How to travel with a Vanuatu passport and a second passport: ticket, border, visas

In brief: the essentials of travelling with a Vanuatu passport

In brief: a Vanuatu passport opens 46 countries without a visa, 42 give a visa on arrival, 3 admit holders with an electronic eTA, and about 39 countries issue an eVisa online. For the Schengen area, the UK and the USA a visa is obtained. The main rule: the ticket is bought and the border crossed on the passport that gives entry to that particular country.

A Vanuatu passport holder usually keeps two documents: the main one and the Pacific one. For each trip the one with easier entry is chosen. A Vanuatu passport admits holders to Hong Kong for 90 days, to Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for 30 days, to Fiji for 120 days, to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and Peru for 180 days, and to Russia for 90 days under a visa waiver agreement.

• Asia and the Caribbean. Here a Vanuatu passport most often gives visa-free or on-arrival entry.
• Schengen and the UK. A visa is obtained in advance, and Vanuatu citizens start living in Europe through Greek residence.
• The USA. A visa is needed on a Vanuatu passport; ESTA is not available for it.

The passport’s place in indices is covered in the Vanuatu passport and its place in rankings, and the full list of destinations in visa-free countries for the Vanuatu passport. This article is about the practice of travel itself.

Two passports: how to use both lawfully

In brief: Vanuatu recognises dual citizenship, and using two passports is lawful. You enter each country on one document that gives the right of entry, and return to your country of citizenship on its passport.

Airlines and border officers do not ask how many citizenships a person has. They are interested in one thing: whether the passenger has the right to be in this country on the document presented. So difficulties arise not from a second citizenship but from confusion over which passport to show at a given stage of the trip.

Return to your own country of citizenship is on its passport. In Russia, for example, a citizen with two citizenships is treated only as a Russian citizen: they leave and enter on the Russian passport and use the Vanuatu passport abroad. After receiving a Vanuatu passport, a Russian citizen notifies the Interior Ministry of the second citizenship within 60 days.

The scheme for a person with two documents looks like this:

• Leaving the home country on the national passport, as exit control requires.
• Entering a third country on the passport that gives visa-free or on-arrival entry, often the Vanuatu passport.
• Returning home on the national passport again.

On one trip it is lawful to use both documents: leave on the Russian passport, enter Hong Kong on the Vanuatu passport, return on the Russian one. This is normal practice for people with two citizenships. Specifics for Russian citizens are collected in the Vanuatu passport for Russian citizens, and the duties of a Vanuatu citizen in what the status requires of a citizen.

Each family member has their own Vanuatu passport: children receive their own documents, and a child cannot be entered in a parent’s passport. So tickets, visas and insurance for the family are issued on each traveller’s passport, and the expiry dates of the whole family’s documents are kept in one table.

Do not show both passports to a border officer at once unless asked. Present exactly the document you are entering their country on, and keep the second one with you.

Which passport to fly on: ticket, check-in, border

In brief: the ticket is booked on the passport you will enter the destination country on, and it is shown at check-in. At your own country’s exit control you present the national passport.

At check-in the airline verifies whether the passenger has the right to enter the destination country, using the IATA entry rules database. If the ticket was bought with one passport’s details but visa-free entry is given by another, a question arises at the desk, and the passenger may not be boarded. So the rule is strict: the ticket details match the entry passport.

An example: a Russian citizen flies from Moscow to Hong Kong. The Vanuatu passport gives visa-free entry for 90 days, so the ticket is issued on the Vanuatu passport and it is shown at check-in. At Russian exit control the Russian passport is presented: the border officer checks the exit of a Russian citizen, while boarding is controlled by the airline on the entry document.

The name on the ticket is checked separately. The Latin spelling in the Vanuatu passport may differ from the main document. The ticket is always issued strictly as in the entry passport, otherwise the airline may refuse boarding. How to reconcile name spellings between passports is covered in name transliteration in a Vanuatu passport.

eVisa, eTA and visa on arrival: what to get where

In brief: besides entry on the passport alone, there are three formats: a visa on arrival at the airport, an eVisa online before the trip and an electronic eTA. For the Vanuatu passport, 42 countries give a visa on arrival, 5 require an eTA and about 39 issue an eVisa.

