A quick note before you read: this post reflects my personal experience visiting Nauru in 2018. The island’s visa process and travel logistics can be vague, tedious, and subject to change, so use this as lived experience rather than current official advice. Always double-check the latest requirements before planning your trip.
So you want to visit Nauru, but then you realize how complicated the visa process is and how vague and confusing the information online can be. And yet, you still want to go anyway because you’re an adventurer and you’ll do what it takes to get there — just like I did.
Nauru is a small island nation, but like I said when I was there: small island, big heart. That is something I’ll always remember. The people, both local and refugee, were kind-spirited and welcoming to foreigners. Those coral rocks on Anibare Beach looked like something out of a dream. From eating raw fish to eating noddy bird, my stomach was never sad.
Nauru’s visa process is definitely unusual for a Pacific island, but like most other adventurous travelers, I figured it out on my own and eventually made it there. So for anyone out there who wants the chance to go and experience what I did, I’ve put together the main things I had to do before landing on Nauru and getting 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 buying your flight to Nauru. It can take weeks, and sometimes over a month, to finally get a visa approved. Correspondence with immigration takes time, and getting refunds on flights and accommodation may not be the easiest thing to do.
1. Email Immigration
The first thing to do is email Nauru immigration and request the application form and visitor visa checklist.
At the time of my trip, I was corresponding directly with an immigration officer by email, and that was the starting point for the whole process. Since contact details and staff can change, I won’t treat any old email address as permanent gospel here — verify the current official contact before you start.
Once you get a reply, you should receive a PDF application form and a checklist of what is needed before visiting Nauru.
2. Fill Out the Application
Application form – Visitor Visa – The application itself is actually pretty straightforward, so there isn’t too much extra insight I need to add other than this: some parts may need to be completed later, once your plans are finalized.
For example:
- your proposed address in Nauru may need to wait until you have booked accommodation
- I left the date at the end of the application blank until everything was finalized
Note for NZ/Australian citizens
At the time, it appeared that New Zealand and Australian citizens may need to provide a sponsorship letter from a Nauruan citizen, including:
- name of sponsor
- place of residence in Nauru
- relationship to the applicant
- terms of sponsorship
Note on journalism
At the time of writing, journalistic activity was highly restricted. It was not exactly illegal, but the government charged 8,000 AUD for a visa involving journalistic activity, and that fee was non-refundable. So yes — if you are entering as media, take that very seriously.
Note on media
As shared on the government website: Required documents for visa application: A completed visa application form, scanned copy of passport/details page, letter from employer stating reason for trip, and for media visa applications the payment of the AUD$8000 media visa application fee.
3. Scan a Copy of Your Passport Biopage
If you are somewhere with access to a scanner and decent Wi-Fi, use that to your advantage.
Scan your passport biopage and save it somewhere online. I used Google Drive, which made it easy to access later when sending documents around.
Example of a passport biopage
4. Take Recent Passport-Sized Photos
This was one of the more confusing parts for me because it seemed to appear on one list of requirements but not another. Still, I made sure I had them.
If you are traveling through places with limited resources, this might be a little annoying, but passport photos are something you should sort out in advance if possible. I took mine in New Zealand before leaving and carried them with me through the Pacific until I needed them.
At the time, when I had to submit them, I literally took a photo of the passport photos and emailed that over. Cringe, yes — but immigration had told me to send everything by email, so that’s what I did.
* 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 and From Nauru
Once you are sure of your dates and the amount of time you want to stay, you will need to show proof of onward and return travel. Since Nauru Airlines is the main carrier serving the island, you’ll be working around their schedule.
Like most Pacific islands I’ve visited, you are not really going to get away with showing up on a one-way ticket and hoping no one asks questions. Nauru immigration will likely want proper proof of your onward plans.
My advice:
Book flights that allow full cancellation and refund, just in case your visa is delayed or denied.
At the time, I booked through Expedia because it offered free cancellation with full refund. Same idea with accommodation — flexible booking matters.
5a. Copies of other Pacific Island travel
One part of the process mentioned showing copies of other Pacific island travel. Since I had already traveled through Tonga, Fiji, Tuvalu, and Kiribati and intended to visit the Marshall Islands next, I honestly didn’t put much energy into this part.
6. Show Proof of Accommodation in Nauru
Nauru is a small island, so accommodation options are limited.
At the time of my trip, there were a few hotel options on the island, along with a handful of Airbnb stays. I ended up staying with an incredible couple through Airbnb, and the booking receipt was enough to use as proof for immigration.
If you book through Airbnb, the receipt after booking should work fine as supporting evidence.
7. Show Proof of Employment or Funds
This one confused me the most.
At the time, I was traveling through the Pacific unemployed after leaving my job in New Zealand, and I had left my last American job years earlier to keep traveling. So for a backpacker or long-term traveler, “proof of employment” can feel pretty irrelevant.
I thought about writing “YouTuber” on the application, but I did not want to trigger anything that could put me into the journalist category and suddenly invite an 8,000 AUD problem.
So in my final email, I simply explained that I was unemployed and on holiday. That led me to provide proof of funds instead.
In the end, I just sent a screenshot of a bank statement to show I had enough money to support my stay and, more importantly, that I was not trying to stay in Nauru permanently.
8. Email Everything Back
Once everything is completed, reviewed, and gathered together, send it back to immigration by email.
Yes — by email.
That was one of the strangest parts of the process, because the application itself felt like it belonged to another era and looked like something that should be mailed in. But in practice, it was all handled online through email.
I even visited the Nauru High Commission in Suva while I happened to be there, hoping for more guidance, and all I really got told was: do it online.
So yes, despite how old-school the paperwork feels, the process was handled electronically.
9. Pay for the Visa
Once immigration receives your documents, they review everything and then, if things move forward, they’ll send payment instructions.
What a Nauru visa invoice looks like!
For me, it took about two days to receive a response and about five more days after that to get an email telling me to transfer 50 AUD for the visa.
At the time, I used TransferWise because I still had my New Zealand bank account open, and that made it easy to send the money through quickly and cheaply.
10. Visa Granted
After days, weeks, or for some people maybe even longer, the visa does eventually get granted and you are finally free to experience the tiny island nation of Nauru.
The process is tedious. It’s a pain in the ass. And yes, for the third-smallest country in the world, it feels surprisingly intense. But if you are as curious and adventurous about Nauru as I was, it is still worth going through the hurdles.
Take the passport photos. Send the emails. Sort the flights. Jump through the hoops.
Nauru is worth it.
Nauru Visa Approval
10. Visa Granted
After days, weeks, or for some people maybe even longer, the visa does eventually get granted and you are finally free to experience the tiny island nation of Nauru.
The process is tedious. It’s a pain in the ass. And yes, for the third-smallest country in the world, it feels surprisingly intense. But if you are as curious and adventurous about Nauru as I was, it is still worth going through the hurdles.
Take the passport photos. Send the emails. Sort the flights. Jump through the hoops.
Nauru is worth it.
Final Tips Before You Go
One important practical tip: keep an offline copy of your visa on your phone in case you cannot print it. Have it ready when you arrive so immigration can check it easily at the airport.
That small step will help make things smoother.
Tarawong!
Tarawong!
How You Can Be Part The Mission
This work is part of One Ocean, One People, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to documenting and sharing Pacific Island cultures and stories. All support helps fund fieldwork, travel to remote islands, and the production of educational storytelling across Oceania.
