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| Republic of Mirage Island |
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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. |
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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”). |
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In the end, I will like to thank Eric Victor McCrea
for the above information. |
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Micro-Nations |
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Chiefa Coins |
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