Vanuatu is a ‘hidden gem’ in the Pacific. The real benefits of Vanuatu citizenship by investment program is not very well known to many foreign investors.
The Vanuatu citizenship programs (known as Development support program (DSP)) are not widely promoted or marketed by government unlike St Kitts or Dominica which are the most popular CBI programs, this is why Vanuatu is not popular with public.
Vanuatu is super interesting citizenship by investment program for these top reasons
- Simple and Easy application process
- Quickest processing times: 30 day for passport (20 days for citizenship approval)
- No requirement to travel and visit Vanuatu (not possible during Covid)
- Powerful passport with visa free benefits to UK, Schengen (125+ countries)
- Tax free country (no corporate, wealth or inheritance taxes)
How to obtain Vanuatu citizenship and passport?
Here is the step by step process
Step 1: Prepare all the required documents: Passport copies, police certificate, health certificate, marriage certificate etc.The documents need to be certified by a Commissioner of Oaths, Justice of the Peace or Notary Public. Any document in a foreign language must be translated into English. The English version must be certified as a true copy translation of the foreign language document.
Documents required (main applicant)
□ A-1 Nomination Form
□ A-2 Valid passport (certified copy)
□ A-3 Identity card (certified copy)
□ A-4 Police certificate from state of origin
□ A-5 Vanuatu Citizenship Commission due diligence check
□ A-6 Personal Profile, including education and employment history
□ A-7 Medical certificate
□ A-8 6 colour photos (40mm x 50 mm)
□ A-9 Asset Report (proof of assets USD 250,000 or more)
□ A-10 Employment certification, Bank Reference , Professional Reference, Academic certification
□ A-11 Others
Step 2: Fill the application form to file the application through authorized agent to Vanuatu citizenship commission. At this stage you have to only pay just USD 5,000 due diligence fee per application.
Step 3: The Vanuatu government will do a FIU due diligence check and notify the agent within 4 days. They will issue provisional letter of approval.
Step 4: Pay the remaining investment USD 130,000 (single applicant), additional costs apply for families. No other costs apply.
Step 5: Wait for 7 days for the citizenship commission to issue Letter of Approval. At this stage your citizenship is already approved.
Step 6: Certificate of citizenship is issued by government
Step 7: The Local Agent will apply for Vanuatu passport to be printed based on the certificate of citizenship
Step 8: Collect your passport and citizenship certificate at nearest consulate (you also must take oath video)
Financial Intelligence Unit background check
An FIU check is conducted before the documents are given to the Citizenship Commission. The client will provide to the Service Provider to send to the Designated Agent the sum of USD 5000 per applicant, a copy of their passport police clearance from state of origin and curriculum vitae.
The Designated Agent will pay to the Government a probity check fee and provided the documents mentioned previously as supporting documents. The check will be to ensure that the applicant does not have any criminal record or adverse background record in other parts of the world. The check takes 24 to 48 hours to complete.
If you fail the background check the USD 5,000 is not refundable and you dont need to make any investments.
The Screening Committee and Citizenship Commission meeting
A screening committee meeting is held first to screen the documents lodged. If there are any other documents required, there is an interval of 24 hours provided before the Citizenship Commission meeting. Within that 24 hours, local agents are required to provide any missing or further documents to support our application. Then after that the Citizenship Commission will meet and endorse and approve our application. Once the approval is made, local agent should receive an Approval in Principle letter within 24 hours after the meeting has concluded.
All Vanuatu brochures are available for free download in pdf format in our downloads section
