What is paid beyond the Vanuatu citizenship contribution: 7 budget items

Seven budget items besides the contribution

In brief: beyond the contribution, the BRIDGES budget adds only the FIU fee: $5,000 under the DSP and $8,000 under the CIIP fund for the whole application. The total is $135,000 for one applicant and $185,000 for a family of four under the DSP, $165,000 under the fund, while translation, support and bank fees are calculated separately as invoiced.

These costs are called hidden because adverts often show only the contribution. In a correct budget each item stands on its own, and the government share can be checked against the Citizenship Office’s published fee schedule. How the total is built and how the DSP differs from the fund in money terms is covered in the cost of Vanuatu citizenship, and the payment order by stage in how Vanuatu citizenship is paid for.

Cost 1. The FIU check fee and the application fee

In brief: the Financial Intelligence Unit check fee is $5,000 under the DSP and $8,000 under the CIIP fund. It is paid once per application on filing and is not refunded on refusal. The application fee of VT 5,000 is paid at the same time.

The fee does not depend on the number of members: a family of four pays the same as one applicant. Every adult member is checked, and under the official DSP checklist so are children aged 12 to 18, but no separate fee is charged for them. If the FIU sends a request, the fee is not paid again; the timeline moves by the time needed to reply. Who is included in the application and what is checked for each member is covered in requirements for Vanuatu citizenship applicants.

Since the fee is non-refundable, the risk of refusal is assessed before it is paid: a preliminary check of background and source of funds takes 1-2 working days. How the check works is described in due diligence.

Cost 2. A passport and ID card for each member

In brief: after the Commission’s decision, citizen documents are issued: a passport and ID card for each member. They are paid at the Vanuatu passport service tariff and are not shown as a separate sum in the BRIDGES budget.

The FIU fee does not depend on the number of members, so the family’s total grows only with the contribution by family size.

The documents are paid for after approval, when the application moves on to biometrics and the oath. The passport is issued for 10 years, and you pay for it again only on renewal.

Cost 3. Translation, certification and apostille

In brief: documents issued in a language other than English are translated and certified, and police clearances and civil certificates are apostilled. The cost depends on the number of documents and the issuing countries and is calculated from the translator’s and notary’s invoices.

Costs grow if certificates are issued in several countries: a police clearance is requested both in the country of citizenship and in the country of residence, and each has its own apostille procedure. Extra spending most often comes from redoing work: a certificate expired while other documents were collected, or the name on a certificate is spelled differently from the passport. The document list by member is collected in documents for Vanuatu citizenship.

The order of work helps reduce this line: first only the first-stage package for the FIU is translated, and personal documents, diplomas and medical certificates are translated after a positive clearance. If the check raises a question, the family does not pay for translating the full package in advance.

Cost 4. Support and the designated agent

In brief: the application is filed only through a designated agent, so support is always part of the budget. The state does not set its cost; it depends on the family and the source of funds and is fixed in the agreement as a separate line.

An application from a single applicant with employment income and one from a three-generation family with the sale of a business require different amounts of work: the number of documents, the source-of-funds check, replies to requests. So a correct proposal is prepared after the preliminary check, with a list of services and payment stages.

When comparing proposals, look not at the total figure but at what is included: the preliminary check, translation, replies to FIU requests, biometrics and delivery of passports. A proposal without the contribution and fees on separate lines cannot be compared. How to check a designated agent against the official list is described in licensed Vanuatu citizenship agent.

Cost 5. Bank fees and a large transfer

In brief: the contribution and fees are paid in US dollars, and the sender’s bank together with correspondent banks charges fees at its own rates. These are budgeted separately so that the amount credited matches the invoice.

The fee depends on the bank and the chain of correspondents, so you find out the exact amount from your bank before paying. If the account is in another currency, conversion is added to the fee. The bank reviews a large transfer for source of funds, so the invoice and documents on the origin of the money are prepared for it, and the payment channel is checked before filing.

Payments go only through banks to official accounts. Offers to route the contribution through exchange offices, cryptocurrency or third-party accounts are declined: such a payment does not prove the origin of funds and creates a risk for the application. Which banks operate in Vanuatu is covered in banks in Vanuatu.

Cost 6. Biometrics: travel to the city where they are taken

In brief: each member gives biometrics in person. With BRIDGES they are taken in Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow, St Petersburg or Port Vila, so no flight to the islands is needed, but travel to the nearest city goes into the budget.

If the family lives in one of these cities, the cost comes down to the time of the visit. If not, flights and accommodation are calculated for all members, including children, and the city chosen is the one that is closer and does not require a visa. Many nationalities can visit the UAE visa-free; Russian citizens, for example, can stay up to 90 days in any 180, and Hong Kong allows them up to 14 days without a visa.

The biometrics date is planned before the application is approved, so the whole family can travel in one visit. The biometrics procedure for Russian citizens is described in Vanuatu citizenship for Russian citizens.

Cost 7. Costs after receiving the passport

In brief: there are no annual payments, but after 10 years the passport is renewed at the passport service tariff, and a relative not included in the first application is added by a separate application with their own contribution and FIU fee.

• Passport renewal. The passport is valid for 10 years and renewed without a trip to the islands; citizenship status does not change. The procedure is in Vanuatu passport renewal.
• New family members. A spouse from a new marriage or parents not included at first file a separate application. A child born to a Vanuatu citizen acquires citizenship by descent without a programme contribution.
• Documents in the first country of citizenship. Translation of the Vanuatu passport and updating details at banks, if the country or bank requires it.
• The route to Europe. Greek residence is arranged separately, with a property threshold from €250,000 to €800,000; a turnkey Vanuatu and Greece package takes up to 9 months.

