804,000 want a country that barely exists

More than 800,000 people have applied for citizenship of Liberland, a self-declared micronation sitting on a muddy floodplain beside the Danube.

Seven square kilometres of nothing

The territory is an uninhabited patch on the Serbia and Croatia border, roughly the size of Gibraltar and mostly dense forest.

One man planted a flag

Czech libertarian politician Vit Jedlicka claimed the land in 2015 and declared himself president of a new country.

Built on the blockchain

Jedlicka's pitch is a libertarian state running on the technology behind cryptocurrencies, with no tax and no government regulation.

“To Live and Let Live”

Thirty billionaires behind it

A group of 30 tech billionaires is bankrolling the project, aiming to build the first decentralised autonomous government and the world's freest country.

A timely escape hatch

The pitch lands as nearly 6,000 UK entrepreneurs have left the country in two years, many heading for lighter tax regimes like Dubai.

Twelve hundred actual citizens

Against 804,000 applications, only about 1,262 people are registered citizens. The gap between wanting in and getting in is enormous.

It has its own language

The micronation speaks 'Liberlandish' as its official language and is holding a congressional election later this month.

Passports and a navy

Liberland issues its own passports and runs a navy consisting of a boat called the Liberty.

Three judges vet applicants

The administration appointed three legal professionals to form a Supreme Court overseeing citizenship applications, with an app coming to fast track anyone without a criminal record.

Tax, but call it voluntary

Instead of tax there is a voluntary monthly contribution, pitched as better than the forced kind because it makes you a co-owner of the nation.

“inherently superior to forced tax”

Two tokens run the state

Citizens pay in crypto. The Liberland Dollar covers money and network fees, the Liberland Merit covers voting and lawmaking. Both are bought with bitcoin.

Your loyalty gets a rating

Contributions earn a public badge from Bronze, at one to ten Merits, up to Diamond above 10,000. The rankings are published monthly.

“radical transparency”

Part of a wider movement

Peter Thiel helped fund the private city of Prospera in Honduras. A 'Crypto City' is going up in Venezuela and Liberstad in Norway.

“bubbles of capitalism”

No country recognises it

Not a single nation has recognised Liberland. It has thin infrastructure and 200 registered companies, plus an outpost across the river called Ark Village.

The land nobody claimed

Croatia and Serbia have disputed this stretch since Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s. Jedlicka invoked terra nullius, the idea that unclaimed land goes to whoever occupies it first.

Police blocked both routes

In 2015 Croatia sent border police and patrol boats to stop organisers reaching the site. Serbian police blocked the crossing from their side.

Someone has been living there

A settlement has run continuously since August 2023, with a core group holding physical presence, the first house built and basic marina facilities in place.

Seven days to become a citizen

Non-EU visitors entering from Croatia usually get an order to leave within seven days plus a re-entry ban. Liberland says that week is enough to earn citizenship by clearing land and building.

“more than enough to earn full Liberland citizenship”

Sealand did it first

Europe has seen this before. The Principality of Sealand, an abandoned North Sea oil rig off Suffolk, declared independence back in 1967.