A WORD OF CAUTION ON THE NEW NAURU CBI PASSPORTS

Here's the new REPUBLIC OF NAURU CBI passport; In the midst of a whirlwind advertising campaign, conducted by a number of the migration investment industry's larger companies, be advised that things are not quite what they seem with this new arrival on the Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) stage from Micronesia; Tread carefully.

Before even considering purchasing this new CBI entry, advertised as "incredibly affordable," and spending USD $130,000-145,000, understand this:

(1) It does NOT afford the holder of a Nauru CBI passport visa-free entry into the Member countries of the European Union. Seamless EU entry is generally the primary reason most purchasers of CBI products decide to acquire an economic citizenship in the first place. A Nauru citizen must go through the normal application and qualification process to obtain an EU visa. Also, if you were thinking of evading entry requirements by first going to a non-EU Member state like Switzerland, Monaco or Liechtenstein with open frontiers, and then traveling into the EU, those jurisdictions also have visa application requirements.

(2) We note that a some EU Member countries have instituted policies specifically blocking Nauru "investment passport" holders from even being considered for visas. That is a serious step, blocking all Nauru CBI passport holders from being able to enter under any circumstances. Therefore, without the primary benefit that buyers have come to expect in a CBI passport, it hardly seems like value for your money, gentlemen.

More importantly, the new move by some states to deny ANY visa application from a CBI passport holder might indicate that things are about to get real ugly in Europe when it comes to buying easy access to the EU. We wonder whether such actions might be in store for all those individuals who purchased "expensive" CBI passports from one of the five East Caribbean states, and whether unhappy CBI passport holders so affected would have standing to file a class action lawsuit, seeking a refund. Food for thought for all those ambitious Caribbean attorneys, when clients come a calling, wanting redress for their damages.