Case study · Vanuatu
Vanuatu Citizenship for a Family in Phuket: What Ended the Visa Runs and What the Second Passport Gave
Updated: September 2026·10 min read·Expert reviewed
Composite example based on typical enquiries from families living in Asia · figures as of September 2026 · names invented
Contents
A six-year-old cried through the whole flight from Malaysia back to Phuket, and after that latest visa run his mother decided the family would not live like this any longer. The Russian family has lived on the island for four years: Danil and Ekaterina work remotely, and all these years their life in Thailand has rested on tourist entries. The family heard about us from our own clients, their neighbours Anton and Valya: they had obtained Vanuatu citizenship with us a year earlier and suggested asking us the same question. That same evening Ekaterina wrote to our lawyer. She asked whether it was true that a Vanuatu passport would end the visa runs. The lawyer answered directly: no, a Vanuatu passport gives no right to live in Thailand. A long-term Thai visa ends visa runs, whatever passport the family holds. A Vanuatu passport can give the family something else. Here is how we separated the two tasks and what came of it.
Four years in Phuket on tourist entries
This is a composite example: the story is built from typical enquiries from families living in Asia, and no real client is described; the names are invented. Danil is 38, a developer working for clients in Europe and Israel. Ekaterina is 35, a designer who also works remotely. Their son is six and was born in Moscow.
The family moved to Phuket in 2022. They rented a house in Rawai, their son Lev started at a local kindergarten, and at weekends the family visits nearby islands.
Legally, for all four years the family lived as tourists. Visa-free entry, an extension at the immigration office, a trip out to Malaysia, entry again. From September 2026 the visa-free stay for many countries was cut to 30 days, and the trips became even more frequent.
The family loved island life. The only thing they disliked was having to confirm that life with a stamp every couple of months.
The first thing the lawyer said: a passport will not end visa runs
The lawyer began with an answer the family did not want to hear. Visa-free entry to Thailand is designed for short trips, and a second passport does not turn a tourist into a resident. Swapping one passport for another would leave the visa runs in place.
Living in Thailand requires a long-term Thai visa. The DTV suited the family: a five-year visa for remote workers, 180 days per entry and one extension for another 180 days. The conditions: 500,000 baht in the bank, proof of remote work for foreign clients and a fee of 10,000 baht per person. The spouse and son receive visas together with Danil.
With a DTV you can live in Thailand for up to a year with one extension, then leave and re-enter.
DTV visa rules as of September 2026; course of work in a BRIDGES composite example
The hardest part of the visa was proving the money. The embassy wanted to see 500,000 baht held for at least three months, and the family kept its savings in dollars in an account in Georgia. The lawyer checked the requirements: the money does not have to be in a Thai bank, a three-month statement with a balance at or above the required amount is enough. The statement was ordered in advance and raised no questions.
The family applied for the visa themselves, using our document list, through the Thai e-visa system. Applications must be made from outside Thailand, so the last trip to Malaysia became a useful one: the family applied from Kuala Lumpur and came back with the visa.
The decision took nine days. The family rented a flat in Kuala Lumpur, Danil worked from a coworking space, and for once their son Lev did not ask when they were going home: there was a big park with dinosaurs nearby. The approval arrived by email on a Thursday, and on Friday morning the family flew back to Phuket with their new visas.
DTV visa rules and Vanuatu programme terms, September 2026
Why the family needs a Vanuatu passport if it has a visa
After the visa discussion the spouse asked: do we need a second passport at all, then? The lawyer suggested not deciding at once but listing what else worried the family.
The list was short. The parents’ Russian passports expire in three years, and replacing them at the consulate in Bangkok is not easy: months of waiting and an in-person visit. Danil’s client in Singapore invites him to meetings, and a Russian passport requires a visa for that. And the parents are thinking about school for their son Lev: in a few years it may be Singapore or Hong Kong.
The spouse knew the consulate first-hand. A year earlier she had renewed their son Lev’s passport: the appointment came three months later, they travelled to Bangkok twice, and the passport itself took another four months. All that time the child could not leave Thailand.
A Vanuatu passport fitted these three points. The family decided to apply for all three of them.
We will work out what a visa solves and what a second passport solves
We will look at where you live and where you travel and tell you which document does what.
For three people the fund is cheaper, and the refund matched their plans
For a family of three the donation costs USD 170,000 including the due diligence fee. The coconut oil fund costs 165,000 for a family of up to four, with 50,000 returned after five years.
For three people the fund is $5,000 cheaper at payment and $55,000 cheaper after five years.
Vanuatu programme terms as of September 2026
In five years their son Lev will be eleven, just when the family plans to move him to an international school. The parents decided to set aside the USD 50,000 from the fund for that school. Money goes into the fund as one payment when the full package is filed, before the Commission decides, and the family was ready for that. How the two programmes compare is covered in donation or fund.
Documents for three from two countries
The family lives in Thailand, but all their documents are Russian. The lawyer drew up a table: what we order in Russia through a representative and what they obtain in Thailand themselves.
Police certificates
Our representative in Moscow obtained the parents’ Russian certificates under a power of attorney. The Thai certificate has to be obtained from the police in Bangkok, with fingerprints. The parents went there for a day and combined the trip with filing for their visa extension.
The day in Bangkok was a long one. The fingerprint queue took three hours, and the police form required a Thai address with proof. The lease for the house in Rawai was in English and Thai and was accepted. The certificate was issued two weeks later and posted to Phuket.
