Vanuatu Citizenship for a Family Wealth Manager: Due Diligence, Banks and Three Income Sources

Moscow, then Almaty, and banks in Asia

This is a composite example: the story is built from typical enquiries from private investors, and no real client is described; the names are invented. Artem is 44, a Russian citizen and a mathematician by training. For fifteen years he and his father built a packaging plant outside Moscow; in 2021 the family sold the business.

After the sale Artem turned to what he did best: managing money. First his own family’s, then that of two families they have long been friends with. The wealth is split between private banks in Hong Kong and Singapore.

In 2022 the family moved to Almaty. Artem obtained a residence permit in Kazakhstan, and the children started at a local international school.

In his work trust is not sent by email: once a quarter he meets everyone who manages the families’ money face to face.

Martina VeberHead of Case Processing

Sixteen flights a year

At the meeting the lawyer asked Artem to open his travel calendar. Every quarter, four days in Hong Kong and two in Singapore, plus annual meetings with the managers. About sixteen flights in total.

A Russian passport allows 14 days visa-free in Hong Kong, enough for short meetings. But once a year the bank holds a major portfolio review, and Artem stays three weeks. Singapore requires a visa for Russian passport holders, applied for date by date.

Last spring the manager in Singapore moved a meeting a week earlier. Artem could not get a new visa in time, and the portfolio rebalancing discussion took place by video. The decision was made without him on site, and one of the families later asked him many awkward questions.

A Vanuatu passport allows up to 90 days in Hong Kong and visa-free entry to Singapore for up to 30 days. For Artem this means quarterly trips no longer depend on visa dates.

The lawyer checked two points straight away. Russia allows a second citizenship. Artem does not need to notify the Interior Ministry: the obligation does not apply to citizens permanently living outside Russia, and Artem holds a residence permit in Kazakhstan.

For a wealth manager, the answer was in a spreadsheet

For a single applicant the donation costs USD 135,000 including the due diligence fee. The coconut oil fund costs 165,000, with 50,000 returned after five years.

Artem did the maths himself, right at the meeting. The fund is USD 20,000 cheaper after five years, but costs 30,000 more upfront and ties the money up for five years with no return. For someone who manages capital, that is a poor investment. He chose the donation, which is paid only after approval. How the two programmes compare is covered in donation or fund.

Three income sources and documents for each

Artem’s income came from three parts, each with its own documents.

The sale of the family business

Most of the wealth came from selling the plant in 2021. Artem found the share sale agreement, the bank statement showing receipt of funds and the tax return on which he paid tax in Russia. He also needed statements for the transfer of money from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2022.

The reconciliation turned up a detail: the buyer paid for the share in two instalments, and the second arrived eight months after the first. The agreement said nothing about it. Artem remembered that the terms had been changed by an addendum and found it in his father’s archive. We attached the addendum, and the two payments added up to one clear amount.

Fees from partner families

Two families pay Artem for managing their wealth through his consulting company in Almaty. The company’s accountant gathered the contracts with the families, the company’s accounts and the decisions on dividends paid to Artem.

Income from a personal portfolio

The third part: interest and dividends from his personal portfolio. The banks in Hong Kong and Singapore issued annual account statements for three years.

The Russian documents were apostilled and received certified English translations. Police certificates were needed from Russia and from Kazakhstan, where Artem has lived since 2022. How money is checked is covered in applicant due diligence.

A namesake on a sanctions list

Before filing, our specialist checked Artem against public sanctions lists and media databases. We do this for everyone who manages other people’s money.

The check found a match: a person with the same surname, first name and patronymic was on one of the lists. Artem went pale: in 2023 a Singapore bank had already held one of his transfers for two weeks over the same match until he sent copies of his documents. The lawyer calmly opened the list entry: a different year of birth, a different city, a position at a state company where Artem had never worked.

Such matches are common, and programme due diligence sees them too. So we did not wait for a question. We attached a short explanation showing how Artem differs from his namesake by date of birth, place of birth and biography, with copies of the supporting documents.

Two weeks after filing, due diligence asked one question, about something else: it requested a list of the families whose wealth Artem manages. The lawyer sent the contracts with the families’ consent. Due diligence did not ask about the name match: the explanation was already in the package.

How to tell banks about a second citizenship

The most delicate part of the work began after approval. Artem signs documents on the accounts of his own family and two partner families. Banks must know all of a client’s citizenships and tax residence.

The lawyer stated the key point at once: the second citizenship must be fully disclosed to the banks, in the same forms that list the Russian one. A Vanuatu passport does not lift restrictions that banks apply to Russian citizens and must not be used for that.

We prepared a short letter for the banks with a copy of the Vanuatu passport and wording for the forms. Artem’s tax residence stayed the same: he lives in Kazakhstan and pays taxes there.

The Singapore bank updated its form within a week. The Hong Kong bank asked for an in-person meeting and held it during Artem’s next quarterly visit. The relationship manager asked one question: why would someone who already visits every quarter need a second passport? Artem showed his travel calendar, the banker nodded and closed the form twenty minutes later. For the partner families the lawyer prepared a separate letter: the person managing their wealth now has a second citizenship, and the banks know about it.

Biometrics in Saint Petersburg at his mother’s birthday

A whole quarter passed while the application waited for the Commission. As usual, Artem flew to Hong Kong and Singapore, for the last time with a visa in his Russian passport. The approval letter reached him in Singapore, between meetings with a manager. He forwarded it to Larisa with a short note: we will make it by next quarter.

After approval Artem transferred the donation. The USD 5,000 due diligence fee had been paid at filing, leaving 130,000. The Singapore bank asked for the approval letter and the agent’s invoice and made the transfer two days later.

Biometrics are given in person in one of five cities: Port Vila, Dubai, Hong Kong, Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Artem’s mother lives in Saint Petersburg, and in November she celebrated a milestone birthday. The lawyer booked his biometrics for the morning after the celebration.

It took less than an hour: passport check, fingerprints, photo, signature. That evening Artem flew back to Almaty. Under the plan the passport arrives by courier 1-3 weeks after biometrics. All stages are covered in Vanuatu citizenship timeline.

What the applicant gets

In this scenario the Commission approved the application, and the Vanuatu passport arrives 3-4 months after the first meeting. In a real application the decision and timelines depend on the Citizenship Commission.

Artem will be able to hold the annual portfolio review in Hong Kong on a single entry. He will fly to Singapore meetings without a visa, even if the bank moves the date.

Both partner families received the letter about their manager’s second citizenship without questions. One of them asked for the lawyer’s contacts: the head of that family also flies to Singapore often.

He keeps his Russian citizenship. He enters Russia on his Russian passport and lives in Kazakhstan on his residence permit, as before.

Larisa, who booked the first meeting, asked the lawyer to return in a year to applications for herself and the children.

A second citizenship is useful for travel when everyone who should know about it does: due diligence, the banks and the families whose wealth he manages.

Martina VeberHead of Case Processing

Who this path suits

This story repeats for private investors and family wealth managers who travel regularly to banks and managers in Asia.

If income comes from several sources, gather documents for each in advance. If your name is common, it helps to check public sanctions lists before filing and attach an explanation.

A second citizenship must be disclosed to every bank where you are a client or signatory. It is a routine step and best done right after receiving the passport.

Similar stories: a manufacturer exporting to Egypt and crypto wealth and due diligence. 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.