The entrance to Regional Processing Centre, one or RPC1, currently holding around 90 asylum seekers on Nauru. Photo: Caleb Fotheringham
A refugee advocate in Australia says Nauru's citizenship initiative is "a national pariah".
Nauru is enticing high-net-worth individuals through its citizenship by investment scheme, which it describes as "a groundbreaking initiative".
The Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program website states that the initiative "offers you the unique opportunity to obtain a second citizenship while contributing to climate resilience and sustainable development in one of the world's most enchanting island nations".
The country has welcomed six citizens - with a seventh pending - through the finance-raising scheme. Each person pays US$140,000 to obtain a Nauru passport. The latest person to be granted citizenship is a stateless man from Kuwait.
At the same time, about 100 people sit in Australia's offshore detention centre on the island - none of whom can afford to buy their citizenship or freedom.
"I'm so tired with the Australian government, just the government, you know, not the people," one refugee on the island desperate for freedom said. "I'm just talking about the politician because they are actually cruel. And they are actually killing me by mental tortures."
The refugee, who RNZ Pacific spoke to in 2023, after almost a decade detained by Australia, added: "I just want to get out of here and fly to New Zealand as soon as possible."
He is now resettled in Aotearoa, but one hundred more people face a similar fate on Nauru.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson Ian Rintoul warns more will suffer under the country's latest multimillion-dollar deal with Australia.
The Nauru-Australia Treaty signed by Nauru's President David Adeang, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra. 9 December 2024. Photo: Facebook / Anthony Albanese
"[Australia has] given [Nauru] $400 million to take up to 280 of the NZYQ cohort and $70 million a year for up keep of NZYQ people sent to Nauru."
The NZYQ cohort refers to about 350 people living in Australia, who are non-citizens. They are nicknamed after a 2023 Australian High Court case that found the government had been holding them in indefinite immigration detention illegally.
The memorandum of understanding, signed on 29 August, sets up the removal of this group to Nauru.
Rintoul said they do not have the means to buy citizenship - just like those already being detained.
"This is one of the most dramatic example of the way in which there's one rule for the rich and one for the poor."
Nauru has signed a new deal with Australia to resettle hundreds of non-citizens caught up in the High Court's NZYQ decision. Photo: AFP / Michael Runkel / Robert Harding
But Nauru says anyone who applies will be considered.
The country's Economic and Climate Resilient Citizenship Program CEO Edward Clark said he would be happy to consider refugees and asylum seekers if the apply.
"To date, we have not had any of these individuals apply. It's not a crime to be a refugee, but we would need to assess each application," he said.
"Firstly, we'd need to make sure that they had sufficient funds to support the application. We'd need to obtain documentation to make sure that they had a clean criminal record. But to date, we have not had any interest from that cohort."
Clark said at least $80,000 out of the $140,000 goes to the Nauru government after processing.
A stateless Kuwaiti man is the latest person to get citizenship through the programme. He was born in Kuwait but was not entitled to Kuwaiti citizenship because his father was not a Kuwaiti national.
"So actually, there's a very large population in Kuwait that it's very hard to get the numbers, but it's upwards of around 100,000 people who are in this situation are stateless," he added.
Of the six people who have gained citizenship through the programme, Clark said none have visited Nauru.
Rintoul said it is all very ironic, calling Nauru's citizenship by investment programme "a national pariah".
"Anyone who is in Nauru at the moment, who is rich enough, could buy citizenship on Nauru and a passport to get them out of the place. It is astounding but nonetheless, it is a very graphic example of what applies internationally. But it's particularly graphic in terms of one law for the rich and one one for the poor."
Nauru's government did not respond to a request for comment.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about the new agreement by media in Solomon Islands last week.
"With respect that's disrespectful of Nauru. This is an agreement between the sovereign government of Australia and sovereign government of Nauru that is in both of our countries interests."
In a statement, a spokesperson from Australia's Department of Home Affairs said that under the memorandum of understanding, people removed from Australia will get 30-year long term stay visas from the Nauru government.
The spokesperson said they will get access to appropriate support for community resettlement and integration in Nauru.
Ian Rintoul Photo: Supplied
However, Rintoul rejects this, saying Australia is not interested in working with refugees or genuine development in Nauru.
He believes that the arrangement is to Nauru's detriment.
"They are effectively a neo-colony of Australia. They've become Australia's Devil's Island, it's an offshore detention center and that's effectively the whole income stream that Nauru has."
Australia's home affairs minister Tony Burke adds the memorandum of understanding is helping support Nauru's economic resilience.
