Name in Vanuatu passport: transliteration and matching with other documents in 2026

Briefly: why a letter in a name costs more than a fee

The name in the Vanuatu passport is written in Latin in the same way as in your current passport - and any discrepancy in even one letter turns into a practical problem more expensive than the contribution to the program itself.

It sounds like an editor's trifle, but in practice it is because of the spelling of the name that most everyday problems arise for new citizens of Vanuatu. A passport from a second country is needed to open accounts, fly, obtain visas, and verify identity. All of these systems check your name letter by letter. If your Vanuatu passport says Sergei, in the old abroad Sergey, and in the bank Serguei - formally these are three different people.

The machine at passport control, the bank compliance officer and the consular officer do not know Russian and will not guess that Y, EY and UEI are the same letter “y”. They see a discrepancy and react according to the instructions: delay, request for documents, refusal. Therefore, the spelling of the name needs to be thought out to filing for Vanuatu citizenship by investment, rather than fixing it after the fact.

The good news is that the problem is completely manageable. You don’t need to adapt to someone else’s algorithm - you fix a single version of the name yourself and make sure that it is repeated everywhere. Below is how exactly this works in 2026 and what to do if discrepancies have already accumulated.

How the Latin spelling of a name is formed in a Vanuatu passport

Vanuatu does not come up with a new name for you and does not transliterate the Cyrillic alphabet on its own. The passport is issued based on the package of your documents, and the key one is valid foreign passport. The name is transferred to the new document exactly in the spelling that is already on your foreign passport in the machine-readable zone (two lines in Latin at the bottom of the data page).

This is an important point. A Russian named Evgeniy Shcherbakov may have: Evgenii, Evgeniy, Evgeny, Eugene, and the last name is Shcherbakov or Scherbakov. Since the 2010s, the Russian foreign passport has been transliterated according to the ICAO standard (Doc 9303): “th” is transmitted as I, “ш” as SHCH, “ъ” is omitted. But for people who changed their foreign passport in different years or received it in different departments, the spelling is different.

What is included in a Vanuatu passport:

• First and last name - copied from the passport that you attach to the application;
• Order "last name / first name" - according to the structure of the document, without patronymic in the main fields (patronymic in the Latin tradition is not allocated as a separate field);
• Diacritics - in the Vanuatu passport, only the basic Latin alphabet A-Z is used, without superscripts, hyphens and apostrophes in compound names are preserved according to the source code.

Bottom line: your Vanuatu passport will only be as “correct” as the correct and consistent spelling of the name on the passport you apply for. Therefore, the first step is not choosing a contribution, but checking the name. We write in detail about what documents are needed and how they are translated in the material about requirements and documents for Vanuatu citizenship.

Why is the same spelling in all documents critical?

A second passport is valuable not in itself, but because it can be used: to open accounts, fly, obtain visas, confirm your identity in front of notaries and registrars. Each of these systems is built on a letter-by-letter comparison of the name. A discrepancy even in one character breaks the chain. Let's look at the points where exactly it hits.

• Border and air travel. The name on the ticket must match the passport you are flying on, symbol for symbol. If the ticket was purchased on Sergey, and you present your Vanuatu passport to Sergei, the airline has the right not to allow you to board the flight - and will do this, because it is responsible for the passenger to the country of arrival. At passport control, the officer checks the name with the visa and databases.
• Banks and KYC/AML. When opening an account (especially in offshore and European banks), compliance runs your name through the sanctions and PEP lists. If you have two passports with different spellings, the bank sees a “discordant identity” - this is a red flag that leads to a request for clarification or a refusal. An old account in one name and a new passport in another is a classic reason for blocking a transaction.
• Visas. Consulates tie a visa to a specific passport and spelling. Visa in the old foreign country Evgeniy does not automatically "move" into the Vanuatu passport to Evgenii.
• Diplomas, powers of attorney, real estate. A diploma, driver's license, property documents issued in a different spelling, when presented along with a new passport, require proof that this is one person.

The point is that you don't get "another document" but a parallel identity. And if two identities are spelled differently, any automated check will consider them to be different people. Because Vanuatu no visa-free Schengen (The EU has completely suspended visa-free travel, see below), most trips to Europe already go through a visa - it is all the more critical that the name on the visa and passport be identical.

E, Y, soft sign: where Russian names break most often

The Cyrillic alphabet is richer than the Latin alphabet, and it is the “extra” Russian letters that give the most discrepancies. If your name contains one of these characters, check the spelling especially carefully - discrepancies are almost guaranteed to arise here when documents are changed in different years.

