A Vanuatu passport is renewed every 10 years; citizenship never needs renewing

Vanuatu passport renewal: in brief

In brief: Vanuatu citizenship is permanent and does not need to be renewed or confirmed. The citizen’s passport is biometric, valid for 10 years and replaced with a new one; an expired passport does not cancel citizenship, but it cannot be used to travel or to confirm status at a bank.

The confusion comes from residence permits, which are renewed by term and conditions. Citizenship works differently: after the oath and the certificate of citizenship, the status stays with the person without repeat contributions, stamps or visits. The passport, on the other hand, is a travel document, and it has an expiry date like any passport.

• Citizenship. No expiry, passes to children.
• Passport. Biometric, 10 years, green cover.
• An expired passport. Not extended; a new document is issued.
• Dual citizenship. Recognised; the first citizenship is kept.

How the document itself works and how strong it is for travel is covered in which document a Vanuatu citizen receives.

Permanent citizenship and the passport as a document

In brief: citizenship is confirmed by the certificate issued by the Citizenship Commission, and the passport is issued by the Immigration and Passport Services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The status does not depend on the passport’s validity: citizenship ends only on grounds set by law.

The law names, in particular, two cases of termination: the citizen’s own voluntary renunciation, and termination of citizenship obtained through false information, deception or concealment, 30 days after this is established. Passport expiry is not one of them, so a person who has not used the passport for several years remains a citizen.

The certificate of citizenship is kept separately from the passport: a new passport is issued on its basis after loss or damage, and after a long expiry it confirms the status. The rights and duties of a citizen are covered in what the status requires of a citizen.

Validity of a Vanuatu passport

In brief: the passport is valid for 10 years from the date of issue shown in the document itself. In practice the working period is shorter: many countries admit travellers only with a passport valid for at least 6 more months on the date of entry.

The passport’s validity runs from the date of issue of the specific document, not from the date citizenship was granted. If the passport has been replaced after loss or a change of name, the new document starts its own 10-year period from the new date. So in a family whose passports were issued at different times, they expire in different years.

It is convenient to start renewal a few months before six months remain: filing from abroad, sending originals and issuing the document take time. If the passport is lost or damaged, the procedure is different; it is covered in replacing a Vanuatu passport.

Renewal: a new document instead of an expired one

In brief: an expired passport is not extended with a stamp: the passport authority issues a new biometric passport for 10 years. Preparation is done from abroad, and the applicant checks the details, signs the forms and provides photographs to specification.

1. Checking details. The Vanuatu passport, the certificate of citizenship and the passport of the first citizenship are checked against each other.
2. Forms and photos. Passport forms are completed to the authority’s requirements, and photographs are checked against the specification.
3. Filing. The set is passed to the Vanuatu passport authority through an authorised representative, and requests are closed as the review proceeds.
4. Biometrics. For a biometric passport they are given in person; since 1 July 2025 biometrics are taken in Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow, St Petersburg and Port Vila, and the location is confirmed before filing.
5. Issue. The finished passport is collected and handed to the holder in the way the process provides.

Renewal of an old-style passport works the same way: in case: a new passport instead of an expired one the bank asked for a valid document, the old booklet could not be extended, and the client received a new biometric passport for 10 years. Support at this stage is described on passport renewal from abroad.

Documents for passport renewal

In brief: for renewal the valid or expired Vanuatu passport, the certificate of citizenship, the passport of the first citizenship, the passport form and photographs are checked. The main requirement: the name and details match across all documents.

Discrepancies are found before filing, otherwise the passport authority returns the set for rework. Typical cases: a new spelling of the surname in the passport of the first citizenship, a change of name after marriage or divorce, a different issue date of the main passport. For a change of name, the change is first registered in Vanuatu’s records, then a passport with the new details is issued.

If the Latin spelling in the Vanuatu passport and the main passport differs, banks and airlines see two different people, so the spelling is brought into line precisely at renewal. The rules are covered in name transliteration.

The set is most often returned for rework because of discrepancies: a new spelling of the surname in the main passport, a change of name after marriage or divorce, a different issue date. For a change of name, the change is first registered in Vanuatu’s records, and only then is a passport with the new details issued.

An expired passport and citizen status

In brief: an expired passport does not end citizenship, but it cannot be used: the airline will not board the passenger, the border service will not accept the document, and the bank will ask for a valid passport. There is one way out: obtain a new passport.

A short expiry usually proceeds as a routine renewal. After a long expiry, the current citizen status is first confirmed in the records, the certificate restored if necessary, and only then is a new passport issued. So a long expiry is built into the calendar with a margin.

• Travel. Until the new passport is issued, travel on the passport of the first citizenship.
• Bank. If an account was opened on the Vanuatu passport, the bank is warned in advance about when the new document will be issued.
• Family. The children’s and spouse’s passports are checked at the same time, so as not to file again a few months later.

It is also worth checking a long-unused passport for matching details: in the meantime the holder may have changed the passport of their first citizenship or their surname.

The certificate of citizenship: keeping and restoring it

In brief: the certificate of citizenship matters more than the passport: it confirms the status itself, and the passport is issued on its basis. The certificate is kept separately from the passport, and a copy is held in secure storage.

For a routine renewal the certificate is needed to check details. After loss or damage of the passport a new document is issued on its basis, and after a long expiry it confirms the status in the records. If the certificate is lost too, it is restored first and only then is the passport applied for, so such a case is built into the calendar with a margin.

