So you want to visit Nauru, but realize how complicated the visa process is with information online being super vague & confusing However, you still want to visit regardless because your are an adventurer and will do what it takes to visit, just like I did. Nauru is a small island nation but like I said when I was there, small island but big in heart. That is something I will always remember. The people (both local & refugees) are kind spirited and welcoming to foreigners. Those coral rocks on Anibare beach are something out of a dream. From eating raw fish to eating noddy bird, my stomach was never sad. Nauruʻs visa process is very unusual for a Pacific island but I alike most other adventurers, figured it out on our own and had the opportunity to make it. For those out there wishing to have the opportunity to go and experience all of what we had, Iʻve created and compiled a list of things to do from start to finish before I landed on Nauru & got that passport stamp. Here we go!
Nauru’s isolated location on a map, if you’re unsure of where it is.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Give yourself weeks of time before you buy your flight to Nauru. It can take weeks to over a month to finally get a visa approved. Correspondence with Nauru immigration takes time and getting flight and hotel refunds may not be the easiest thing to do.
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Email Immigration
The first things to do is email rajeevnauruimmigration@gmail.com. This is the immigration officer on Nauru who oversees & reviews all non-Nauruan applicants wishing to visit Nauru. He is the very person who will either approve that visa or deny it for whatever that reason is. There are after all, only a certain amount of visitors to Nauru. Despite what it seems, most people seem to get approved like me and other likeminded adventurers. Send that email & that reply will be a PDF file of an application & a long check list of things to do before visiting Nauru.
Fill out the Application (See note below about NZ/Aussie Citizens)
Application form – Visitor Visa This is the very application I received from Rajeev via Email. Keep in mind, immigration may have updated their application since October 2018. Email them first!
The application is actually pretty straightforward and honestly no need for me to add much insight and information other than. Some things you will need to come back to as I did! Proposed address in Nauru will have to be filled in once you have booked accommodation in Nauru. I left the date at the end of the application blank until my application was finalized.
*If youʻre from NZ/Australia, apparently you need to provide a sponsorship letter from a citizen of Nauru:
Name of Sponsor
Place of residence in Nauru
Relationship to this person
Terms of sponsorship (Not sure what this means exactly)
*Also, at the time of writing (10/2019) journalistic activity is highly guarded. Not that itʻs illegal per se, but the government charges 8,000 AUD for a visa for any journalistic activities on Nauru thanks to much of the debate about itʻs detention center on the island. That 8,000 AUD, is NON REFUNDABLE too. Holy crap!
3) Scan a copy of your Passport Biopage
If you are in a country that has the convenience of having an abundance of scanners and strong wifi, use it to your advantage. Scan your passport biopage and save it somewhere online. I used Google Drive!
Example of a passport biopage
4) Take recent Passport sized photos of yourself (..and write your name on the back of them)
This made the least sense to me as it was on the list of things needed on the application & not on the email list of things needed. However, it is needed and so I made sure I had it. May not be convenient for you if you are traveling in a pretty isolated country, but people take passport photos to get their passports, so who said you couldn’t either. I took mine in New Zealand before I left and carried them with me through the Pacific Islands until I needed them.
* When I needed to show these, I (cringe) took a photo of the photos and sent it via email with my application. Immigration after all said to send it all via email. Iʻll explain more below.
5) Show proof of flight tickets to/from Nauru
Once you are sure of the intended amount of time you wish to stay on Nauru and exact dates assuming you reflect that on the time schedule of Nauru Airlines, the only airlines serving Nauru, you will need that itinerary to accompany your visa application. Alike most Pacific islands, you cannot show up on a one way ticket without being asked for a return ticket. While you can get away with a fake ticket in other places, Nauru Immigration will most likely not be fooled by this and will be sure to ask for more information on your onward flight.
One word of advice: Just in case the visa gets denied, be sure your flights have cancellation with 100% refund. Same for your accommodation bookings. I booked my AirNauru flights via Expedia because they offered free cancellation with 100% refund. And Airbnb has their refunds on a listing basis but still, anything counts in the event of denial.
5a) Provide copies of other Pacific Island travel
Having traveled to Tonga, Fiji, Tuvalu, & Kiribati before Nauru with intentions of visiting Marshall Islands before Hawaiʻi, guess what…. I didnʻt even bother with this part of the application.
6) Show proof of accommodation in Nauru
Nauru is a small island, so itʻs easy to realize that accommodation options arenʻt of great abundance. There are three operating hotels on the island at the time of writing: Aiwo, Meneng, & Budapest Hotels. Airbnb also has a few listings on the island, one with Meneng Hotel & the other with an incredible couple I had the pleasure of staying with, Matthew & Tricia. If you choose Airbnb, the receipt you get after booking works good enough with immigration.
Show proof of employment/occupation
This was probably the most confusing request to me, as I was traveling to Nauru unemployed having left my job in New Zealand for the Pacific islands. And leaving my last real American job years before going to Nauru to live a life of travel. So for a backpacker and world traveler, this may seem super irrelevant. I thought about putting Youtuber on the application but didn’t want it to categorize me as a journalist, goodbye 8,000 AUD. So I just told Rajeev in my final email that I am unemployed and on holiday. Which led me to just show Proof of Funds! Like most visas, I guess they want to know if you have enough to support your stay so you don’t…stay. Well, I guess Nauru has had their fair share of people coming and not going & chose to screenshot a bank statement to prove I wasn’t staying for good.
Send off the Application & all documents back to Rajeev ONLINE
Once youʻre done with everything, review all that is needed and that you have it all, and send it back to Rajeev. Yes, send it via Email. Nothing is more confusing than to have an application with requirements that seem like they have to be mailed in. Yea sure you can, but I guess Nauru caught up a little with the times and just requests everything done via email with Rajeev/immigration. Too bad the application isnʻt caught up. Just a simple open of a word document would suffice…?
To add to the experience, I happened to be in Suva & visited the Nauru High Commision to get more information on the visa application. All they could tell me was to do it online. Literally zero help whatsoever & I didn’t even make it past the receptionist. But yep, it’s all done online!
Pay for the Visa
Once immigration receives everything, they will process and review everything taking about one week. For me, it took two days for a response and five more days after that to receive an email instructing you to wire over 50AUD to pay for the cost of the visa. Here is what the invoice looks like!
What a Nauru visa invoice looks like!
Bank transfer was easy for me as I still had my New Zealand bank account open with funds in it and was able to send out and have it received by their Australian bank within the same day. To transfer the funds I used Transferwise, which is a cost efficient, safe, and quick means to transfer funds to different bank accounts around the world.
Visa Granted
Nauru Visa Approval
After days to weeks and I guess for some, month, a visa does get granted & you’re free and set to experience the tiny island nation of Nauru. The visa application process seems tedious and a pain in the ass for a Pacific Island nation being the third smallest country in the world after Monaco. But if you are just as adventurous as I am to kill your curiosity about this island like I was, do it. Go through the hurdles via email! Take those passport photos! Visit a Nauruan Consulate! Do it! Nauru is certainly worth it!
Oh, be sure to have an offline copy of your visa on your phone if you can’t print it and have it ready for immigration when they check it. It will make things smooth at Nauru airport 🙂
Tarawong!