• The letter "y". The most common source of pain. According to the current ICAO standard, "th" is transmitted as I: Andrey - Andrei, Nikolay - Nikolai. But in old documents it appears Y (Andrey, Nikolay) and even IY. The name "Eugene" will also give Evgenii, And Evgeniy, And Evgeny.
• Letter "e/E (former e). Since the “e” is usually not dotted in documents, Fedor may be Fedor, And Fyodor, And Feodor. Semyon - Semen or Semyon. The difference is not cosmetic: these are different names for the car.
• Soft and hard sign. According to ICAO “ь” and “ъ” in Latin go down: Igor - Igor, Tatiana - Tatiana. In older French/German transliterations, an apostrophe (Igor’) or an additional letter may have appeared. An apostrophe in one document and its absence in another is also a discrepancy.
• Hissing. "SCH" - SHCH according to ICAO, but historically SCH, SHH, STCH. "AND" - ZH, Sometimes J. "X" - KH or H.
• Endings of surnames. -th is transmitted as -ii (Dmitrievsky - Dmitrievskii) or obsolete -y/-iy; women's like -aia or -aya.

Conclusion: if the name contains й, е(е), ь/ъ, ш, ж or the ending -й/-я, assume by default that your documents already have at least two different spellings. They need to be found and agreed upon to applying for a Vanuatu passport.

How to fix a single spelling in advance: step-by-step order

The best solution to a writing problem is to prevent it from happening. This is done at the start, while the Vanuatu passport has not yet been issued and you have freedom of choice. This is the order.

• Step 1: Take inventory of names. Write down the spelling of the first and last name in Latin from all significant documents: current and old passports, bank cards and account agreements, valid visas, diploma, driver’s license, documents for real estate and companies abroad.
• Step 2: Determine the “anchor” document. The anchor is yours valid passport, because it is his spelling that will be transferred to the Vanuatu passport and it is on it that you fly. We take his writing as a standard.
• Step 3. Check critical nodes with the anchor. The main thing is that the Vanuatu passport must match those systems where failure is most expensive: bank accounts and valid visas. If the bank leads you to the old spelling, notify the bank in advance about the change/adding of the document.
• Step 4. If the old border is “crooked”, first correct it. It happens that a valid foreign document itself contains an outdated transliteration. Then it is logical to first reissue the foreign passport according to the current ICAO standard (in the Russian Federation you can submit an application to retain the previous spelling if it coincides with other documents), and only then apply to Vanuatu.
• Step 5: Apply to Vanuatu with an agreed upon package. When the anchor is verified, the application for citizenship is submitted so that the new passport repeats the standard spelling letter for letter.

This procedure does not save you money, but years of peace of mind. Correct spelling to issuing a passport means checking the table once. Correct after - means carrying affidavits with you to every bank and consulate. We write about the deadlines and stages of submission in the guide. how to obtain Vanuatu citizenship, and you can compare it with the speed of your neighbors in the review fastest second citizenship programs.

Ready to issue a Vanuatu passport with the correct spelling of your name the first time - discuss your situation with a BRIDGES GLOBAL expert: We will check the documents before submitting.

What to do in case of discrepancies: affidavit of one and the same person

If a Vanuatu passport has already been issued, but a discrepancy has surfaced, there is no need to panic, the tool exists. This affidavit of personal identity, in English affidavit of one and the same person (“one and the same person”). This is a notarized sworn statement that different spellings of a name belong to the same person.

How it works in practice:

• Content. The document lists ALL variants of your name with reference to specific documents: “I, Sergei Ivanov on Vanuatu passport No..., aka Sergey Ivanov on Russian foreign passport No..., aka Sergei Ivanov on bank account No..., declare that this is the same person.”
• Assurance. The affidavit is signed in the presence of a notary. For international use it is usually accompanied by apostille and a notarized translation into the language of the country where it is presented.
• Gain. Many institutions are more willing to accept an affidavit if it is supplemented by the testimony of two disinterested witnesses (not relatives) who know you personally.
• Where to submit. The affidavit is presented upon request - to the bank when opening an account, to the consulate when applying for a visa, to the registrar when making a transaction. This is not a one-time “pass for all occasions”: each institution evaluates it according to its own rules.

