A special member was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 whose participation was limited in certain functions. Originally, it was a status held by a few newly-joined countries, whose involvement was limited by its own limited financial resources. More recently, the name has been changed to member in arrears, from the 2007 CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007 was the twentieth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Kampala, Uganda, between 23 November and 25 November 2007, and was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni....

 on the recommendation of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership

Committee on Commonwealth Membership

The Committee on Commonwealth Membership was a committee convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2006 to examine and report on prospective changes to the membership criteria of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was chaired by P. J...

. The guidelines came from the 2003 CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003 was the eighteenth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Abuja, Nigeria, between 5 December and 8 December 2003, and hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo....

 in Abuja

Abuja

Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...

 that strengthened and replaced the 1999 CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999 was the sixteenth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Durban, South Africa, between 12 November and 14 November 1999, and hosted by President Thabo Mbeki....

 Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 guidelines.

They are not required to make payments to the Commonwealth. They may attend most functions and organs of the Commonwealth, but are not invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, , is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the...

s. They are, although limited in these respects, still considered members of the Commonwealth.

The status was created especially for Nauru

Nauru

Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...

, which had an exceptionally small population and area. Nauru was followed by fellow Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 sovereign state

Sovereign state

A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

 Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

, and then the larger Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....

 and Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

. These progressively gained full membership, leaving none from September 2000. However, Nauru fell behind on its subscription payments, and reverted to a special member in July 2005. Nauru has been a full member again since June 2011.

List of special members

Member	Special membership	Full membership
Nauru (first time)	1 November 1968	1 May 1999
Tuvalu	1 October 1978	1 September 2000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	27 October 1979	1 June 1985
Maldives	9 July 1982	20 July 1985
Nauru (second time)	July 2005	June 2011