So it pays for the family to apply in full from the start: a separate application repeats the contribution, FIU fee and documents. The procedure for adding relatives is in adding family members to Vanuatu citizenship, and who can be included in the first application in Vanuatu citizenship for the whole family.

How much is added to the contribution: calculation by family size

In brief: beyond the DSP contribution, any family adds only the $5,000 FIU fee: a total of $135,000 for one applicant, $155,000 for a couple, $170,000 for a family of three and $185,000 for a family of four. Under the CIIP fund the FIU fee is $8,000, and the total is $165,000 for a family of up to four.

Translation, support, bank fees and travel to the biometrics city are not in the table: they depend on the application and are calculated separately. For a family with dependent children aged 18 to 25 or parents over 50, the calculation is done for the actual family in the cost calculator. The contribution tariff by family size and the terms of the non-refundable contribution are covered in the DSP programme.

Additional costs under the CIIP fund

In brief: the fund has its own features: an FIU fee of $8,000 instead of $5,000, a $157,000 contribution that is the same for a family of up to four, $50,000 of which is returned after 5 years, and early exit possible with loss of part of the amount.

For a family of three or more the fund is cheaper than the DSP at the point of payment, and with the $50,000 return the total for a family of four is $115,000. The price of this difference is that $50,000 is unavailable for five years. The fund stake, like the DSP contribution, is paid after Commission approval, and for the payment the main applicant prepares an asset report, a 6-month bank statement and proof of address. A comparison of programmes is in the CIIP fund with a $50,000 return.

When each budget item is paid

In brief: before the Commission’s decision the family pays only the FIU fee and document preparation costs. The DSP contribution or the CIIP fund stake is paid after approval, within 3 months together with the oath, and passports are issued 1-3 weeks after that.

This order reduces risk: the main sum goes when the decision has already been made. Translation and certification are paid as preparation proceeds, in two waves: first the short package for the FIU, then the full package for the Commission.

1. Pre-check. 1-2 working days, before the agreement and before any government payments.
2. FIU filing. A fee of $5,000 under the DSP or $8,000 under the fund, translation and certification of the first-stage package.
3. Preparing for the Commission. Translation of personal documents and source-of-funds documents.
4. After approval. The contribution or fund stake, biometrics, the oath, passports and ID cards.

Bank fees are budgeted for the time of the contribution: the bank reviews a large US dollar transfer for source of funds, so the invoice and documents on the origin of money are prepared in advance. For a family that needs passports by a specific date, the payment schedule is built from the nearest Commission sitting: it meets twice a month.

What you do not need to pay for

In brief: there are no annual fees or citizenship tax, no property purchase or flight to Vanuatu is needed, the FIU fee is not paid per member, and no programme contribution is paid for a child born to a citizen.

If a budget contains “annual citizenship maintenance”, “an FIU fee for each family member” or a mandatory trip to the islands, these lines are checked against the official fee schedule before paying. Signs of fraudulent offers are collected in Vanuatu passport scams.

Investment in property is provided for by a separate REO option with state-approved projects; property purchase is not part of the DSP or the CIIP fund. The terms of this option are covered in how REO works.

How to check that the budget covers all costs

In brief: a full budget has seven lines besides the contribution, the government share is separated from services, citizen documents are calculated for each member, and both programmes are calculated for a family.

1. Contribution by family size. $130,000, $150,000, $165,000 or $180,000 under the DSP, $157,000 under the fund for a family of up to four.
2. One FIU fee. $5,000 or $8,000 per application.
3. Documents for each. Passport and ID card multiplied by the number of members.
4. Translation and certification. A separate line reflecting the countries where documents were issued.
5. Support. The scope of services and payment stages in the agreement.
6. Bank fees. A margin at your bank’s rate.
7. Biometrics. Travel to the chosen city, if it is not your own.

If the budget is calculated only for the DSP and the family has three or four members, it is recalculated for the fund: a family of four saves $20,000 at the point of payment and receives $50,000 after 5 years.

For a large family the documents line weighs the most: each adult member has their own package, each child their own, and police clearances must all be valid at the same time on the filing date. How the budget and documents are assembled for three generations in one application is shown in case: a budget for a family of seven.

Additional costs for Russian citizens

In brief: the tariffs are the same; added are the apostille and translation of Russian documents, an account in a bank in another country for payment, and duties after the passport: notifying the Interior Ministry of the second citizenship within 60 days. Applicants from other countries should check their own home-country rules.

Russian police clearances and certificates are apostilled and translated into English. The contribution is paid from an account in a bank in another country, opened in advance, because correspondent banks often do not let transfers from Russian banks through. A Russian tax resident notifies the tax service of opening a foreign account and reports cash flows through it. Missing the deadline for notifying the Interior Ministry carries a fine of RUB 500 to 1,000 under Article 19.8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences, and failing to notify a fine of up to RUB 200,000 under Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code. All duties are covered in dual citizenship of Russia and Vanuatu.

How BRIDGES shows the full budget

In brief: before the agreement we show an itemised budget for the DSP and the fund, separate government payments from services and name the payment moment for each line.

• Both programmes. For a family of three or more we calculate the DSP and the CIIP fund and show the difference.
• The government share separately. Contribution, FIU fee, passports and ID cards are checked against the tariff.
• Services under the agreement. The list of work and payment stages is fixed before work begins.
• Payment channel. We check the bank and transfer documents before filing.

The scope of services is described on Vanuatu citizenship by investment.