Vanuatu is the only country in the South Pacific that ‘sells’ its citizenship to foreign investors. To be more precise, it is the only country in the region with an affordable citizenship-by-investment program. Singapore also grants citizenship to foreign investors but you have to put tens of millions of dollars into the country to qualify for citizenship there.
Last year brought bad news to the Vanuatu Citizenship-by-Investment Unit, however. First the EU and then Great Britain suspended their visa-free agreements with Vanuatu. They did so exactly because the country administered a citizenship-by-investment program.
At the same time, the authorities of Vanuatu are trying to fight back and regain the sympathy of the big and powerful. They are planning to reform their economic citizenship program in a way that would make the authorities of the EU and the UK satisfied. For this reason, the best time to apply for citizenship of Vanuatu by investment is now, before the country toughens the procedures of citizenship acquisition under pressure from Europe.
Please note that it is possible to apply for Vanuatu citizenship via investment remotely. Some application documents can be submitted in the electronic form.
Citizenship of Vanuatu by investment: main advantages
- Fast application processing. You can acquire a passport of Vanuatu within 6 to 8 weeks. No other country administering a citizenship-by-investment program processes applications so fast.
- Visa-free entry to a comparatively large number of countries including Singapore and Hong Kong. Hopefully, the EU and Great Britain are going to return to the list of visa-free countries for citizens of Vanuatu.
- Ease of second citizenship acquisition. The applicant does not have to have a personal interview and neither does he or she have to visit Vanuatu to pick up the passport.
- Personal income, wealth, inheritance, capital gains, and capital repatriation are not taxed in Vanuatu.
- The spouse and the children of the main applicant will also be granted citizenship of the country.
- A passport of Vanuatu can be used to apply for a ‘golden visa’ in a European country.
- You can also use the document to open foreign bank accounts and book airline tickets.
The Vanuatu citizenship-by-investment program was first launched in 2012. It has been amended a few times and now its 2017 version is on the market. It is called the ‘Development Support Program’ (DSP). At the current moment, the Vanuatu authorities are working on new amendments in cooperation with the European Commission. Most amendments will affect the due diligence procedures.
It is also expected that the bank compliance requirements will become tougher. In addition, economic citizens of Vanuatu will be disallowed to change their personal names.
According to an official announcement, The EU has extended to August 3, 2024 the deadline for the Vanuatu authorities to introduce changes to the program. When this happens, the Schengen zone should become visa-free for Vanuatu passport holders once again. Currently, they have to apply for visas to visit the EU and Switzerland as the country has supported the European Commission initiative.
As things stand for now, the main advantages of Vanuatu citizenship is fast application processing. Besides, there are no restrictions as to the countries of the applicants’ origin.
Vanuatu became independent from Great Britain and France only in 1980. However, it is still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations with all the benefits that this status brings. The Vanuatu authorities stay in touch with the UK authorities in any case.
The overall territory of Vanuatu is huge but most of it is taken up by water. The land area is only 12,190 km². The country consists of 83 islands and 68 of them are inhabited. The closest neighbors of Vanuatu are Australia and New Zealand and this is where most tourists to Vanuatu come from. Vanuatu has established close ties with its two prosperous neighbors.
Vanuatu citizenship by investment: how much?
To become an economic citizen of Vanuatu, you have to make a donation to the state fund. Vanuatu does not currently offer any other investment options. The donation amounts are as follows:
- US$ 130,000 for a single applicant.
- US$ 180 000 for a family of four.
Please note that these are the sums that go to the national budget. In accordance with the local antidumping policies, licensed immigration agents are not allowed to charge less than US$ 15,000 for their services. Thus, US$ 145,000 plus the application processing fee, the due diligence fee, and other state duties is the lowest price that you can pay for a passport of Vanuatu.
Requirements for the applicants for Vanuatu citizenship
The applicant has to do the following:
- Demonstrate having at least US$ 250,000 in his/ her bank account.
- Pass medical tests.
- Pass the age test (the main applicant has to be over 18).
- Pass the due diligence tests.
Steps in the process of acquiring Vanuatu citizenship by investment
- Apply for a consultation on the matter. Make sure you contact an experienced citizenship-by-investment expert.
- Supply the information that will allow the expert to assess your chances for success if you apply for citizenship of Vanuatu.
- If the expert believes that your chances are good, sign a service agreement with him/ her.
- Your first contact in Vanuatu will have to be with the local Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) because the immigration authorities of the country want to make sure that your investment capital is clean before they even start processing your application for citizenship. At this stage, you will have to submit some personal and financial documents.
- If the FIU officers are happy with your sources of income, you can submit a full application for Vanuatu citizenship. At this stage, you have to pay 25% of the donation amount (that depends on the number of applicants if a family application is filed). The Vanuatu Citizenship Committee is going to process your application.
- Once your application for citizenship is approved, you have to pay the remaining 75% of the overall donation amount. Besides, you have to take an oath of allegiance. Since the times of the Covid-related quarantine, the oath can be taken online. Previously, a personal meeting with a Vanuatu official was required. Your passport will be issued in Vanuatu and sent to you with a courier. Mission complete.
European Commission has postponed termination of visa-free regime for citizens of Vanuatu
As we have noted above, the European authorities have extended the deadline for Vanuatu immigration authorities giving them extra time to amend their citizenship-by-investment program. Previously, they banned entry for Vanuatu citizens whose passports were issued after May 25, 2015 and threatened to cancel the visa-free regime with the country altogether.
The fact that the deadline has been extended and the fact that Vanuatu has been able to involve the European commission in the amendment processes give some hope, however. It looks as though the attitude of the EU authorities to the Vanuatu citizenship program had changed from ‘to be closed immediately’ to ‘to be amended’. This is certainly good news.
