Republic of Mirage Island
 
This is a micronation, established in 2003, when its President (the Honourable Mr. Alphonse E. Diaz) declared independence. The Gouvernement de la République des Îles de Mirage has “claimed a few islands near Australia, and is in the process of obtaining a small private island. Complete independence from this new island may be difficult, as it will be under the jurisdiction of the country in which it is located. Negotiations will have to follow — one possibility would be a autonomyous rule of the island.” Unfortunately, “The Mirage Islands is not accessible at this time. There is currently no visa needed, although in the next 5-10 years we anticipate that travel and visas etc will be needed.” Nevertheless, “For charts of the islands, they can be ordered through us, but the ocean charts are quite expensive.” The “High Commision of the Republic of Mirage Islands” is situated in Werrington Downs (New South Wales), Australia. All foreign nationals are invited to apply for citizenship (ID card or passport). For a higher fee, diplomatic passports and diplomatic positions are also available. Shrewdly, the Republic is careful to state that “We do NOT SELL passport, we only process the applications, and thus the way to obtain a passport is by completing the application process. It would be against the law to sell passports.” According to the Honourable Reverend Croft, the Republic’s diplomatic officer (“Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary”) representing the Nordic Region (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark), “All I know about the island(s) is that they are indeed completely private, and fly the Mirage Islands flags on them. I don't know the exact location...All I know on the politically is that the passports have been accepted and used within the European Union by normal citizens (whom have the normal passport) — I've sometimes used the diplomatic passport — and it's all gone without any trouble — in fact one gets VERY RESPECTFUL treatment by officials, hotels etc…So for me it was worth the pay for the application, although it took 2 months before I got my passport. They do seem to check one's records quite well after all — so not just anyone can get a passport. Applicant's must provide certified, attested, notarized and sometimes apostilled copies of their normal national ID/passport before the application can even start properly. That's all I know at this time to tell you about my relationship to the Republic.” Mr. Anthony Croft chose to become a citizen/diplomat of the Mirage Islands because he feels that, unlike most other micro-nations, “it actually has some real possibilities of becoming a REAL country, as it owns some islands somewhere…And as the ‘population’ and citizens grow all the time, who knows when the country will have a seat at the UN? There are some requirements for countries to become official. They must have land, citizens, rule of law, and a government — this is something that the Mirage Islands actually has — but before making any big steps, the land must be developed, infrastructure, banking, etc must be developed. From what I at this point think is, that the Islands will at first begin with a private vacation resort, and thereby build up sufficient capital.” Primary contact information: High commission of the Republic of Mirage Islands, Suite 2601, 9 Tanbark Circuit, Werrington Downs, NSW 2747, Australia.
 
 
The Mirage Islands has minted “a special commemoration coin”. This is a uniface piece. Not only is it undated, but it also bears no specific denomination. It does, however, feature the bust of a man, accompanied by the phrase “sic transit gloria mundi” (thus passes the glory of the world). Mr. Anthony Croft, who assures that “We expect to mint new coins in the near future.” The official Web-site of Le Gouvernement de la République des Îles de Mirage (http://www.mirage-islands.org/) also has a Gift Shop which sells other official memorabilia/merchandise (shirts, a cap, a cup, even a “string thong for women”).
In the end, I will like to thank Eric Victor McCrea for the above information.
 
 
Micro-Nations
 
Chiefa Coins