Vanuatu passport: cost, timeline and travel freedom

Vanuatu is the classic among the passport programmes of the Pacific, with one of the lowest entry points of all the programmes in our comparison. How citizenship by investment works in general, and which programmes exist worldwide, is explained in Buying citizenship. For Vanuatu, four questions matter: what it really costs, whom you can bring along, what the road to the certificate looks like and what the passport does for you when you travel.

Vanuatu citizenship: the programme at a glance

The authority in charge is the Vanuatu Citizenship Office and Commission in Port Vila. The Commission reviews and approves every application, while the Citizenship Office runs the procedure. The legal basis is the Citizenship Act [Cap 112], in force since 1980. Section 13E of that Act is the foundation of the Development Support Program, or DSP for short. The details are laid down in the Citizenship (Development Support Program) Regulations Order No. 33 of 2019, as amended by Order No. 39 of 2020.

Investors have two routes:

The Development Support Program runs through designated agents chosen by the Commission itself. The regulations require these agents to be citizens of Vanuatu with their head office in Port Vila. The Commission publishes the list of designated agents on its website, together with the list of those struck off. So you can always see who is officially authorised.

Important for you as a German: Vanuatu recognises dual citizenship. One of the constitutional amendments of 2013 enshrined this expressly, and since then the citizenship legislation has also covered dual citizenship for investors in the Capital Investment Immigration Plan. You do not have to give up your current passport to become a citizen of Vanuatu.

What does Vanuatu citizenship cost?

The prices of the Development Support Program are not set out in a brochure but in the regulations themselves. Clause 4 of Order No. 33 of 2019 fixes the amount below which the price may not fall anywhere in the world. The amount for each additional dependant is given in the Commission's schedule of fees:

Government fees come on top. The largest is the due diligence fee of the Financial Intelligence Unit: 5,000 USD per main applicant, covering the checks on the applicant and on everyone included in the application. Order No. 39 of 2020 raised this fee from its previous 2,000 USD. Smaller amounts are payable in vatu: a 5,000 vatu application fee and 10,000 vatu for each certificate of naturalisation issued under your application.

For a single applicant, that makes a total of around 135,000 USD plus the vatu fees. A married couple with two minor children comes to 185,000 USD plus vatu fees. That is why Vanuatu so often tops the list when people look for affordable citizenship. Which programmes come in even lower is shown in The cheapest citizenship to buy, and every amount at a glance on the Costs page.

How you pay

The regulations split the payment into two instalments. You pay 25 % before the Commission considers your application and the remaining 75 % before the certificate of naturalisation is issued. You may also pay the full amount in one go. An amount counts as paid once it has reached the DSP account at the National Bank of Vanuatu and the Commission holds proof of it.

There is one rule you should know before you file: if the Commission refuses an application, the first instalment of 25 % is not refunded. In addition, the Commission may not approve anyone with a criminal record. A fully prepared application is therefore the best protection for your first instalment.

The Capital Investment Immigration Plan

The second route costs more but covers three people at once. The citizenship fee is 260,000 USD for the applicant, the spouse and one child under 18. Each further child under 18 costs 19,250 USD, and each dependant aged 18 to 21 costs 44,250 USD. The application fee is 250 USD. According to the Commission, the plan includes a mandatory investment component of 50,000 USD in the country's economy, and compliance with it is monitored.

Family in the application: who you can include

A passport that protects only you is half a plan. In the Development Support Program you can bring your family into a joint application. The regulations distinguish between children and what they call resident dependants.

• Children: your or your spouse's biological or lawfully adopted children who are not yet 18.
• Adult children: sons and daughters aged 18 to 25 who live with you or are supported by you and are in full-time education.
• Parents: your or your spouse's mother or father if they are over 50, live with you and depend on you.

Each dependant beyond the package with two children costs 10,000 USD. Parents over 50 are one area where Vanuatu is more generous than some Caribbean programmes. Which programmes naturalise the whole family, right up to the grandparents, is compared in Parents and grandparents in a CBI application. The family rules of every programme are on the Family page.

Applying for Vanuatu citizenship: process and timeline

The route to the passport is described step by step in the regulations and on the Citizenship Office's website.

1. Due diligence by the Financial Intelligence Unit

Your designated agent first files your application with the Financial Intelligence Unit. It checks you and everyone in the application, and since Order No. 39 of 2020 it does so together with an internationally active firm specialising in citizenship and visa screening. Among other things, you need a valid passport and a police clearance certificate from your country of origin.

The regulations set a period of 96 hours for this check. In December 2024 the Commission tightened the checks together with the Financial Intelligence Unit, Interpol and the immigration authority, and itself pointed out that this may lengthen processing. For you, this means: allow time and submit a complete set of documents.

