Vanuatu Retirement Visa 2026: Self-Funded Residence

This is residence by financial means. Nothing is invested, donated or paid to the State: you show that you receive enough income, certified by a bank operating in Vanuatu, and that income stays yours. The one sum you lodge is a refundable immigration bond, a security returned with interest when you leave for good, not an investment.

What is Vanuatu's self-funded residence visa?

Vanuatu's self-funded residence visa is a residence visa granted on the "self-funded resident" ground under section 30 of the Immigration Act No. 17 of 2010, in force since 7 February 2011, which allows a residence visa of 1 to 10 years. You choose a visa of 1, 3, 5 or 10 years and pay the matching fee. The Department of Immigration and Passport Services decides it. The income thresholds come from the official Regulation 15 application form and the self-funded checklist (version 2.1, 2023), not from the Immigration Visa Regulation Order No. 180 of 2011, as amended, which could not be read. We read the Act, the application form and the checklist on 11 October 2026.

It is separate from Vanuatu's citizenship programme and gives residence, not nationality and not a passport. For the difference, see residency versus citizenship.

Who qualifies, and how much income do you need?

The self-funded ground rests on income alone: the form and the checklists offer no savings or net-worth alternative.

• Income of at least VUV 250,000 a month for the principal applicant, certified by a bank operating in Vanuatu.
• VUV 500,000 a month if a spouse or de facto partner is included, which is VUV 250,000 per person.
• No dependent children: the Regulation 15 form says dependent children cannot be included in a self-funded application.
• No minimum age appears in the form, the checklists or the Department of Immigration pages.
• Income type: the texts do not define eligible income, so pension and passive income are neither confirmed nor excluded, and they do not say whether the income must actually be paid into a Vanuatu account.
• A refundable immigration bond lodged at the National Bank of Vanuatu (checklist item 7). The Principal Immigration Officer sets its amount to cover the cost of locating and repatriating you and your dependants (section 61(2)), and the amount is not published.
• A recent police clearance and a recent medical certificate. The form asks for a police clearance from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the past 5 years.
• The general conditions for every visa holder in section 44 of the Act.

Holders of a self-funded retiree permit issued before 7 February 2011 face lower legacy thresholds of VUV 150,000 and VUV 300,000. It does not fit families who want dependent children in the same application, or anyone who needs a fixed bond amount, a published timeline or permanent status from the start.

Is Vanuatu's retirement visa a golden retirement visa?

Not fully: it is rated Partial, 57 out of 100, with confidence grade B, in the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index, scored on 11 October 2026 under methodology 1.1. Partial means a route meets most of the standard, with one gap. The Index records no specific reason for Vanuatu: it is Partial because its score sits below the Golden line of 70. Its strongest pillar is tax, with full marks: Vanuatu levies no tax on income, profits or capital gains. Its two weakest are the path to permanent residence and citizenship, because no permanent status is confirmed for this route and naturalisation needs 10 years of continuous legal residence, and processing, because no processing time is published. Its renewal category is "every 10 years, no permanent status". The standard is Mirabello's own: Golden means at least 70 out of 100, grade A or B and no fail on tax of foreign income, physical presence or renewal, and every route is scored from official sources. A golden retirement visa is a residence permit, not citizenship, and needs no investment.

Do you have to live in Vanuatu?

No minimum stay or absence limit appears in the Immigration Act (sections 30 and 44 to 47), the Regulation 15 form, the checklists or the Department pages. That is not proof that none exists: the Immigration Visa Regulation Order No. 180 of 2011, which can prescribe further conditions under section 44(e), could not be read, so we confirm the position for your case. The only specific self-funded condition stated is that you continue to receive the required monthly income, and section 47 allows cancellation when, among other grounds, the holder no longer has the financial means.

Because Vanuatu has no income tax, it has no statutory day-count test for tax residence. Time in Vanuatu still matters for naturalisation, and any other country you live in applies its own tax-residence rules. To compare routes with light or no presence rules, see our guide to residency without relocating.

Does Vanuatu tax a foreign pension?

No. Vanuatu levies no tax on income, profits or capital gains, so a foreign pension and foreign interest, dividends and gains are untaxed. The Government of Vanuatu Budget 2026 Volume 1 (read 11 October 2026) shows zero revenue on Table 8, line A111 "Taxes on income, profits, and capital gains", for 2023 to 2025 and in the forecast for 2026 to 2030, and the list of Acts administered by Customs and Inland Revenue contains no income tax Act.

