Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment: DSP Costs, Process and Travel Limits (2026)

Vanuatu, a Pacific republic of about 80 islands, has granted citizenship to foreign investors since 2015 under its Citizenship Act and a series of ministerial regulation orders. The European Commission dates the start of the current investor schemes to 25 May 2015 and notes that Vanuatu granted citizenship to nationals of other countries with no previous connection to it, approving the large majority of applications: Vanuatu told the Commission it received 1,988 investor applications in 2022 and 2023 and rejected only 27^[1][4]. Applications are decided by the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission, with the Citizenship Office in Port Vila handling files and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) running background checks; applicants must apply through a government-licensed agent, not directly.

Two contribution routes are open in 2026:

• Development Support Program (DSP): a straight, non-refundable contribution to the state, from USD 130,000 for a single applicant. The DSP stayed open throughout the 2025 reforms^[7].
• Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP): a flat price of about USD 160,000–165,000 for a single applicant or a small family (sources differ on whether it covers three or four people), of which about USD 50,000 is placed in an investment fund that agents describe as redeemable after four to five years. The CIIP was suspended in March 2025 and relaunched on 26 May 2025 under an amended regulation order^[7][9].

A sister contribution route, the Vanuatu Contribution Program (VCP), stayed open during the 2025 review^[7]; it is operated by a different set of licensed agents and is reportedly priced in line with the DSP, which we could not confirm from a government source. A Real Estate Option (REO) has officially existed since 23 July 2021 and requires buying into one of four government-approved projects plus fees^[22]; agents quote a minimum of about USD 200,000 with a five-year hold^[18], but the route is rarely used and its current price is not published by the government.

Status: active. Reports that the program "reopened in May 2025" are only half right: it was the CIIP that was paused and reopened; DSP applications continued to be accepted while the government rewrote its rules^[7][9].

Every Vanuatu route is, in substance, a donation. There is no qualifying real estate market of note and no government bond option. The difference between the two live routes is whether part of the money comes back.

Development Support Program (DSP)

The DSP is the default choice. The contribution is fixed by family size, paid to a government trust account after approval in principle, and is not refundable. The Citizenship Office's own fee page sets the grid: USD 130,000 for a single applicant, USD 150,000 for a married couple, USD 165,000 for a couple with one child and USD 180,000 for a couple with two children, plus USD 10,000 for each additional applicant^[21]. Licensed agents publish the same core prices^[15][16][18]. The Commission has acted against sub-agents advertising below these legislated prices^[19], so a quote materially under USD 130,000 is a warning sign.

Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP)

The CIIP charges one flat amount for a single applicant or a family of up to four. The amendment order behind the May 2025 relaunch reportedly set the minimum at USD 160,000 for singles and families, with agents required to allocate USD 50,000 "for the purpose of investment" and to report annually to the Commission^[9]. Agents now quote USD 165,000 including about USD 50,000 placed in an agricultural fund: Global Citizen Solutions and Immigrant Invest name the Cocoa Sustainable Fund, redeemable after five years, while Stanford Knight describes a fund covering coffee, cacao, vanilla and kava that returns capital after four years^[16][17][19]. Sources also differ on family coverage: Immigrant Invest says the flat price covers up to four people, Global Citizen Solutions a couple and one child^[17][16]. The net cost if the fund repays in full is therefore about USD 115,000–120,000, but redemption depends on the fund's performance, and we found no government guarantee. For a larger family the CIIP can be cheaper on paper than the DSP; for a single applicant it ties up more cash for a small saving.

The contribution is the bulk of the cost, but the ancillary items add 10–15% for most families. The Citizenship Office lists the FIU due-diligence fee at USD 5,000 and an application fee of VT 5,000 per application^[21]; agents usually quote more. Immigrant Invest lists the due-diligence fee at USD 5,500 per application, biometrics at USD 1,000 per person in Vanuatu or USD 3,000 per person overseas, and about USD 1,000 per applicant for the national ID card and birth certificate that agents say have been required since 18 July 2025^[17][15]; Global Citizen Solutions quotes biometrics at USD 3,000 for the main applicant and USD 2,000 per dependant^[16]; Golden Harbors itemises a USD 200 certificate and an USD 800 passport per adult and arrives at USD 144,500–147,500 all-in for a single applicant^[18]. None of these firms is the government, and the official page does not list biometric or document charges, which is why we present ranges. Ask your agent for a fixed-price engagement letter that lists every government payment separately, and pay government amounts only into the official trust account named in the approval letter.

