The UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong with a Vanuatu passport: visa-free up to 30 and 90 days, eVisa for the UAE

The UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong with a Vanuatu passport: in brief

In brief: Singapore admits Vanuatu citizens without a visa for up to 30 days, Hong Kong without a visa for up to 90 days, and the UAE on an eVisa for 30 days. In total, a Vanuatu passport opens 46 countries without a visa and another 42 give a visa on arrival.

Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai connect the business life of Asia, the Gulf and the rest of the world. For an entrepreneur who holds companies in several countries, flies to meetings and works with international banks, access to these cities matters more than a long list of resorts. A Vanuatu passport gives that access: to two hubs you fly with just the passport, to the third with an electronic visa obtained in advance online.

For families there is also a practical detail: biometrics for a Vanuatu passport are given in Dubai and Hong Kong among other places. Those living in the UAE or working in Asia do not need to travel to the islands or go home for one visit. The full list of destinations is collected in where the Vanuatu passport takes you.

Singapore: visa-free for up to 30 days

In brief: Vanuatu citizens enter Singapore without a visa and stay for up to 30 days per visit. That is enough for negotiations, signing contracts, trade fairs, and meetings with banks and funds.

Singapore remains one of Asia’s main financial centres: private banks, family offices and the region’s investment funds operate there. Being able to fly in without a visa application saves weeks on every trip and removes the risk of a meeting falling through because of a consulate queue.

• Passport. Many countries require the passport to be valid for at least 6 more months on the date of entry, so the expiry date is kept in the calendar.
• Arrival card. Singapore asks all arrivals to complete an electronic arrival card online before the trip. It is not a visa but a formality.
• Purpose of the trip. Tourism and business visits are allowed without a visa. Employment requires a separate permit.
• Confirmations. Keep a return ticket and accommodation booking to hand: the border service may ask for them.

Neighbouring countries in the region are open too: Malaysia and the Philippines visa-free for up to 30 days, Thailand on a visa on arrival for 30 days. Asian destinations are covered in detail in Asia with a Vanuatu passport.

Hong Kong: visa-free for up to 90 days

In brief: Vanuatu citizens enter Hong Kong without a visa and stay for up to 90 days. This is a long period that allows running a project on the ground, not just flying in for meetings.

Three months change how the passport can be used. In one entry you can set up a representative office, negotiate with suppliers, work with lawyers and auditors, and go through bank compliance, which rarely fits into one week. Hong Kong is also convenient as a base for travel around the region.

• A project on the ground. Working with partners and consultants without having to leave after a month.
• Banks. Meetings, follow-up document requests and signing agreements within one visit.
• Biometrics. Hong Kong is one of the cities where biometrics for a Vanuatu passport are given.

A financier from Almaty obtained a Vanuatu passport specifically for trips to Hong Kong and Singapore and work with banks in these cities; details in case: access to banks in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The UAE: a 30-day eVisa

In brief: Vanuatu citizens enter the UAE on a 30-day electronic eVisa. It is obtained online before departure, without an embassy visit, so a trip to the Emirates is planned a few days earlier than one to Singapore or Hong Kong.

An eVisa and visa-free entry work differently. Visa-free, a person arrives with only a passport. With an eVisa, they file an online application, receive an electronic permit and show it at boarding and at the border. For a business schedule this is one extra step built into the trip calendar.

• In advance. The eVisa application is filed before buying non-refundable tickets.
• 30 days. The length of stay on an eVisa; longer stays are on other grounds.
• Gulf neighbours. Qatar also issues Vanuatu citizens a 30-day eVisa, Bahrain a 14-day one.
• Residence. Those living in the Emirates permanently obtain local residence and use the Vanuatu passport for travel around the world.

Dubai remains a major flight hub and a trading and financial centre. Biometrics for a Vanuatu passport are given here too, so families living in the UAE complete the citizenship process without leaving the country.

Comparing the hubs: regime and length of stay

In brief: the longest visa-free stay is in Hong Kong, 90 days. Singapore gives 30 days without a visa, the UAE and Qatar 30 days on an eVisa, and Bahrain 14 days on an eVisa.

If business life runs between Singapore and Hong Kong, a Vanuatu passport covers travel completely: fly in and enter. If the key point is Dubai, the eVisa adds one step, and for permanent life in the Emirates local residence is obtained. For travel in the Caucasus, Armenia, which gives a 120-day visa on arrival, and Georgia with a 90-day eVisa will be useful.

Entry rules are set by the destination country and may change, so the regime is checked before every trip. The Vanuatu passport’s place in rankings is covered in the Vanuatu passport and its place in rankings.

Other destinations in Asia and the Gulf

In brief: besides the three hubs, Malaysia and the Philippines are open without a visa; Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Cambodia, Nepal, Jordan and Armenia on a visa on arrival; and Qatar, Georgia, Vietnam, India, Uzbekistan and other countries in the region by eVisa.

For business and family travel this means a flexible schedule across the whole region. Vietnam issues an eVisa for 90 days, India for 60 days, Jordan gives a visa on arrival for 90 days, and Nepal also for 90 days. The Maldives, Sri Lanka and Cambodia give 30 days each on arrival.

Beyond Asia the Vanuatu passport works too: Fiji admits holders without a visa for 120 days, Kiribati for 90 days, Peru for 180 days, Ecuador for 90 days. These destinations are covered in Fiji and Kiribati with a Vanuatu passport and Peru and Ecuador with a Vanuatu passport.