2. Review at the Citizenship Office

After due diligence, the application goes to the Citizenship Office. There, a checklist is used to confirm that all documents are in place, and then a compliance officer checks the details a second time. If anything is missing, the Office contacts the agent. The Internal Screening Committee then checks whether every requirement is met.

3. The Commission's decision

The Citizenship Commission decides. The regulations oblige the Office's Secretary General to inform the agent within 48 hours of the decision. With the approval you learn the last steps before the certificate: the oath, confirmation of the correct spelling of your name and payment of the citizenship fee.

4. The oath in Vanuatu

This is the one point at which Vanuatu requires you to be there in person. The oath is taken before a Commissioner of Oath at a court in Vanuatu, and on the island of Santo also at the court in Luganville. If you live abroad, you travel there for it. After approval you have three months for the oath and the payment, and with good reason you can apply in writing, before that period ends, for two more months. If you let the deadline pass, the approval lapses.

5. Certificate and passport

The Commission must issue the certificate of naturalisation within 90 days of approval, provided the full amount has been paid. With the certificate, you apply for the passport:

Vanuatu sets no fixed overall deadline from application to passport. How Vanuatu compares on timing with the other programmes is shown in How soon will your second passport be in your hand?, and the general process on the How it works page.

The Vanuatu passport and your freedom to travel

The Vanuatu passport is valid for no more than five years. According to the Commission, Vanuatu has introduced biometric passports that meet international security standards.

A good deal has changed on travel freedom in recent years. The EU has ended visa-free access to the Schengen Area for citizens of Vanuatu. In December 2024 the Citizenship Commission called the decision a setback and announced that it would keep talking to the EU and the United Kingdom about a return to visa-free travel. This is where things stand today:

For you as a German, the Schengen question is hardly a drawback. You travel within Europe on your German passport anyway, and you keep it. The Vanuatu passport is your second right to papers, not your travel document for Paris or Rome. How the EU proceeded against Vanuatu, and what that means for Caribbean passports, is explained in The EU visa suspension. The travel freedom of every programme side by side is in Travel freedom of CBI passports.

Benefits of Vanuatu citizenship

A visa can be refused or revoked. Citizenship is a right. That is the heart of every second passport, and Vanuatu delivers it at a price within reach of many families. The main benefits at a glance:

• The price: 130,000 USD for a single applicant in the Development Support Program. In the Caribbean, the cheapest contribution starts at 200,000 USD in Dominica.
• The family: children up to 25 in full-time education and parents over 50 come along in the application.
• No move: the Development Support Program requires no residence in Vanuatu before you apply. The only trip is the one for the oath.
• Dual citizenship: Vanuatu recognises it, and so has Germany since June 2024.
• A second state behind you: if your German passport is lost, stolen or held abroad, you have a second state that will issue you papers.

And taxes? Citizenship changes nothing about your German tax liability. Under section 1 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), you are fully taxable in Germany if you have a home or your habitual abode there, not because of your passport. What really decides your taxes is set out under Taxes, and how Vanuatu itself taxes in the Steueratlas on Vanuatu (in German). And if you want more than a passport, namely a life on the islands, the guide Buying property in Vanuatu (in German) sets out the rules for leasehold and land ownership.

All eight reasons for a second passport are set out in Why a second passport.

Vanuatu or the Caribbean: which passport suits you

Put Vanuatu next to the Caribbean and the newer programmes in Africa, and you quickly see where it stands. The entry amounts and the visa requirement for Germany according to the German Federal Foreign Office:

The Caribbean costs more and in return brings visa-free travel to Germany and the Schengen Area. Vanuatu costs less and gives you what a second passport is really about: a second right, independent of your first state. If you want both, you combine them. Holding several passports is the best answer to the risk that one country changes its rules. The full comparison of every open programme is under Comparison. Why Vanuatu remains attractive for EU citizens despite the visa requirement is explained in the episode Vanuatu passport: an affordable second passport for EU citizens (in German).

German passport and Vanuatu passport: you keep both

Germany's new nationality law has applied since 27 June 2024. A German who acquires a foreign nationality by application no longer loses German citizenship, and no retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) is needed. Together with Vanuatu's recognition of dual citizenship, this means you hold both passports, entirely legally. What applies to earlier cases and to your children is set out in CBI passport and German passport.

And the route through naturalisation? Vanuatu has it too, but it is long. Anyone seeking ordinary naturalisation must have lived in the country without interruption for at least ten years immediately before applying and pass a written test in Bislama on Vanuatu's law, politics, history and society. This is exactly where you see why citizenship by investment and naturalisation are not an either-or. Naturalisation is the free route and, in the end, the better one, but it takes years and genuine residence. A passport by investment buys you that time. How to combine the two routes is explained in CBI and naturalisation.

Frequently asked questions