Unlike Caribbean programs, Vanuatu does not charge a separate per-person due-diligence fee for each adult, which is part of why it undercuts Dominica's USD 200,000 economic citizenship and St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by a wide margin. For a full price ranking across jurisdictions, see our guide to the lowest-cost citizenship programs.

The legal bar is low, but the vetting has tightened since 2025. Main applicants must:

• be at least 18 years old (Global Citizen Solutions also cites an upper age limit of 65, which we could not confirm officially)^[16];
• have a clean criminal record and not be the subject of sanctions, Interpol notices or adverse intelligence;
• show a lawful source of funds for the contribution; several agents also expect evidence of around USD 250,000 in available assets^[16][17];
• pass FIU due diligence and enrol biometrics (fingerprints and facial image) in person^[8];
• take the oath of allegiance, which can be done at a Vanuatu consulate or before an authorised official abroad;
• be of a nationality the Commission currently accepts. BenarNews reported in March 2025 that stricter nationality restrictions were being applied^[10]; agents keep their own restricted lists, so check eligibility first. According to the Citizenship Office memo as reported in March 2026, nationals of Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan are restricted^[27][28]. A 9 March 2026 memo adding Russia and Sudan to that list was retracted on 11 March by Citizenship Commission chair Charlie Maniel as a clerical error, and both nationalities remain eligible, subject to standard due diligence^[26][27].

There is no language test, no interview requirement in the published rules, no business experience test and no minimum stay, either before or after naturalisation. Citizenship is granted for life, but the Commission has shown it will revoke passports obtained through fraud or held by people later found to be fugitives: in March 2025 the Prime Minister ordered the cancellation of the passport issued to former Indian cricket administrator Lalit Modi, and passports of three Chinese nationals were terminated^[10][7]. The Citizenship Office says the current Commission has revoked almost 30 citizenships granted contrary to the Citizenship Act^[22].

Vanuatu prices families in steps rather than charging a large fee for every person, which makes it one of the cheaper ways to cover a household of four. Qualifying dependants are:

• a spouse (legally married);
• children under 18, and children aged 18–25 who are financially dependent or in full-time education;
• dependent parents living with the main applicant, from age 50 on most schedules (one firm quotes 55 for the DSP)^[16][19];
• on some agent schedules, dependent siblings^[18].

The Citizenship Office fee page lists USD 10,000 for each additional applicant above a couple with two children^[21], but agents quote more: USD 15,000 to USD 25,000 for a fifth dependant, and parents or siblings are often charged USD 25,000 each^{[18][16][17][15]}. Ask your agent to explain any gap between the official figure and their quote. Treat the figures below as indicative until your agent confirms them against the current regulation order. Dependants can usually be added later at the published rate, but each later addition triggers fresh due diligence and biometrics.

The process runs entirely through a licensed agent and is mostly remote. The order below reflects the post-2025 rules.

Before 2025 Vanuatu could issue passports in as little as 30–45 days, and some agents still quote 45 days^[19]. The biometric requirement announced in March 2025, which agents say applied to all applicants from 1 July 2025, means at least one in-person appointment^[8][15]; Golden Harbors schedules biometrics around days 60–120^[18], and Global Citizen Solutions now describes two to three months from first review to approval in principle^[16]. Even so, Vanuatu remains faster than the Caribbean programs, which typically take several months; see our comparison of the Caribbean citizenship programs for those timelines.

Travel access is where most buyers get Vanuatu wrong. Older marketing still claims visa-free access to the Schengen area and the UK. Both have gone, and the passport's reach has shrunk sharply. In the Henley Passport Index 2026, using Henley's Vanuatu data updated on 7 September 2026, the passport gives visa-free, visa-on-arrival or electronic-authorisation access to 86 destinations, with 140 requiring a visa^[14]. Agents put the pre-2023 figure at well over 100 destinations, but counts differ by index.

European Union and Schengen: visa required for every Vanuatu passport

The EU revoked visa-free travel in four steps^[1][2][3][4]:

• 3 March 2022: Council Decision (EU) 2022/366 partially suspended the EU–Vanuatu visa-waiver agreement for ordinary passports issued on or after 25 May 2015, the date the investor schemes began.
• 4 May 2022 – 3 February 2023: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/693 suspended the visa exemption for holders of passports issued from 25 May 2015.
• 4 February 2023 – 3 August 2024 (later extended to February 2025): Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/222 widened the suspension to all Vanuatu nationals, whatever their passport's date of issue; the Council also suspended the whole visa-waiver agreement (Decision (EU) 2022/2198).
• 12 December 2024: the Council decided to remove Vanuatu from the visa-free list. Regulation (EU) 2025/11, adopted on 19 December 2024 and published on 14 January 2025, moved Vanuatu to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806; the permanent visa requirement applies from 3 February 2025.

