensive due diligence checks and therefore for some people this is the only programme to persue.
Nauru citizenship by investment
Nauru citizenship by investment program is officially called Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme. It was launched in 2024 and currently it is the newest CBI programme in the World.
Nauru is the World's smallest independent republic and third-smallest country, that's why Nauru's Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme office is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.
Nauru passport provides you with visa-free access to 90 countries around the World and none of them is European, except for the UK. You also need visa to travel to China, whereas, Singapure and UAE are visa-free for Nauru.
Nauru announces 3-4 months of processing time, but I do not have any statistics yet, because the programme is brand new.
You are required to contribute USD 105,000 for a single applicant, USD 110,000 for a family of four and USD 115,000 for larger families. Nauru charges you high application and due diligence fees, so basically Nauru CBI programme turns out to cost you more comparing with St. Lucia citizenship by investment into bonds.