Banks and business in the hubs

In brief: a second passport gives mobility and an additional identity document, while a bank opens an account based on the source of funds, tax residence and a clear logic of transactions.

Banks in Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE look at the facts as a whole: where the money comes from, where the client lives and pays taxes, and what their business history is. A Vanuatu passport removes the barrier related to the document and lets you fly to a meeting without a visa, but it does not replace statements, contracts and a tax number.

• Source of funds. The package on the origin of capital collected for the FIU check will later be useful to the bank: the history of the money is already built and proven in it.
• Tax residence. Vanuatu citizenship does not make a person tax resident in Vanuatu; residence is determined by the country where they live.
• Reporting. Banks report account data to the client’s country of tax residence under automatic exchange rules.

Vanuatu itself has no personal income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax, but these rules apply to Vanuatu tax residents. For others, taxes are calculated by the country where the person lives most of the year.

Three scenarios: trade, finance, family

In brief: a Vanuatu passport in the hubs is most often needed by an entrepreneur trading between Asia and the Gulf, a financier or investor working with banks in Hong Kong and Singapore, and a family living in the UAE or Asia and travelling around the region.

• Trade between Asia and the Gulf. Negotiations with suppliers in Hong Kong, a warehouse or company in the UAE, trade fairs in Singapore. A Vanuatu passport allows a travel schedule with no visa applications for Singapore and Hong Kong, while the UAE eVisa is obtained online in a few days.
• Finance and investment. Meetings with private banks and funds, opening accounts, deals. The long stay in Hong Kong gives time to complete compliance in one visit, and the source-of-funds package is ready after the FIU check.
• A family in the region. Parents work in Dubai, children study in Asia, holidays in the Maldives or Thailand. Each family member receives their own Vanuatu passport, and travel around the region does not depend on the main passport’s visa regime.

These scenarios have one thing in common: a second passport frees the business and family calendar from consulate queues. The decision is made by checking the list of actual destinations against entry regimes for the Vanuatu passport, not against the total number of countries.

Children’s passports and family travel

In brief: the application can include a spouse, children under 25 and parents over 50, and each receives their own Vanuatu passport. For a trip to the UAE an eVisa is obtained for every traveller, including children.

Children are not entered in a parent’s passport: a child has their own document with its own validity, and many countries require a passport validity margin on the date of travel. Members from 18 provide a police clearance, and children aged 18 to 25 prove full-time study. Children born after citizenship is granted acquire it by descent without a contribution.

For a family trip all documents are issued in one spelling of names: tickets, eVisas, bookings and insurance follow the Vanuatu passports if the family flies on them. Conditions for including relatives are covered in Vanuatu citizenship for a family.

Europe with a Vanuatu passport: Greek residence

In brief: Vanuatu citizens need a visa for the Schengen area and the UK, and they start living in Europe through Greek residence. A turnkey package of a Vanuatu passport and Greek residence takes up to 9 months.

Entrepreneurs working with Asia and the Gulf often keep their family in Europe. For them the Vanuatu passport becomes the first step: citizenship in 2-3 months, then Greek residence through property with a threshold from €250,000 to €800,000. The residence card gives the right to live in Greece and travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180, and the spouse, children and parents are included in the application.

Documents for both applications are prepared once: police clearances, apostilles and translations are done with both Vanuatu and Greece in mind. Conditions for Vanuatu citizens are on Greek residence for Vanuatu citizens.

Conditions and cost of Vanuatu citizenship

In brief: citizenship is obtained in roughly 2-3 months without relocating. Under the DSP the turnkey total is $135,000 for one person; under the CIIP fund $165,000 for a family of up to four, of which $50,000 is returned after 5 years.

The DSP contribution grows with the family: $130,000 for one, $150,000 for a couple, $165,000 for a family of three, $180,000 for a family of four. Beyond the contribution, the only payment to the state is the FIU fee: $5,000 under the DSP and $8,000 under the fund, per application. A single applicant or a couple does better with the DSP, a family of three or more with the fund. The contribution is paid after Commission approval.

The order is: a pre-check in 1-2 working days, the FIU check up to 7 working days without requests, the decision of the Commission, which sits twice a month, then the contribution, the oath and issue of the passport in 1-3 weeks. The applicant travels in person only for biometrics, given in Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow, St Petersburg or Port Vila. The passport is biometric and valid for 10 years.

The total for your family is shown by the budget for your family, and support terms on Vanuatu citizenship with BRIDGES.

What to check before flying to the hubs of Asia and the Gulf

In brief: before each trip check the entry regime on the departure date, the passport’s validity, whether an eVisa or arrival card is needed, the purpose of the trip and the documents the border service may ask for.

1. The regime on the travel date. Rules are changed by the country of entry, so they are checked against that country’s official source.
2. Passport validity. A 6-month margin on the date of entry and free pages.
3. Advance steps. An eVisa for the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, an electronic arrival card for Singapore.
4. Purpose. Tourism and business visits without employment.
5. Confirmations. A return ticket, accommodation booking, a statement of funds.
6. Counting days. Entry and exit dates are kept in a calendar so as not to exceed the permitted stay.

One passport is chosen for a trip: the ticket is bought on it, the eVisa obtained on it and both borders crossed on it. You enter and leave your own country of citizenship only on its passport, as a Russian citizen does with Russia.