The Vanuatu passport: what document you receive and how strong it is

The document a Vanuatu citizen receives

In brief: a new citizen receives two documents: a citizenship certificate and a biometric passport. The certificate confirms permanent status, while the passport is for travel and is valid for 10 years. Vanuatu allows dual citizenship, so the applicant keeps their first passport.

The citizenship certificate is issued after approval and the oath. It is the main status document: it is used to issue the passport, children’s documents and a new passport in place of an expired or lost one. Citizenship does not need renewing, does not depend on the passport’s validity and is kept even if the citizen does not live in the country. The rights and obligations the status brings are covered in the article what the status requires of a citizen.

The citizenship certificate is issued by the Citizenship Commission, and the passport by the Vanuatu Immigration and Passport Services, usually 1-3 weeks after the oath. The passport is biometric, has a green cover and is valid for 10 years. Biometrics, meaning fingerprints and a digital photo, are given in person at points in Dubai, Hong Kong and Port Vila, as well as in Moscow and St Petersburg.

What to check in the passport data

The name in the passport is written in Latin letters and must match your other passport, bank documents and visas. A mismatch of even one letter raises questions at the border and at the bank, so the spelling is fixed before filing. The procedure is covered in the article on the spelling of the name in a Vanuatu passport.

The passport and ID card are issued for each participant at the passport service rate after the Commission’s decision. On top of the programme contribution, the only government charge is the FIU fee: $5,000 under DSP and $8,000 under the CIIP fund for the whole application.

Children’s documents

Children included in the application receive their own certificates and passports. A child born after a parent became a citizen acquires Vanuatu citizenship by descent: a certificate and passport are issued for them through the same authorities. How this works is covered in the article on citizenship for a spouse and children after the passport.

How to store the certificate and passport

The citizenship certificate is kept separately from the passport: it is needed to replace the document and to issue children’s passports, and it confirms the status at the bank. Copies of both documents are kept in secure storage, and the whole family’s passport expiry dates are tracked in one calendar so renewal starts in good time, not a week before a trip.

How many countries the Vanuatu passport opens

In brief: a Vanuatu citizen enters 46 countries without a visa, another 42 give a visa on arrival and 3 admit travellers with an electronic authorisation. Dependent territories are also open without a visa, such as Hong Kong for 90 days, and about 39 countries issue an eVisa online before the trip.

Visa-free: the passport is enough

• Asia and the Pacific. Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for up to 30 days, Fiji for up to 120 days, Kiribati for up to 90 days, Micronesia for up to 30 days.
• The Caribbean and Latin America. 20 destinations, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Dominica for up to 180 days, the Bahamas, Grenada and Panama for up to 90 days, Peru for up to 180 days, Ecuador for up to 90 days.
• Europe and Eurasia. Russia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro for up to 90 days, Belarus for up to 30 days.
• Africa and the Indian Ocean. 11 destinations, including Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Botswana for up to 90 days.

Visa on arrival, eTA and territories

A visa on arrival is issued at the destination airport or port. This is how a Vanuatu citizen enters Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Cambodia and Laos for up to 30 days, Armenia for up to 120 days, Jordan and Nepal for up to 90 days and Egypt for up to 30 days. An eTA electronic authorisation is obtained online before flying to Saint Kitts and Nevis, Israel and Kenya. Visa-free territories include Hong Kong for up to 90 days, Kosovo, the Cook Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

An eVisa is issued in advance by the UAE and Qatar for 30 days, Georgia, Vietnam and Colombia for 90 days and India for 60 days. This is not visa-free travel, but it is not an embassy visit either: the application is filed online and the decision arrives before the trip.

Where a visa is needed in advance

A visa is obtained before travel for the Schengen countries, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. This is an important part of the decision: if the family’s main trips involve these countries, the Vanuatu passport alone will not make them easier and a separate plan is needed. For Europe that plan is a residence permit, and for the US a visa obtained on the Vanuatu passport or the main passport. Long-haul travel across Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and Latin America, by contrast, most often needs no visa forms.

