Vanuatu

The Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment programme is the fastest route to a second passport anywhere in the world, typically completed in 45 to 60 days from a compliant application. It grants direct citizenship, not residency, with no naturalisation wait and no requirement ever to set foot in the country, regulated by the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission.

The two routes, and what really differs

The Development Support Programme (DSP) is the route most applicants use: a non-refundable contribution to the Government of Vanuatu starting at US$130,000 for a single applicant, US$150,000 for a main applicant and spouse, US$165,000 for a couple with one child, and US$180,000 for a family of four, with each further dependant added at roughly US$10,000 (a specialist confirms the exact marginal rate for larger families). The Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP) is the alternative: a total contribution of US$170,500, of which US$50,000 is placed in the government-approved Cocoa Sustainable Development Fund and becomes redeemable after a four-year holding period, bringing the net cost down to roughly US$120,500 once that redemption is taken into account. The two routes are not simply a question of price: DSP is a single, final contribution with no moving parts, while CIIP trades a higher headline figure for a partial return of capital later, provided the fund performs as intended. That fund allocation is an investment carrying risk, not a guaranteed cash-back, and should be treated as such.

The total cost picture

On top of the investment itself, government charges are modest by the standards of this industry: a US$5,500 due-diligence fee per application (included within the CIIP total, charged separately under DSP), and an application fee of roughly US$40 per applicant. Biometric enrolment, mandatory since November 2025, carries its own cost that varies by location and is confirmed at engagement. There is no separate legal or agent fee published by the government; total cost is the investment route chosen plus these fixed government charges.

Timeline: the fastest route in the world, and why

Approval in principle typically follows within around two weeks of a complete submission, the full investment is then paid, citizenship approval follows within a further two weeks, and the passport is issued within roughly a month after an online oath ceremony. The entire path from a complete file to passport in hand runs to 45 to 60 days for most applicants, with no interview, no in-person visit and no language test at any stage. What actually drives the timeline is the completeness of the due-diligence file at submission; Vanuatu itself does not publish a slower or faster tier, unlike programmes with expedited options, because its standard processing is already the fastest available anywhere.

Residency, passport strength, and what it does not give

Citizenship is immediate on approval and carries no ongoing residency, visit or stay requirement of any kind; it is a fully passive citizenship. The passport is valid for ten years and, as of 2026, gives visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 88 destinations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and a range of Latin American and African states. It must be stated plainly: the Vanuatu passport does not give visa-free access to the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom or the United States. The European Union permanently revoked Vanuatu's Schengen exemption on 12 December 2024, and the UK imposed a visa requirement in August 2023; both a Schengen visa and a UK visa must be applied for in the ordinary way, and US travel requires a standard B-1/B-2 visitor visa. In June 2026 Vanuatu and Australia signed the ten-year Nakamal Agreement, under which Vanuatu commits to distinguishing investment citizenship from citizenship by birth and Australia commits to developing enhanced mobility arrangements for Vanuatu visitors, a treaty-level step that strengthens the programme's international standing, though it defines no specific visa product yet and is under annual review.

Family inclusion

A spouse and financially dependent children up to age 25 (in full-time education from 18) can be included on the same application, at the family pricing set out above. Financially dependent parents and grandparents aged 50 or over can also be added. Siblings of the main applicant are not eligible under either route. Every family member included receives citizenship and a passport in the same timeframe as the main applicant, with no separate qualifying period.

Tax treatment

Vanuatu is a zero-tax jurisdiction for individuals: there is no personal income tax, no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax. Companies structured as International Companies pay no corporate tax for twenty years. Vanuatu citizenship does not, on its own, establish tax residency anywhere else, and it does not remove an individual's existing tax obligations in their home country; each applicant's own tax position should be confirmed with a qualified adviser before relying on Vanuatu for tax planning.

Where this programme is a poor fit

Vanuatu citizenship is a poor fit for anyone whose primary objective is European travel, EU business access or a UK-linked lifestyle: there is no Schengen, UK or US visa-free access, and Caribbean programmes with broader mobility are usually the better answer for that need. The main applicant must be between 18 and 65, which rules out older investors seeking their own citizenship (though they may still be added as a dependent parent or grandparent to a younger family member's application). A minimum of US$250,000 in net assets is required of the main applicant, and Vanuatu does not publish a full public fee schedule for every scenario, so family bands beyond four dependants and some ancillary charges are confirmed case by case with a specialist rather than quoted as a fixed table. None of this is a reason to avoid the programme; it is a reason to be clear, from the outset, about what it is for: speed, tax simplicity and Asia-Pacific mobility, not a European gateway.