One of the fastest citizenship by investment programs in the world, from US$130,000, with no residence requirement, no interview and no personal income tax.
Vanuatu has no personal income tax, no company income tax and no capital gains or inheritance tax. Citizenship alone does not make you tax resident there, and your home country's rules still apply until you genuinely move.
Government revenue comes from VAT at 15%, import duties and business licence fees.
Full tax breakdownFrom a complete file, a passport typically arrives in two to four months, and the whole process is handled from abroad.
US$130,000 for a single applicant and US$150,000 for a couple, the lowest price among the established programs.
No requirement to live in Vanuatu, visit it or sit an interview, before or after citizenship. Biometrics can be taken outside the country.
Visa free or visa on arrival access to approx. 88 to 90 destinations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia and much of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
You keep your current nationality, and citizenship passes to children born after the grant.
The Development Support Program stayed open through the 2025 reforms, which added biometrics, a national ID card and tighter due diligence.
A contribution from US$130,000 that is not refundable. It is the simplest route, with no money tied up afterwards, and the cheapest outright for a single applicant.
Approx. US$165,000 for up to four people. US$50,000 of it goes into an approved local fund, mostly cocoa and coffee farming, and can be redeemed after four to five years, so for a family it usually ends up cheaper. Redemption depends on the fund.
Full citizenship for life, typically within two to four months, with no visit or interview. The passport opens approx. 88 to 90 destinations, mainly across Asia, the Pacific and the Gulf, but not Europe or the UK.
Time to passport: Approx. 2 to 4 months
Time to passport: Approx. 2 to 4 months
| Pathway | Minimum investment | Approval | What you get | Time to passport | Presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Support Program | US$130,000 | 1 to 3 months | Citizenship for life | Approx. 2 to 4 months | None; biometrics in Vanuatu or abroad |
| Capital Investment Immigration Plan | Approx. US$165,000, US$50,000 redeemable | 1 to 3 months | Citizenship for life | Approx. 2 to 4 months | None; biometrics in Vanuatu or abroad |
Development Support Program: couple US$150,000, family of three US$165,000, family of four US$180,000. The investment plan covers up to four people for the same amount, and US$50,000 of it can be redeemed later. Biometrics required on both.
Each option below qualifies on its own. We help you pick the one that suits your money and your plans.
A contribution that is not refundable.
Main applicant and spouse. Each child adds to the contribution: US$165,000 for a family of three and US$180,000 for a family of four.
A contribution plus US$50,000 invested in an approved local fund, which can be redeemed after four to five years. The same amount covers a single applicant or a family of four; each further dependant adds to it.
Beyond the contribution, the government charges due diligence, ID card and biometrics fees, and each extra dependant adds to the contribution. Every situation is different, so we quote everything as one custom fixed fee in writing after a free call.
We assist you in obtaining each document, then have it apostilled (certified with an international stamp so it is valid abroad), translated and filed for you.
A spouse, children under 18 and older children in full time education who depend on you, and dependent parents. The exact age limits for adult children and parents vary between published sources, so we confirm them against the current regulations for your family before quoting.
The headline rates for people who are tax residents there. Holding a residency or passport does not by itself make you a tax resident, and your current country may still tax you, so the licensed tax advisers in our local team confirm your position.
We check your nationality, family and source of funds and set the passport against the alternatives, so you know exactly what it opens. We then assist you in obtaining the relevant documents and having them apostilled and translated.
Our local team submits the first set of documents and the due diligence fee to the Financial Intelligence Unit, which usually clears a file in one to three weeks.
The complete file goes to the Citizenship Commission, which decides once it is complete. The contribution, and on the investment plan the fund investment, is paid after approval in principle.
You take the oath and enrol biometrics remotely or at a collection point outside Vanuatu. The certificate of citizenship, passport and national ID card follow, typically two to four months after filing.
Our local team stays with you once you are approved and takes care of the practical steps, then keeps everything current and compliant.