Why different sources give different figures

Independent passport rankings and reference services count destinations using their own methods: some count only visa-free and visa-on-arrival countries, others add electronic authorisations, dependent territories or eVisas. So the total for the same passport differs between sources. BRIDGES keeps a database by entry category: 46 countries without a visa, 42 with a visa on arrival, 5 with an electronic authorisation, and dependent territories and eVisa countries separately.

For a decision, specific countries matter more than the total. List the destinations you fly to for work and with family, and check it against the full list of visa-free countries for the Vanuatu passport. Asian countries and the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong are covered separately. Visa regimes are set by the destination countries, so check them before each trip.

How to read independent passport rankings

In brief: independent passport rankings order documents by the number of destinations without a prior visa, but their methods differ. So the same passport’s place varies between rankings and from month to month, and for a decision specific countries, length of stay and type of entry matter more.

Some rankings count only visa-free and visa-on-arrival countries, others add electronic authorisations, dependent territories or eVisas. Rankings are updated several times a year, passports with the same number of destinations share a place, and the same position in different months corresponds to a different number of countries. So a ranking place is a general guide, while passports are compared by country lists.

A ranking does not show several things that matter in practice. It ignores length of stay: Fiji admits Vanuatu citizens for 120 days, Singapore for 30. It does not distinguish an eVisa obtained online before the trip from a consular visa. And it says nothing about banks and taxes, which are often why the passport is obtained.

How to assess a passport against your travel

1. Country list. Write down the destinations you have flown to for work and with family over the past two or three years and where you plan to go.
2. Type of entry. For each country mark: visa-free, visa on arrival, electronic authorisation, eVisa or consular visa.
3. Length of stay. Hong Kong admits Vanuatu citizens for 90 days, Armenia with a visa on arrival for 120 days, Thailand for 30 days.
4. Remaining passport validity. Many countries require the passport to be valid for at least 6 more months on the date of entry.
5. Europe and English-speaking countries. For Schengen, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, the visa or residence question is settled in advance.

The EU and UK visa decisions concern Europe, while the Vanuatu passport’s destinations in Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa remain open. How banks, airlines and border officers treat the passport in practice is covered in the article how banks and borders view the passport.

Schengen and the UK: how access changed

In brief: visa-free travel to the EU has been fully suspended since 4 February 2023, and the UK has required a visa since 19 July 2023. The route to Europe for Vanuatu citizens goes through residence: Greek residence under the Golden Visa programme with a property threshold of €250,000 to €800,000.

• 3 March 2022. The Council of the EU partially suspended the visa waiver agreement for ordinary Vanuatu passports issued from 25 May 2015.
• 4 February 2023. The suspension became full for all Vanuatu citizens.
• 19 July 2023. The UK introduced visas for Vanuatu citizens, including a transit visa.
• 19 December 2024. EU Regulation 2025/11 moved Vanuatu to the list of countries whose citizens need a Schengen visa. The regulation entered into force on 3 February 2025.

The EU attributed its decisions to the risks of citizenship by investment programmes, and Vanuatu responded by tightening applicant checks. For a passport holder this leads to a simple rule: trips to Schengen countries and the UK are planned with a visa obtained on the Vanuatu passport or the main passport. More on Schengen visas in the article the Vanuatu passport and Schengen.

A Schengen visa on a Vanuatu passport is obtained at the consulate or visa centre of the main destination country, usually in the country of residence. The package is standard: application form, photo, insurance, bookings and proof of finances and purpose of travel. If the applicant holds another passport, the visa can be obtained on it, but you must enter Schengen on the passport that carries the visa.

To live in Europe, Vanuatu citizens use residence. A common scenario for BRIDGES clients: first a Vanuatu passport in 2-3 months, then Greek residence for Vanuatu citizens. The residence permit gives the right to live in Greece and travel across the Schengen area. This is what, for example, a three-generation family did.

