Vanuatu Citizenship Requirements

To get citizenship in Vanuatu by investment, you need a record free of any criminal conviction, clearance from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), money whose lawful origin can be shown, and payment of the prescribed government fees in US dollars. The route is the Development Support Program (DSP), and a government-designated agent must lodge the file. Living in Vanuatu, passing a language test and buying property are not part of it.

The DSP rules sit in the Citizenship (DSP) Regulation, Order No. 33 of 2019, amended in 2020 by Order No. 39. Without an investment, the only routes are long residence, marriage to a citizen or family descent.

Where Each Requirement Comes From

Three sources set the conditions: the Regulation fixes eligibility and payment, the FIU decides what goes into the background file, and the Citizenship Act controls the steps after approval. Few of them leave any room for discretion.

The criminal record rule

Clause 6(9) is written as a bar on the Commission rather than as a factor it weighs. If you have any conviction anywhere, including one that seems minor or happened long ago, say so at the free assessment, before any fee is paid. We would rather tell you early that the route is closed than see you lose the non-refundable part-payment.

Lawful funds

The FIU and its international firm want to follow the money from where it was earned to the account that pays the fee. Earnings, an inheritance, investment gains or the proceeds of selling a company or a home can all qualify. What matters is a paper trail: contracts, tax returns, bank statements and corporate records that connect the amounts. A large unexplained deposit is the most common reason for follow-up questions.

The restricted-country condition

Clause 6(8) speaks of applicants "from any restricted country", but the Regulation neither defines the term nor publishes a list. Someone it covers may be accepted only after five years of living away from that country, and only while holding permanent residence in another one. With no public list, we check the point through the designated agent at the assessment.

Who Can Be Included in One Application

The main applicant can bring the family into the same file, provided each person fits a definition in the Regulation.

The definition of a resident dependant uses the word "includes", so in strict terms it is not a closed list. Siblings, grandparents and other relatives are not named in it, however, and would normally need their own application. The government fee rises by US$10,000 for each extra child or eligible dependant beyond the standard family sizes. A child born after the parent becomes a citizen is a Vanuatu citizen under clause 8(5) and does not need an application of their own.

The Document Set, Person by Person

Since 16 January 2025 the FIU has insisted on four items in every file it receives: a notarized curriculum vitae, a current police clearance, a receipt for a government payment, and a passport copy showing over six months' remaining validity. The notice does not say which payment the receipt must show, so the agent confirms it. Everything else in the list below comes from the agent's checklist and the questions the due diligence firm usually asks.

Papers not in English need certified translations. Depending on the country that issued them, documents are apostilled or legalized. We put the list together for your family, check names and dates for consistency across every document, and only then send the file to the agent.

Conditions the DSP Rules Do Not Contain

Several conditions quoted in sales material do not exist in the Regulation:

• No residence period. You are not obliged to spend time living in Vanuatu, either before the grant or afterward.
• No Bislama test. The government's application guide applies the test only to naturalization (Form A) and marriage (Form B) applicants.
• No interview in the published rules. The Regulation does not provide for one. The FIU or the agent may send written follow-up questions.
• No published minimum net worth and no medical certificate. If an agent asks for either, it is that agent's own rule.
• No property or business investment. The DSP is a payment program. Property purchase belongs to a separate route described below.
• No need to give up your nationality. Vanuatu has recognized dual citizenship since a constitutional amendment came into force in 2014. Whether your own country allows it is a separate question.

Two steps still involve you directly. The oath is sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths. In August 2020 the Citizenship Office allowed oaths over video link "until further notice"; it has not revoked that, and whether your file may use it is for the designated agent to confirm. Passport biometrics are recorded in person.

How to Get Citizenship in Vanuatu: The Order of Steps

Meeting the conditions is half the answer. The other half is the order in which they are tested. For an investor under the DSP, the path runs like this:

1. Eligibility check. Before anything is paid, the record, the family members and the source of funds are measured against the conditions above. Our free assessment does this.
2. The document file. Each person's papers are gathered, translated and apostilled or legalized, and the trail of funds is written up.
3. Lodging. A government-designated agent lodges the file. An applicant cannot lodge it alone.
4. Due diligence. The FIU and its international firm run the background checks and may send written questions.
5. First payment and decision. One quarter of the government fee reaches the DSP account, and only then does the Citizenship Commission take up the file.
6. After approval. Within 3 months of being notified, the balance is paid and the oath is taken. The certificate follows, which the Regulation places within 90 days of approval.

Other Ways to Become a Citizen of Vanuatu

The Citizenship Commission grants citizenship through several routes. The investment routes are open to anyone who qualifies. The others depend on time spent in Vanuatu or on family ties.

For someone with no family link and no years of residence, only the investment programs are realistic, and the DSP is the route we work on. Our work covers citizenship only. Residence permits are a separate Immigration matter, and we do not handle them.

Vanuatu Nationality, Citizenship and the Passport

Vanuatu nationality and Vanuatu citizenship are one and the same status. Vanuatu law speaks of citizenship, in Chapter 3 of the Constitution and in the Citizenship Act [Cap 112], and the Citizenship Commission issues a certificate that proves it. Getting the passport comes afterward, through a different authority. The Passports Act 2009 reserves it for citizens, and the issuing body is the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Immigration and Passport Services rather than the Citizenship Office.

Citizenship granted under the DSP is not provisional, but it can be revoked. The Commission can take a grant back on three grounds: it was obtained by deception, it should never have been made under the Act or the Constitution, or the holder has since ignored the limits the Act sets. According to the Citizenship Office, roughly 30 unlawfully granted citizenships have been withdrawn. A truthful, complete file is the best protection against that risk.

The Act, the Regulation and the amending orders can all be downloaded from the Citizenship Office's legislative framework page. The non-investment routes are described in its application process guide.

A Self-Check Before You Start

1. Does anyone who will be in the file have a criminal conviction, in any country?
2. Can you show, on paper, where the money for the fees came from?
3. Do all your family members fit the definitions above, including the age and dependency conditions?
4. Can you pay in US dollars from a bank account in your own name, and travel for the oath and biometrics if required?

If any answer is uncertain, that is the point to raise at the start. Our free assessment covers eligibility, cost and the family plan in writing. Once you decide to go ahead, we assemble and translate the documents, coordinate the designated agent who lodges the file, and remain involved through the checks, the decision, the oath and finally the passport.