The cornerstone of the AMU, the reason and the main principle upon which our organization was erected, is the mutual recognition of Antarctic borders: all AMU Members enjoy the collective protection of their Antarctic claims, all new members will instantly have their Antarctic claims recognized by older members, and will be bound by the Charter to recognize the claims of older members as well. Before applying for membership we encourage you to carefully review the Charter, the content of this website, and make sure the AMU is what you’re looking for. In particular, we strongly advice the following:
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DON’T apply if your goal is to be part of micronational UN, EU, NATO, or alike: the AMU is none of the above and doesn’t have an exact parallel in the “macronational” world.
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DON’T apply if you want to have a go at politics – there are better places for that. The next election of the Administrative-General is scheduled for 2024, and the AMU has no “Security Councils” to run for. There are many micronational organizations where your political skills will be greatly appreciated, but the AMU is simply not the right place for that.
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DON’T apply for the sake of applying. Are you able to articulate why you want to join the AMU and not some other micronational organization, of which there are dozens? If not, the AMU members will likely see no reason to let you in.
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DO apply if you have a genuine passion for Antarctica, if you’re an environmentalist, or if you have some other qualities that could be relevant for the AMU. Remember that you’re here not just to receive, but also to give.
You’ve read everything on the website, you memorized the Charter to the point where you could wake up in the middle of night and start reciting it (just kidding!) – but what next? Before you proceed with the application, we have several more suggestions:
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If your micronation was established only recently, don’t apply until it has developed sufficiently. At the very least, a comprehensive website and pages in social media are expected: an applicant that doesn’t have even something as basic will almost certainly be voted down.
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Don’t submit a disproportionately large claim, especially if your micronation is still new or small: though no official limit exists, an applicant claiming more land than existing members risks being viewed in a negative light.
Make sure to review everything before applying! Once submitted, an application can’t be modified nor withdrawn, and should it be rejected, you won’t be able to submit a new one until after a year.
Soon after submitting the application you’ll receive a welcome email from the Administrative-General, who’ll guide you through the admission process. The Antarctic Micronational Union convokes to vote new members once a month, an application is considered passed if at least 2/3 and a passing majority of the active members voted in favor of granting membership. New members will receive an electronic Certificate of Membership and will be granted access to the members-only AMU venues.
The Antarctic Micronational Union notifies applicants about the vote through a volcanic eruption on Mount Erebus: when there’s white smoke coming, it means the application was accepted, while black smoke means the existing members have rejected the application. However, if you’re on a budget or don’t have enough time for traveling to Antarctica, you may simply wait for an email from the Administrative-General, who will notify you about the application status.