The Vanuatu passport and Greek residence are obtained as one package: citizenship in 2-3 months, then the residence application, with the whole path taking up to 9 months all-in. Residence allows travel across Schengen for up to 90 days in any 180, the application includes the spouse, children and parents, and living in Greece permanently is not required.

The Vanuatu passport and Caribbean passports

In brief: Caribbean passports keep visa-free entry to the Schengen area, while the Vanuatu passport wins on processing time, entry threshold and the fact that biometrics are given without travelling to the islands. Within the Caribbean and Latin America a Vanuatu citizen travels freely: 20 destinations in the region are visa-free.

The difference between the passports lies mainly in Europe: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Kitts and Nevis have kept visa-free Schengen access. A Vanuatu passport takes roughly 2-3 months without relocation, the DSP contribution starts at $130,000, and a family of three or more can choose the CIIP fund with $50,000 returned after 5 years.

For many families this is not a choice of one or the other. The Vanuatu passport solves speed and travel to Asia, and Greek residence covers the European scenario. If visa-free Schengen is needed straight away, a Caribbean programme will fit. A comparison by price, timeline and family composition is in the article Vanuatu or the Caribbean, and by individual country in Vanuatu or Dominica and Vanuatu or Grenada.

Tasks the Vanuatu passport is taken for

In brief: the Vanuatu passport is taken as a backup document, for travel and business in Asia, for accounts abroad, for the family and as a first step to residence in Europe. The tax advantage only works with Vanuatu tax residence.

A backup document

A second passport is needed when the main document restricts travel, accounts or timelines. The Vanuatu passport is issued quickly, without relocation and for the whole family at once, so entrepreneurs with one citizenship often choose it. How this works is covered in the article on the Vanuatu passport as a plan B. One client already living in Spain on a residence permit obtained a Vanuatu passport as a second document for banks and travel; details in the case of a neutral document for an expat in Spain.

Travel and business in Asia

Singapore and Malaysia admit Vanuatu citizens without a visa, Hong Kong for up to 90 days, Thailand and Cambodia with a visa on arrival. For those working with suppliers and partners in the region, this cuts visa pauses. An example from practice: an Almaty financier gained working access to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Accounts and companies abroad

A bank opens an account not on a passport alone but on a document package: proof of address, source of funds and tax residence. The Vanuatu passport in this package confirms citizenship, and the bank’s questions usually concern the origin of capital. Preparing for them is covered in the article on a bank account with a Vanuatu passport.

Family and children

One application includes the spouse, children and parents over 50, and children born later acquire citizenship by descent. Who can be included and what it costs is covered in the article on Vanuatu citizenship for families.

First step to residence in Europe

A Vanuatu citizen can apply for the Greek Golden Visa by buying property with a threshold of €250,000 to €800,000, with the spouse, children and parents included in the application. In this combination the Vanuatu passport solves speed: it is obtained in 2-3 months, and then the residence application is filed as a Vanuatu citizen. A residence permit in an EU country gives the right to live there and travel across Schengen without separate visas.

Taxes

Vanuatu has no personal income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax, and VAT is 15%. But citizenship alone does not change tax residence: a person who keeps living in their home country continues to pay tax there. When the zero tax really applies is explained in the article on taxes in Vanuatu.

How the document is obtained

In brief: the Vanuatu passport is obtained through citizenship by investment. The DSP contribution starts at $130,000 for a single applicant; in the CIIP fund a family of up to four pays $157,000 and receives $50,000 back after 5 years. The timeline is roughly 2-3 months without relocation.

The application is filed by a licensed agent. The Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) checks the applicant and the source of funds, the Citizenship Commission decides, and the contribution is paid after approval. The applicant then gives biometrics, takes the oath and receives the citizenship certificate and passport. No trip to the islands is needed.

Biometrics are given in person once, when the passport is issued: in Dubai, Hong Kong, Port Vila, Moscow or St Petersburg. Documents are gathered for each participant to a set standard: the main applicant prepares 11 documents, an adult participant 7 and a child 3, and the police clearance certificate must be no older than 3 months on the filing date. The list by participant is covered in the article on documents for Vanuatu citizenship.