It is important to understand the limitations. An affidavit is a band-aid, not a cure. It explains the discrepancy, but does not eliminate it: your name is still spelled differently on different documents, and the story will have to be told anew each time you check. Therefore, an affidavit is a solution to a situation that has already happened, and not a replacement for careful reconciliation at the start. Where you could get by with one verified spelling, you will have to carry a notary package with you for years. This once again confirms the rule: it’s cheaper to do it right right away.

about Schengen: why spelling a name is especially important for Vanuatu

Here we need to say directly what many passport sellers are silent about. A Vanuatu passport does not have visa-free entry into Schengen. The European Union partially suspended visa-free travel from February 2022, and introduced a complete suspension from February 2023; in December 2024, the EU Council officially moved Vanuatu from the visa-free list to the list of countries requiring a visa. As of 2026, visa-free travel has not been restored and ETIAS is not issued for Vanuatu passports.

We discuss details and sources in a separate article about visa-free countries passports Vanuatu. Here this is important for a practical reason: since you are going to Europe by visa, and not on a visa-free basis, the identity of the spelling of the name in the passport and on the visa becomes absolutely critical. A Schengen visa is glued or tied to a specific passport and a specific spelling. If the visa was issued using an old passport for Andrey, and at the border you present your Vanuatu passport for Andrei - Formally, the visa was issued for the wrong document.

• For a Schengen and any other visa, use the passport whose name matches the spelling throughout the entire chain (reservation, insurance, invitation).
• Do not mix passports on the same trip: fly and cross the border using one document from start to finish.
• If you are planning a visa specifically on a Vanuatu passport, make sure that the spelling of the name on it matches the documents that you attach to the visa application.

Vanuatu's strengths lie elsewhere: speed (approximately 1-2 months), zero taxes (no tax on income, capital gains, inheritance and worldwide income) and dual citizenship allowed. It is convenient to compare Vanuatu with Caribbean programs on the balance of speed and visa-free travel in reviews Vanuatu vs Dominica и Caribbean passports.

How much does Vanuatu citizenship cost and what does the name have to do with it?

To understand the scale: writing a name is essentially a free precaution against the background of the real budget of the program. Vanuatu citizenship is obtained through DSP (Development Support Program) - a non-refundable donation to the country's budget. Guidelines for 2026 (exact amounts are specified individually and depend on family composition):

Government and service fees are added to this; The final estimate is calculated based on your family composition. We provide a full layout in the material about cost of Vanuatu citizenship.

Now compare: the contribution is a six-figure dollar amount and an irrevocable decision. Against this background, checking the spelling of a name costs you one hour of work with documents and several pages of translations. But the price errors in the name is measured not by money, but by blocked accounts, disrupted flights and many years of carrying affidavits. In other words, you are investing a large amount of money in a passport - and it would be absurd to devalue that investment because of an unverified Y or I. That's why at BRIDGES GLOBAL we make name verification a mandatory first step, before accepting a deposit.

Common mistakes and checklist: what we look at before submitting

Over the years of working with Pacific programs, it is clear that problems with the name are repeated in the same scenarios. Here are the mistakes we look for first and a checklist everyone should go through before applying for a Vanuatu passport.

Typical mistakes:

• “It’s the same everywhere for me” - and upon checking, it turns out that the name in the bank remains from the passport written ten years ago, and the fresh passport is already according to the new standard.
• Submitting using an old “crooked” passport. A person attaches a foreign passport with an outdated transliteration to the application - and the Vanuatu passport inherits an error, which is then dragged everywhere.
• Ignore patronymics and compound names. Double names, hyphenated surnames, particles are a frequent source of out of sync between documents.
• Discrepancy in date of birth and place. Not only the name: the date format and the Latin spelling of the city of birth must also match in the package.
• Translation "from myself". A homemade or unprofessional translation produces a spelling different from the passport one. Translations must be made by sworn translators, if necessary with notarization and apostille.

Checklist before submission:

• The first and last names in Latin letters are identical in the valid foreign passport and in the submitted package;
• The spelling matches valid bank accounts and visas;
• Particular attention to the letters й, е(е), ь/ъ, щ, ж and endings -й/-я;
• The date and place of birth are the same in all documents;
• All translations are made by a sworn translator, certified and, if necessary, apostilled;
• If the discrepancies cannot be eliminated, an affidavit of one and the same person has been prepared in advance.

It is this reconciliation that we carry out first - before discussing the fee and deadlines. Because re-registering a letter in a name after the passport is issued is incomparably more expensive than checking it in advance.