As a backup nationality, yes; as your main travel document, usually not. It is fast, comparatively low cost and needs no visit, which suits someone who already holds a strong passport and wants a second nationality to fall back on. It does not open Europe, the UK, the US, Canada or Australia without a visa, so if travel to those places is the point, a Caribbean program is the better fit.
In theory, yes: Vanuatu has no income tax of any kind. In practice, only if you genuinely move there. Holding the passport does not make you tax resident and does not end your tax residency at home, and few clients choose to relocate to Vanuatu. If a new tax residency is the goal, book a free call and we will look at where you would actually live.
Not for most clients. Vanuatu's financial centre is small, international banks treat it cautiously, and a Vanuatu company can raise more questions than it answers. We usually set up your company and banking elsewhere, such as a US LLC, a UK company, an Estonian company or a UAE structure, depending on your situation.
Only in specific cases. It is the cheapest established citizenship program, but US$130,000 that you do not get back is still significant capital for a young business. If your goal is a second base, a residency program costs far less. Vanuatu makes sense when a quick second nationality solves a specific problem, such as travel across Asia on a passport that faces restrictions.
Not without a visa. The EU first suspended visa free travel for Vanuatu passports issued from 2015, then removed Vanuatu from its visa free list entirely from February 2025, for every citizen. It was the first time the EU had done this to any country, and it was a direct response to how the citizenship program was run. The UK has required visas since July 2023.
Approx. 88 to 90 destinations on the 2026 Henley Passport Index, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, most of the Pacific and much of Southeast Asia. The Schengen area, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia all require visas.
From a complete file, two to four months to a passport in hand is realistic. Agents often advertise 30 to 60 days, and due diligence alone usually takes one to three weeks, but the Commission's schedule and the 2026 regulation changes have made some files slower.
No. There is no residence requirement before or after citizenship, no interview and no language test. The oath and biometrics can be completed outside Vanuatu.
Yes. Vanuatu allows dual citizenship, so you keep your current nationality as long as your home country also allows it, which we check with you at the start.
Yes, if it was obtained through fraud or false information, or granted contrary to the law. Vanuatu has revoked investor citizenships before, including after foreign sanctions, which is why a clean, well documented file matters. Investor citizens also cannot vote or stand for office in Vanuatu.
Yes. The Capital Investment Immigration Plan costs approx. US$165,000 for a single applicant up to a family of four. Part of that is a contribution, and US$50,000 is invested in an approved local fund, mostly in farming, which can be redeemed after four to five years. Once it comes back, a family of four has paid approx. US$115,000 instead of US$180,000 on the Development Support Program. The catch is that the money is tied up for years, and redemption depends on the fund. Vanuatu also has a real estate option in its law, from approx. US$200,000 in approved projects, but it is rarely available, so we do not recommend it.
Yes, both are open. The Development Support Program stayed open throughout. Vanuatu paused the Capital Investment Immigration Plan in March 2025 for an audit of its agents, then reopened it in mid 2025 with higher amounts, stricter reporting and only a few approved agents. Citizenship programs fund a large share of Vanuatu's budget, which keeps them running but also keeps them under scrutiny, so rules can change.
Yes. Children born after the grant can be added, and future spouses can be added for a separate contribution. We confirm the current amounts with the authority when you need them.
Laws and fees change, so we confirm every number before you commit.
A treaty signed in Canberra commits Australia to enhanced mobility arrangements for Vanuatu visitors. It does not grant visa free entry, and it still needs domestic approval in both countries before it takes effect.
Read
The International Court of Justice has answered the climate questions Vanuatu spent six years bringing before it, and all fifteen judges agreed. It is the biggest diplomatic result in the country’s history.
Read
After a two month freeze, scrutiny of its agents and a string of cancelled passports, Vanuatu has reopened its Capital Investment Immigration Plan with higher prices and stricter oversight.
Read
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.
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