Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment

Vanuatu sells citizenship, not residence. The Citizenship Office and Commission runs the investment programs, and the official list of citizenship types places them among the routes to citizenship, not among visas.

What approval gives: Grants full Vanuatu citizenship directly; no prior residence permit or residence period is required.

The office keeps designated agent lists for four investment streams: the Development Support Program (DSP), the Vanuatu Contribution Program (VCP), the Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP) and the Real Estate Option (REO). Its fee table, which does not name the stream it covers, starts at $130,000 for a single applicant.

The CIIP stream was suspended in March 2025, the Pacific Islands News Association reported, and no official notice confirms that it has reopened. Applicants should confirm a stream's status with the Citizenship Office before paying anything.

Travel access: All Vanuatu citizens need a visa for the Schengen area since Feb. 3, 2025, after a partial EU suspension from 2022 aimed at passports issued from May 25, 2015; the UK has required visitor visas since July 19, 2023. Both cite the investor citizenship programs. Sources: Danish Immigration Service and UK Home Office.

The official material sets no residence condition. Applicants qualify through the contribution and an approved file:

• Contribution: at least $130,000 for a single applicant, under the official fee table.
• Family: a spouse and children can be included. The table prices a married couple at $150,000, a couple with one child at $165,000 and a couple with two children at $180,000. Each additional applicant adds $10,000.
• Due diligence: every application is checked by Vanuatu's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which the fee table charges for separately.
• Agent: applications go through a designated agent, not directly to the office.

The Citizenship Office does not publish a full document checklist for the investment streams on its website. Designated agents, listed by stream on the official agent page, hold the current forms and checklist.

FIU due diligence is part of every file, so applicants should expect checks on identity, background and the money used for the contribution.

The contribution and the FIU fee are set in US dollars; the application fee is set in vatu.

The Citizenship Office fee table sets these amounts:

• Single applicant: $130,000
• Married couple: $150,000
• Couple with one child: $165,000
• Couple with two children: $180,000
• Each additional applicant: $10,000
• FIU diligence fee: $5,000
• Application fee: VUV 5,000 per application

Some agency sites quote a higher amount per additional family member than the official table. The citizenship certificate fee due after approval sits in a separate official schedule, and agent fees are not in the official table.

Where to apply: Through a designated agent listed by the Citizenship Office and Commission; the commission decides the application and issues the citizenship certificate.

1. Pick a stream and an agent. The designated agent page lists separate agents for the DSP, the VCP and the CIIP.
2. Lodge the application. The agent files it and the VUV 5,000 application fee is paid on lodging (fee page).
3. Due diligence. The FIU checks the applicant and any included family members.
4. Decision. The commission decides and issues the citizenship certificate. A separate certificate fee is payable after approval.

No official processing time is published.

Approval grants citizenship, so there is no visa term to renew and no residence period to complete first. The commission issues a citizenship certificate once the application is approved and the certificate fee is paid.

Visa-free travel with the passport has narrowed since 2022: the Schengen area and the UK now require visas (see the overview).

Vanuatu levies no personal or corporate income tax; revenue comes from 15% VAT, import duties, a 15% tax on rental income above VT200,000 in six months and stamp duty. (Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority)

The official pages say nothing on how Vanuatu citizenship affects tax owed elsewhere. Tax residence in another country is decided by that country's own rules.