So it is not just CBI passports: since February 2023 every Vanuatu national has needed a Schengen visa, and since February 2025 that requirement is permanent law rather than a temporary suspension. Reversing it would require a new legislative act of the European Parliament and Council.

United Kingdom: visa required since 19 July 2023

The UK added Vanuatu to its list of visa nationals through Statement of Changes HC 1715, effective 3 p.m. on 19 July 2023, citing concerns that citizenship-by-investment grants had gone to people who pose a risk to the UK. Travellers with tickets booked before then could enter visa-free until 16 August 2023^[5][6]. Vanuatu citizens now need a UK visitor visa, applied for online, before travel^[14].

United States: visa bond since January 2026, permanent since August 2026

Vanuatu has always needed a US visa. It appeared on a leaked State Department list of 36 countries in June 2025^[11], but was not among the countries hit by full or partial entry restrictions in the 16 December 2025 proclamation, effective 1 January 2026^[12]. It was, however, added to the US visa-bond pilot from 21 January 2026, meaning applicants for B-1/B-2 visitor visas could be required to post a refundable bond of USD 5,000, 10,000 or 15,000^[13]. A State Department final rule published on 3 August 2026 made the program permanent, kept the pilot countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Grenada as well as Vanuatu) on the list and raised the bond amounts to USD 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000, with USD 15,000 the expected default^[23]. Vanuatu was not on the State Department's list of 75 countries whose immigrant-visa processing was paused from 21 January 2026, a pause a federal court vacated on 21 August 2026^[25].

Where it still works

Visa-free entry remains for Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, most of the Caribbean and the Pacific, Belarus, Moldova, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and Russia, among others; Türkiye, the UAE, India and Vietnam require a visa or e-visa; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Ireland, the UK, the US and the Schengen states require a visa^[14]. If European or North American travel is the main goal, look at which investment passports travel best instead.

Vanuatu levies no personal income tax, no capital gains tax and no tax on investment income; the state is funded mainly by a 15% VAT, import duties and fees, plus a tax on rental income^[20]. There is no inheritance or wealth tax that we could identify. Vanuatu has signed the CRS multilateral agreement and exchanges financial-account information automatically with partner jurisdictions^[20].

The practical point: a passport does not change where you are tax resident. Unless you actually move to Vanuatu, you will remain taxable where you live, and banks will report your accounts to that country. US citizens remain taxable on worldwide income regardless of a second passport. Take advice in your home jurisdiction before relying on Vanuatu for any tax planning.

The program grants full citizenship immediately on approval: there is no probationary residence permit, no minimum stay before or after, and no renewal^[16][17]. Vanuatu permits dual citizenship, so you do not need to give up your existing nationality, but check whether your home country allows it. Citizenship passes to children born after naturalisation under ordinary nationality rules. Because Vanuatu has no residency page on this site, there is no separate golden visa to compare with; investors who mainly want a Pacific residence base should look at naturalisation in Fiji instead.

Vanuatu suits investors who need a second nationality quickly and cheaply for reasons other than European travel: a backup passport and "plan B" citizenship, easier travel in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, opening corporate or banking relationships in Asia, or diversification away from a passport with weak travel access. It also suits families of three or four who want the lowest all-in household price and are comfortable with the CIIP's fund risk.

Look elsewhere if you want visa-free Schengen or UK travel, an onward path to residence in a Western country, or a passport that compliance teams at banks will not question. For Schengen access, the Caribbean programs still offer it, although the European Commission asked five of them in June 2026 to phase out investor citizenship by 1 June 2028^[24], and for a similar budget the newer African and Pacific programs are worth weighing. Avoid any agent who promises EU visa-free travel on a Vanuatu passport: that has not been true for any Vanuatu national since February 2023.

• Nauru's economic and climate resilience citizenship: a similar Pacific price point launched in 2025, with its own travel limits.
• São Tomé and Príncipe citizenship by donation: one of the lowest-priced programs, launched in 2025.
• Sierra Leone citizenship program: restructured in October 2026 with several price tiers.
• Cambodian citizenship by contribution: an Asian option at around USD 245,000.
• Dominica economic citizenship and Grenada citizenship by investment: higher prices and still Schengen visa-free in October 2026, but both are among the five states the EU has asked to phase out CBI by 1 June 2028^[24], and both are on the US visa-bond list; Grenada adds access to the US E-2 treaty visa.
• Tonga's proposed citizenship scheme: proposed only, no law yet.

For a broader view of what launched recently and what is still only proposed, see the newest citizenship-by-investment programs, our citizenship by investment hub, and our notes on how to vet a CBI agent.