NAURU · Policy & practice
Nauru citizenship: which countries must issue police certificates?
The 2026 amendment covers applicants aged 16 or over, every country of citizenship and other countries where they lived for at least 6 months in the past 10 years.
For applicants aged 16 or above: every citizenship country, plus other countries of residence meeting the 6-month threshold within the past 10 years. That threshold does not limit the citizenship-country requirement.
Nauru’s Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship programme requires two country checks for police certificates: citizenship and residence. Amended regulation 10(2)(e), published in Gazette No. 32 of 2026, covers applicants aged 16 or above, each country of citizenship and any other country where they lived for 6 months or longer in the preceding 10 years.[1]
Build the country list in two parts
The citizenship-country requirement is not limited to countries where the applicant lived. Start with all nationalities, then add other countries meeting the residence threshold.[1] Family members can have different lists because their nationalities and residence histories differ.
For example, someone with two nationalities should consider both citizenship countries before assessing a third or fourth country of residence. That illustrates the method; it does not determine the documents required in an individual case.
Exactly 6 months matters
The programme website’s application summary still uses “more than 6 months” and does not fully reproduce the citizenship-country requirement in that sentence.[2] The amended regulation uses an inclusive threshold. Questions about repeated short stays or date calculations should be resolved with the programme office or authorised agent in writing.
The certificate is one part of screening
The programme also conducts background checks through its office, police and external due-diligence firms. Principal applicants are interviewed, and dependants aged 16 or above may be interviewed when needed.[2] A police certificate does not complete those separate checks.
The amendment dates from 29 January 2026; it is not an October policy change.[1] A practical preparation file should list each person’s nationalities, birth date and residence dates before matching those entries to the required certificates.
Official sources
This article provides general information, not individual legal, tax or investment advice. Applicable rules and the competent authority’s assessment govern each case.