The formats are easy to confuse, so tell them apart in advance:

• Visa-free. The passenger arrives and gets a stamp at the border: Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, most of the Caribbean.
• Visa on arrival. The permit is issued at the destination airport or port: Thailand for 30 days, Armenia for 120, Nepal and Jordan for 90.
• eVisa. An electronic visa is applied for on the country’s website before the trip: the UAE for 30 days, Georgia, Vietnam and Colombia for 90, India for 60.
• eTA. An electronic authorisation without a full visa: Israel, Kenya, St Kitts and Nevis, each for 90 days.

A visa on arrival is convenient for short trips, but its length is fixed: 30 days in Thailand, 60 in Samoa, 120 in Armenia. If the trip is longer, check before departure whether the stay can be extended locally or whether another visa category is better obtained in advance.

A few rules save time at the check-in desk:

• eVisas and eTAs are obtained 3-7 days before departure: approval is not always instant, and sometimes the country asks for documents.
• Apply only on the destination country’s official website; intermediary sites charge a commission for the same service.
• Enter the details of the passport you will fly on, and check the spelling of the name.
• Keep the confirmation on your phone and on paper: it is asked for at check-in and at the border.

A trip to the USA on a Vanuatu passport requires a visa, most often tourist or business category B1/B2, obtained through a consulate interview. ESTA is not available to Vanuatu, so a US trip is planned with time to spare for the appointment and review. The procedure is covered in a US visa on a Vanuatu passport.

Schengen and the UK: how to get a visa

In brief: for a trip to the Schengen area and the UK a Vanuatu citizen obtains a visa. For living in Europe with a Vanuatu passport, Greek residence is obtained: it gives travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180.

Entry to the EU changed in three steps. From 3 March 2022, Council of the EU Decision 2022/366 partially suspended visa-free travel for Vanuatu passports issued from 25 May 2015. Decision 2022/2198 fully suspended visa-free travel from 4 February 2023, and EU Regulation 2025/11 moved Vanuatu to the visa list from 3 February 2025. The UK has required a visa from Vanuatu citizens since 19 July 2023, including for transit.

In practice this means three decisions:

• A short trip to Europe. A Schengen visa is obtained under the usual rules: a booking, insurance, proof of funds and of the purpose of the trip. If the main passport gives a more convenient regime for the EU, the trip is planned on it.
• London and transit through the UK. A visa is obtained in advance, including for a connection at a British airport.
• Living in Europe. A Vanuatu passport is obtained in 2-3 months, then Greek residence with a property threshold from €250,000 to €800,000. The whole turnkey package takes up to 9 months.

This order makes the Vanuatu passport a first step to Europe: the family obtains a second citizenship and then residence in Greece, where permanent living is not required to keep the card. A detailed review of the visa regime is collected in the Vanuatu passport and Schengen.

Transit, connections and what to show at the border

In brief: transit rules are tied to the country and airport of the connection, not to the trip as a whole. At the border one passport is presented, the one you enter that country on.

At some airports nothing needs to be arranged for a connection without going into the city; at others an airport transit visa is required even without leaving the terminal. The UK, for example, requires a visa from Vanuatu citizens for transit too. So connection rules are checked separately for each airport on the route.

• One terminal, a single ticket, no exit to the city. Most often this is a transit zone without an entry stamp, but the specific country’s rules are checked in advance.
• Changing terminals through passport control. This is formally an entry, and the connection country’s visa rules apply.
• Separate tickets with baggage collection. Almost always mean entering the connection country and require the right of entry there.

On entry you are usually asked the purpose and length of the trip, where you will stay and for a return ticket. It helps to keep a separate folder on your phone: the hotel booking, return ticket, eVisa confirmation and insurance. A document shown calmly settles a question faster than any explanation.

