Nauru employment visas depend on employer ownership and public-service contracts

Identify the employer before choosing the visa

Nauru’s Immigration Division limits its Local Business (Employment) Visa to Nauruan individuals or businesses wholly owned by Nauruan citizens. Separately, regulations notified on 22 June 2025 establish a Public Service Employment Visa for qualifying employment or consultancy contracts. These are existing provisions, rather than a new November announcement. For a foreign worker preparing to relocate, the employer’s legal position is therefore an essential first question, before comparing application prices or arranging travel.

The Immigration Division’s current webpage is the starting resource for checking the local-business category. An employer operating in Nauru should establish its ownership rather than assume that a local address makes it eligible. A worker should obtain the employer’s legal name and ask which category the employer is supporting. Neither an offer of employment nor payment for an application, by itself, supplies evidence that immigration permission has been granted.

Assemble the local-business employment file

The official Local Business (Employment) application form provides the practical checklist. It requests evidence of the employer’s citizenship, business ownership and current business licence, alongside an employment contract or an offer and acceptance signed by both parties. The employer must also explain the reasons for employing a foreign national. These requirements make the employer an active contributor to the file: the worker cannot resolve ownership or recruitment evidence merely by submitting a passport.

The same form requests certified passport identity pages, photographs, police and medical evidence, and relationship records where applicable. Its instructions cover English translations and certification, and say not to send original documents unless requested. Applicants should read the complete checklist with their employer before obtaining certificates, particularly if family members will accompany them. This is more useful than relying on a recruitment intermediary’s abbreviated list, which may omit the employer-side evidence or the relevant certification instructions.

Check whether the public-service rules apply instead

The 2025 Gazette defines a public service body to include government departments, statutory authorities, public enterprises and qualifying contractors engaged by the Republic to perform public-service functions. The head of the relevant body submits the application to the Director of Immigration. Supporting material includes employment or consultancy terms, authenticated identity, a medical examination report and a police report. The Director may reasonably request further information.

The regulations specify no visa fee for this class, unlimited multiple entry and exit, and a duration of at least the contractual term. These provisions do not establish a universal fee exemption for everyone working on a government-associated project. A contractor and worker should have the responsible public body confirm that the particular engagement falls within the definition. The Gazette permits certain entry arrangements authorised by the Director; that should not be treated as general permission to arrive without prior arrangements.

Confirm family treatment, payment and the actual deadline

The Immigration Division publishes local-business multiple-entry fees of $300 for a single person and $400 for spouse and children. Its separate dependant category has a different published fee. The local-business form itself accommodates accompanying spouse and children where applicable, so households should ask the Division how their particular family applications will be recorded and charged. Do not automatically add the generic dependant charge to the local-business family amount without an official assessment.

Before paying, ask Immigration to confirm the assessed amount, currency and payment reference for the chosen category. Use the form’s payment instructions and retain the receipt; the local-business form warns that an application without payment evidence will not be processed. Neither the webpage nor these materials establishes a reliable universal processing deadline. Employers should agree a realistic intended start date while allowing for document checks and any further requests.

For a person already in Nauru, the expiry date on the actual permission is the immediate deadline to check. The Division’s webpage still displays an amnesty that ended on 31 May 2024; it is not a current extension or protection against overstaying. Resolve a missing visa, an approaching expiry or an uncertain category directly with Immigration before relying on employment arrangements. Ask separately about accompanying relatives, travel and any change of employer, retaining the official response with the application record.