Vanuatu citizenship
by investment

The Commission maintains an official list of restricted nationalities: Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan. Nationals of these countries may still be admitted if they have not lived, done business or held significant assets there for the past 10 years, with each case decided individually. Russia is a separate matter: in March 2026 the Citizenship Office issued a memorandum imposing a restriction, but two days later the Chairman of the Commission formally withdrew it as issued in error. Several industry sources have since reported a restriction again, with no official confirmation. We verify the current position with the agent before filing.

No. Vanuatu has permitted dual and multiple citizenship since 2013, and there is no requirement to give up your current passport. The programme sets no language or history tests, no business experience requirement and no interview. Check separately whether your own country allows dual citizenship: some states require notification of a second passport or restrict the option altogether.

You do not have to travel to Vanuatu itself, but one visit in person is required. Since 30 June 2025 biometric enrolment must be completed in person by every applicant, regardless of age, including infants. The locations are Port Vila, the UAE, Hong Kong and New Caledonia. Fees start at $1,000 in Port Vila and reach $3,000 in the UAE and Hong Kong; where travel is not possible, a consular visit can be arranged for a separate fee. Filing, due diligence and the oath of allegiance are all handled remotely. There are no residency requirements before filing or after the passport is issued.

Under the DSP the total comes to roughly $192,000: a $180,000 contribution, the $5,000 FIU due diligence fee, around $4,000 for biometric enrolment for four people and other government fees. Under the CIIP the figure is around $177,000, of which $50,000 is returned after 4-5 years, bringing the effective cost down to approximately $127,000. For families of three or four the CIIP works out cheaper than the DSP. The calculation covers a married couple and two children under 18; agent fees and document legalisation are not included.

The FIU Diligence Fee is $5,000 under the Commission's official fee schedule and is charged once per application, regardless of how many people are included. This is a key difference from the Caribbean programmes, where the fee is multiplied by each family member: for a family of four the saving reaches $10,000-15,000. Screening is carried out by the Financial Intelligence Unit against Interpol databases, sanctions lists and wanted person records. Children under 12 are not screened. The fee is paid before filing and is not refunded if the application is refused.

A Vanuatu passport is issued for 10 years. Since November 2025 passports have been issued as ICAO-standard biometric e-passports. Citizenship itself is granted for life and passes to your children; only the document is renewed, and no further contribution is payable. There is no requirement to visit the country in order to renew, and renewal can be arranged at a consulate or at the Vanuatu Immigration Service.

Yes, and unlike the Caribbean programmes there is no deadline for doing so. A future spouse is included for $45,000 and a future child for $15,000, while each additional dependant adds $10,000 at the official rate. Children born after the status is granted acquire citizenship by descent, so only the passport needs to be issued and no further contribution is required. A separate FIU due diligence check is carried out for every new person added.

No. This is the most common misconception about the programme: many sites still quote 118–156 visa-free countries and include the Schengen Area, but those figures are out of date. On 12 December 2024 the Council of the EU permanently removed Vanuatu from the visa-exempt list, moving it to Annex I of Regulation 2018/1806. The United Kingdom imposed a visa requirement on 19 July 2023, and Ireland withdrew visa-free access shortly afterwards. In practice the passport covers around 90 destinations, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and most of the Commonwealth. A B1/B2 visa is available for the United States, typically single-entry and valid for up to 3 months.

The DSP is a non-refundable contribution to the development fund and has run without interruption since 2017. The amount scales with family size: $130,000 for one applicant, $150,000 for a couple and $180,000 for four. The CIIP is a flat $165,000 for a family of up to four, of which $50,000 goes into a government-approved fund and is returned after 4–5 years. For a single applicant the DSP is cheaper; for families of three or more the CIIP is. There is also a third route: buying property in an approved project from $200,000, though the number of projects is limited. The CIIP was suspended in March 2025 and reopened in May of the same year after a review of due diligence rules.

Yes, and this is worth knowing before you apply. Vanuatu appears on the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and has exchanged information under the CRS since 2018. Banks in the EU, the UK and the US scrutinise Vanuatu passport holders more closely than most: they request additional evidence of source of funds, and some decline accounts outright under their internal compliance policies. Across Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific the passport performs considerably better. If your main objective is accounts with European banks, the Caribbean programmes are the more honest recommendation. We prepare the file against compliance requirements in advance, but account opening is always subject to the bank's own approval.