The son’s birth certificate
Lev’s birth certificate was needed twice: for the DTV, where he was included as a family member, and for the citizenship application. The lawyer suggested one apostille and two certified copies of the translation, so documents would not have to be ordered a second time.
Their son was born in Moscow. The apostille on his certificate is issued by the Moscow civil registry authority, and our representative went there under a power of attorney. The spouse worried that the original would have to be posted from Thailand, but it was with the grandmother in Moscow, so no courier was needed.
Remote workers’ income
The parents’ income was confirmed by client contracts, invoices and three years of account statements. They have not been Russian tax residents since 2023, as they live abroad for more than half the year. The lawyer separately advised the family to discuss Thai resident tax rules with a Thai tax adviser: with a DTV the family spends more than 180 days a year in the country.
Calculate the cost of Vanuatu citizenship for your family
The estimate compares the donation and the fund for your family size.
A due diligence question about client payments
Two weeks after filing, due diligence asked one question: why do payments from European clients arrive in an account in Georgia if the family lives in Thailand?
The question was expected. Due diligence always looks at why money passes through a country where Danil does not live. The lawyer had asked Danil in advance to find out how that account came about.
The answer was simple, and the documents were already in the package. Danil opened the Georgian bank account in 2022, when the family lived in Tbilisi for several months. Clients have paid into it ever since. The lawyer attached a statement showing the account opening date and the Tbilisi flat leases for that year. There were no further questions.
Biometrics in Hong Kong and the first trip that was not a visa run
A month later the approval letter arrived. Biometrics are given in person in one of five cities: Port Vila, Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow or Saint Petersburg. From Phuket Hong Kong is the closest, and Russian citizens can visit it visa-free for up to 14 days.
- entry180 days in Phuket on a DTV
- after six monthsa further 180-day extension at immigration
- after a yeartrip to Hong Kong: biometrics and holiday
- returna new 180-day entry
One exit from Thailand a year is needed, and the family combined it with biometrics.
DTV rules; the family’s plan in a BRIDGES composite example
For the family it was the first trip in four years not dictated by a passport stamp. An exit from Thailand is needed after the DTV extension anyway, and the parents combined it with biometrics and a week’s holiday. The lawyer booked all three for the same morning. Their six-year-old son was brave through it all, having been promised an amusement park afterwards.
Under the plan the passports arrive by courier in Phuket 1-3 weeks after biometrics. All stages are covered in Vanuatu citizenship timeline.
We will help gather documents if you live in Asia
We split documents by country, order Russian certificates through a representative and advise what to obtain locally.
What the family gets
In this scenario the Commission approved the application, and Vanuatu passports for all three arrive 3-4 months after the first message. In a real application the decision and timelines depend on the Citizenship Commission.
The family continues to live in Phuket on a Thai DTV. The Vanuatu passport covers other things: Danil’s visa-free trips to his client in Singapore, a backup document while the Russian passports are replaced and a choice of schools in the region for their son Lev.
Everyone keeps their Russian citizenship. The parents will notify the Interior Ministry of the second citizenship within 30 days of their next entry into Russia, and they file for their son Lev. The lawyer prepared all three notifications in advance.
Danil has already put his first Singapore trip on the new passport in his calendar: the client is launching a new product, and the office meeting will take three days. Before, such a trip meant applying for a visa a month ahead; now buying a ticket is enough.
To the neighbours who had sent them to us, Ekaterina passed on the main thing she learned: a passport and a visa do different jobs, and it is best to know from the start which is which.
A visa decides where the family lives. A second passport decides where the family can travel.
Who this path suits
This story repeats for families living in Thailand, Bali or Vietnam on tourist entries. A second passport often looks to them like the answer to visa runs.
Living in a country requires its residence permit or a long-term visa. A Vanuatu passport is useful when you need visa-free trips to Singapore and Hong Kong, a backup document and more freedom in choosing a country for your children.
If you live in one country and your documents are from another, allow time for certificates from both and for apostilles in the country that issued the documents.
Similar stories: a couple on a catamaran in Southeast Asia and a family of four moving from Kuala Lumpur to Athens. Full programme terms are on the Vanuatu citizenship page.
Composite example: this story is based on typical enquiries; no real clients are described. Figures as of September 2026. The decision on citizenship is made by the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission.
BRIDGES analysis on this topic: who gets a Vanuatu passport.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask before deciding
01Will a Vanuatu passport end visa runs in Thailand?
No. A Vanuatu passport gives no right to live in Thailand. Living there requires a long-term Thai visa.
02Which Thai visa suits remote workers?
The DTV: five years, 180 days per entry and one extension for another 180 days. It requires 500,000 baht in the bank and proof of remote work.
03Why would a family in Thailand need a Vanuatu passport then?
For visa-free trips to Singapore and Hong Kong, as a backup document and for choosing schools in the region.
04Which police certificates are needed?
From Russia and from Thailand, if the family has lived there for a long time.
05Which is better for a family of three?
The fund: USD 165,000 against 170,000 for the donation, and 50,000 is returned after five years.
06Where can a family living in Phuket give biometrics?
Hong Kong is the closest. Biometrics are taken in five cities: Port Vila, Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
07Is notification to the Interior Ministry required?
Yes, within 30 days of entering Russia, unless you permanently live abroad. Parents file for their children.
08Can a child be included in the application?
Yes. Children are included in their parents’ application with an apostilled birth certificate.
About the author
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ArticleVisa-free Asia with a Vanuatu passport
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A BRIDGES lawyer will work out what your country-of-residence visa solves and what a second passport solves, and draw up a document list for your Vanuatu citizenship application.
