For the first time, the European Union has moved a country off its visa free list. The reason is Vanuatu’s citizenship by investment program, and every Vanuatu passport holder is affected.
On December 12, 2024, the Council of the European Union, which represents the governments of the member states, gave final approval to a law that removes Vanuatu from the list of countries whose citizens can visit the Schengen area without a visa. The Schengen area is the group of European countries that share a common border and a common short stay visa. The European Parliament had already voted 62 to 1, with two abstentions, in favour of the change in November.
The rapporteur, the member of Parliament who steered the file, noted that it is the first time the EU has ever removed a third country from its visa free list. The decision is a direct response to Vanuatu's citizenship by investment schemes.
Vanuatu nationals gained visa free access to Schengen in May 2015. Within days of that, on May 25, 2015, Vanuatu began running investor citizenship schemes. The EU's concern was straightforward: people from countries that need a Schengen visa could buy Vanuatu citizenship and then travel to Europe without ever going through the visa process.
The response came in stages.
The current full suspension runs until early February 2025, and the permanent visa requirement is set to take over from that point.
The EU's documents cite weak due diligence, meaning the background checks a country runs on applicants, along with no physical presence requirement, very short processing times and poor exchange of information with other governments. Parliament's report also criticised Vanuatu's cooperation with the Commission during the dialogue that followed the 2022 suspension.
Vanuatu did make changes. It set up a national task force, tightened screening and, in August 2024, began requiring applicants to enrol their fingerprints and facial data in person for new biometric passports. The Commission accepted that laws had been amended but said Vanuatu had not shown that the reforms were implemented or sufficient.
In practical terms, very little changes on the ground compared with the last two years, because the suspension has been in place since 2022 and covered everyone since early 2023. What changes is permanence. A suspension can be lifted. Removal from the visa free list can only be reversed through a new legislative process, which would take years and require the EU to be convinced that the original concerns have been fully addressed.
Vanuatu citizens, whether by birth or by investment, now need a Schengen visa to visit any of the area's member states. The United Kingdom had already imposed a visa requirement on Vanuatu nationals in July 2023, citing the same citizenship by investment concerns. The Vanuatu passport still offers visa free or visa on arrival access to a large number of destinations, including much of Asia and the Pacific, but the two most valuable European destinations are now firmly off the list.
For some people, Vanuatu citizenship was never mainly about European travel. It remains one of the fastest and least expensive citizenships available, with no residence requirement and no personal income tax. Those features are unchanged.
But anyone considering it should be clear eyed:
We help clients compare these options honestly, work with our local team, and quote fixed fees in writing.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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