If the passport is lost on a trip, report it immediately; a new passport is issued on the basis of the certificate of citizenship. Copies of the certificate and the passport data page are kept separately from the originals. The procedure is described in what to do if the passport is lost.

Insurance, passport validity and preparing for a trip

In brief: before departure check the validity of the entry passport, the permitted stay in the destination country, insurance on the same passport details and booking confirmations. Many countries require the passport to be valid for at least 6 more months on the date of entry.

Length of stay. The permitted stay depends on the country: 30 days in Singapore and Malaysia, 90 days in Hong Kong and Russia, 120 in Fiji, 180 in Barbados and Peru. A long trip across several countries is planned so that the stay in each fits within the permitted period.

Medical insurance. For visa-free trips it may not be formally required; for visa destinations it is mandatory; for the rest it is simply sensible. The policy is issued on the same details as the entry passport: the name on the insurance, ticket and passport matches.

Passport validity. A Vanuatu passport is biometric and valid for 10 years. Validity is checked for both documents if both are used on the trip. A passport nearing expiry is renewed in advance; the procedure is described in renewing the passport every 10 years.

A checklist before every departure:

• Decide on the passport for entering the destination country; everything else is tied to it.
• Check that this passport is valid with a margin of at least 6 months.
• Confirm the entry format and obtain an eVisa or eTA on the official website.
• Buy the ticket in the same name spelling as the entry passport.
• Take out insurance on the same passport details.
• Prepare a hotel booking and a return ticket.
• Save confirmations on your phone and print the key documents.
• Decide which passport to leave your home country on and which to return on.

This short routine removes most questions at check-in. How the Vanuatu passport compares for frequent travel with Caribbean programmes is covered in Vanuatu and Dominica.

How to get a Vanuatu passport for travel: conditions

In brief: Vanuatu citizenship is obtained under two programmes: the DSP with a non-refundable contribution from $130,000, and the CIIP fund at $157,000 for a family of up to four with $50,000 returned after 5 years. The timeline is 2-3 months without relocating, and the applicant travels in person only for biometrics.

A single applicant or a couple does better with the DSP, a family of three or more with the CIIP fund. The contribution is paid after Citizenship Commission approval; before the decision only the FIU fee is paid: $5,000 under the DSP and $8,000 under the fund. Processing times of different citizenship programmes are compared in the overview a fast second citizenship, and programme conditions in Vanuatu citizenship by investment.

A Vanuatu passport works well for travel in Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean, for trips to Russia and as the family’s second document. A couple from St Petersburg who have spent five years sailing between anchorages in South-East Asia received passports in 55 days and went through a season without visa stops. Details in case: a couple who live at sea.

Common traveller mistakes and what to check in advance

In brief: trips with two passports fall apart over small things: a ticket on the other passport, a name spelling mismatch, an eVisa not obtained, a document nearing expiry. Each mistake is removed by a check before departure.

1. A ticket on the other passport. The flight is booked on the main passport, but the passenger intends to enter on the Vanuatu passport. Check: the ticket is always on the entry passport.
2. A name spelling mismatch. The Latin spelling in the Vanuatu passport differs from the main document, and the ticket was issued in the usual spelling. Check: the name is compared letter by letter in the passport, ticket, insurance and eVisa.
3. Entering your home country on the Vanuatu passport. You enter your country of citizenship on its passport. Check: home only on the national document.
4. An electronic permit not obtained. The eVisa or eTA format was confused with visa-free entry. Check: confirm the format on the official website and apply a week before departure.
5. A trip to Schengen, the UK or the USA without a visa. A visa is obtained for them on a Vanuatu passport. Check: plan the visa in advance, and arrange Greek residence for living in Europe.
6. A passport nearing expiry. Many countries require a 6-month margin. Check: monitor the entry passport’s validity well before the trip.

Before a trip it helps to run a short audit: the chosen passport, its validity, the entry format and permit confirmation, the name matching across all documents, and the exit and return plan. After the passport is received, BRIDGES helps with renewal, replacement after loss and citizenship for new family members; the list is on services after receiving the passport.