• The original. Kept at home or in a safe, not taken on trips.
• A copy. A scan in secure storage, accessible to the holder from any country.
• Details. The name on the certificate matches the Vanuatu passport and the passport of the first citizenship.

Two passports after renewal

In brief: a new Vanuatu passport is issued with new document details, so after issue the profiles of airlines, banks and services that held the old number are updated. You enter and leave each country on one passport, and the ticket is bought on the same document.

Confusion over documents costs more than it seems: a passenger will not be boarded if the ticket details do not match the passport at check-in. So a trip is planned from the document: choose the passport, buy the ticket on it, cross both borders on it.

Your first country of citizenship applies its own rules. A Russian citizen, for example, remains only a Russian citizen in Russia and enters on the Russian passport, using the Vanuatu passport abroad; the Interior Ministry is notified of the second citizenship within 60 days of acquiring it, and failing to notify carries a fine of up to RUB 200,000 under Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code.

Children’s passports and new family members

In brief: each child has their own Vanuatu passport with its own expiry date, and children cannot be entered in a parent’s passport. Children born after citizenship is granted acquire it by descent without a contribution, and a passport is then arranged for them.

For a child, the birth certificate with a translation is attached to the passport form, and the signature and consent are given by a parent or legal guardian. A newborn is first registered as a citizen by descent, then a passport is issued; no trip to the islands is needed for this.

The children’s passport dates are checked in the documents themselves and tracked in the same calendar as the adults’ passports. Who can be included in the application and how citizenship passes to children is covered in Vanuatu citizenship for a family.

A renewal calendar for the family

In brief: it is convenient to track the family’s passports in one table: number, issue date, expiry date, countries already entered on it, and banks where it is registered. Once a year the table is checked, and renewal of documents nearing expiry is started in advance.

The calendar is especially useful before big trips and visas: a visa goes into the passport used for the application, so it is more convenient to finish renewal before applying for a visa. That way the visa and the valid passport stay in one document on the trip.

• A trip in six months. Check the 6-month rule for the dates of entry and exit.
• Bank. After the new passport is issued, update details at banks where the old number is registered.
• Forms. On visa forms, state the valid passport and the previous number if asked.

How banks and border services treat the Vanuatu passport and what questions they ask the holder is covered in how banks and borders treat the passport.

Travel with the new passport

In brief: the new passport gives the same possibilities as the previous one: 42 countries without a visa and another 30 with a visa on arrival, Hong Kong for 90 days, Singapore and Malaysia for 30 days, Russia for up to 90 days. A visa is obtained for the Schengen area and the UK.

Vanuatu citizens start living in Europe through Greek residence: the card gives the right to live in the country and travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180.

At banks where an account was opened on the Vanuatu passport, the new document’s details are provided after renewal: the bank checks the valid passport when updating the client’s file. In Vanuatu itself National Bank of Vanuatu, ANZ, BRED and BSP operate, and a valid passport is as necessary for them as for foreign banks.

The list of destinations is in where the Vanuatu passport takes you, and residence conditions on Greek residence for Vanuatu citizens.

The cost of passport renewal

In brief: the cost of renewal consists of the passport authority’s government fee, delivery of documents and support work. The government fee is confirmed by the passport authority’s current invoice before filing, and the total is named after the documents are checked.

The budget is affected by the number of members, because each passport is processed with a separate set of forms, and by complexity: a change of name, a long expiry or restoring the certificate add steps. A routine renewal of one passport without changes to details remains a simple case.

• Government fee. On the passport authority’s invoice, separately for each passport.
• Delivery. Sending originals and the finished passport by courier.
• Support. Checking details, forms, photographs, filing and monitoring issue.
• Additional steps. A change of name, confirmation of status and restoring the certificate are priced separately.

Support does not depend on which agent handled the citizenship: the passport is issued by a Vanuatu government body, and the certificate of citizenship remains valid regardless of the previous intermediary.

Mistakes when renewing a passport

In brief: renewal most often wrecks a trip because of a late start, the forgotten 6-month rule, a discrepancy in the spelling of the name and the belief that expiry cancels citizenship.

1. A late start. The passport is remembered just before departure, when filing, issue and delivery can no longer be done in time.
2. The 6-month rule. The passport is formally valid, but the country of entry requires a validity margin.
3. Different spellings of the name. The Latin spelling in the passport of the first citizenship has changed, and the set is returned.
4. The family’s passports one by one. The children’s and spouse’s passports are checked later, and filing has to be repeated.
5. Fear of losing the status. Paying for “restoring citizenship” that is not needed: citizenship is kept, only the document changes.
6. A visa in the old passport. A visa is obtained just before renewal, and on the trip the visa and the valid passport end up in different documents.

How BRIDGES handles passport renewal

In brief: we check the passport, the certificate and each member’s details, prepare the forms and photographs, pass the set to the passport authority and follow the issue through until the new passport is handed to the holder.

• Checking dates. A calendar of the whole family’s passports taking into account trips and the 6-month rule.
• Checking details. Passport, certificate and name spelling before filing.
• Complex cases. A change of name, a long expiry, restoring the certificate.
• Issue. Monitoring issue and handing the passport to the holder.

If a second passport is only being planned, programme conditions are collected in Vanuatu citizenship by investment.