1. Pre-screening. 1-2 business days: background, sanctions lists and source of funds before any payments.
2. FIU check. Up to 7 business days without queries, with a fee of $5,000 under DSP or $8,000 under the fund per application.
3. Citizenship Commission. Meets twice a month and decides on the complete package.
4. Contribution and oath. After approval the applicant has 3 months to pay the contribution and take the oath.
5. Passport. Issued in 1-3 weeks, together with the citizenship certificate.

The choice of programme depends on the family: a DSP contribution is better value for a single applicant or a couple, at $135,000 and $155,000 all-in. A family of three or more usually does better with the CIIP fund: $165,000 all-in for a family of up to four, of which $50,000 is returned after 5 years. Under both programmes the contribution is paid after Commission approval, and before the decision only the FIU fee is paid.

Both programmes are covered in detail in the article DSP or the CIIP fund, all the steps in how to get Vanuatu citizenship and the full budget in the breakdown of the cost of Vanuatu citizenship. The programme’s general terms are in the overview of Vanuatu citizenship by investment, and the all-in total for your family is calculated by the Vanuatu citizenship quote.

How to use, renew and replace the passport

In brief: citizenship is permanent, and the passport is renewed every 10 years. If it is lost, a new passport is issued on the basis of the citizenship certificate. With two passports it matters to use them correctly when travelling, and some countries of first citizenship require you to notify them of a second one.

Renewal and replacement

The passport is replaced when it expires, runs out of pages or the data changes. The application goes to the Vanuatu Immigration Service, and biometrics are given again. If the passport is lost or stolen, first report the loss, then the document is restored on the basis of the citizenship certificate. The procedure is covered in the articles on renewing a Vanuatu passport and replacing a lost passport, and the case of an expired passport shows how it works from abroad. Renewal, replacement and a citizen’s documents from abroad are handled in the section services after the passport.

If your details change

After marriage, a change of surname or a correction to the spelling of the name, the passport is replaced with a new one. This requires a document confirming the change and the citizenship certificate, and biometrics are given again. Changes are best reflected at once in other documents too, bank, visa and tax ones, so the data matches everywhere.

Travelling with two passports

The ticket is bought on the passport used to cross the destination country’s border, and you enter and leave your own country of citizenship on its passport. What to show at check-in and at the border is covered in the guide to travelling on a Vanuatu passport.

Notifying your first country

Some countries of first citizenship require notification of a second citizenship, so this is checked before filing. For example, Russia allows a second citizenship but requires notification of the Interior Ministry within 60 days of receiving the document or of entering Russia; failure to notify is punishable under article 330.2 of the Criminal Code by a fine of up to 200,000 roubles or community service. The procedure for this case is covered in the article on dual citizenship of Russia and Vanuatu, and what the Vanuatu passport adds for Russian passport holders in what a Vanuatu passport adds to a Russian one.

Common mistakes with the Vanuatu passport

In brief: the most common mistakes are in expectations: comparing the passport by a single number of destinations, planning Europe without a visa and expecting a tax effect without relocating. These questions are settled before filing.

1. Comparing passports by one number. The destination total depends on the counting method, and the decision is made on specific countries and type of entry.
2. Planning a trip to Europe without a visa. Since 4 February 2023 Schengen requires a visa, and life in Europe goes through Greek residence.
3. Not checking the spelling of the name. A mismatch with your other passport and bank documents raises questions at the border.
4. Expecting the passport to exempt you from tax. Tax depends on tax residence, not citizenship.
5. Forgetting to notify your first country. Where the law requires it, the notification has a deadline.
6. Leaving renewal to the last weeks. Many countries require remaining passport validity on the date of entry, so renewal starts early.

BRIDGES services on this topic: Vanuatu citizenship by investment with BRIDGES support.