Vanuatu does have taxes: VAT, turnover tax, business licences, customs and excise, and a Rent Tax (read 11 October 2026) of 12.5% on gross rent from long-term residential leases of land in Vanuatu, with the first VUV 200,000 per six months exempt for individuals. Rent from property abroad is outside it.

Three cautions. First, tax follows tax residence, not the permit: the treatment applies once you are tax-resident in Vanuatu, and the country that pays your pension may still tax it under its own rules or the relevant treaty. Second, the Budget 2026 notes that an income-tax or salary-tax reform has been discussed; nothing is enacted, and we recheck before you apply. Third, this is general information, not tax advice. See also our guide to countries that don't tax foreign pensions.

How long does it take, what does it cost, and what documents do you need?

No processing time is published for the self-funded residence visa, so we give you a current estimate for your case. The five-working-day rule in section 42 of the Act applies only to foreign investors holding a VIPA approval certificate, not to this visa.

The application charge is per adult and follows the visa length you choose (Department of Immigration, Live in Vanuatu, read 11 October 2026, and the self-funded checklist):

• VUV 57,600 for 1 year
• VUV 158,400 for 3 years
• VUV 259,200 for 5 years
• VUV 511,200 for 10 years
• VUV 100,000 for a change of status inside Vanuatu

You can apply from abroad or, through a change of status, from within Vanuatu. The file includes the Regulation 15 form, the bank's income certification, the police clearances and medical certificate described above, and proof that the bond has been lodged. The checklist does not say whether health insurance is required.

The bond is returned with interest within 7 days of permanent departure, on the grant of a visa that needs no security, on citizenship, or to your estate on death; it is forfeited if a visa condition is breached or the holder is removed (sections 62 and 63; bond cancellation checklist, read 11 October 2026). Residence visa holders may take employment under the Labour (Work Permits) Act and run business activities under the Business Licence Act, the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the Companies Act (section 45(2)).

Renewal, permanent residence and citizenship

You choose a visa of 1, 3, 5 or 10 years. Under section 46 of the Act a visa cannot be extended or renewed, so each renewal is a new grant on the renewal checklist (read 11 October 2026), which asks for a statement or certification of continuous monthly income of VUV 250,000. Ten years is the legal maximum and a selectable fee tier; how long a visa is granted for in practice is not yet officially confirmed.

No permanent status is confirmed for this route. The Department of Immigration mentions a permanent-residence subclass, but its criteria and current status are not yet officially confirmed.

Vanuatu nationality is possible through naturalisation after 10 years of continuous legal residence, and the Department's frequently asked questions (both read 11 October 2026) recognise dual citizens. Plan the visa as long-term renewable residence.

What the market gets wrong

• Some guides say you must be 55 or over. No age condition appears in the official form, the checklists or the Department pages.
• Some guides say dependent children can be added. The Regulation 15 form says they cannot be included in a self-funded application.
• Some guides say Vanuatu has no taxes at all. Income, profits and capital gains are untaxed, but Rent Tax of 12.5% applies to long-term residential rent from land in Vanuatu, and VAT, turnover tax and business licences exist.
• Some guides call it a pension visa. It is an independent-means route: the test is income certified by a bank operating in Vanuatu, and the texts do not define eligible income types.

Vanuatu self-funded residence or another route?

The Vanuatu route suits someone with steady income who values a system with no income tax and a choice of visa lengths. Its trade-offs are no confirmed permanent status and thin published detail on the bond, timeline and presence.

• In the same region, the Fiji assured-income residence permit is also Partial and leads to permanent residence after one renewal, but Fiji taxes a tax resident's worldwide income, and whether a foreign pension is exempt there is not yet officially confirmed.
• The Philippines Special Resident Retiree's Visa is Golden in the Index and permanent from the grant, with a territorial tax system that generally leaves foreign pensions untaxed.
• The UAE retirement visa also comes with no personal income tax; it is renewable and gives no permanent status.

If Vanuatu nationality rather than residence is your aim, Vanuatu also grants citizenship by contribution through a separate programme, one of the fastest routes to a second citizenship, explained on our Vanuatu citizenship page. For every route side by side, see the full Golden Retirement Index and our retirement and passive-income residency guide.

What is not yet officially confirmed

• The amount of the immigration bond, and whether it is currently required in practice.
• The processing time.
• Any minimum-stay or absence rule.
• Which income types qualify, and whether the income must be paid into a Vanuatu account.
• Whether health insurance is required, and access to public health care.
• How long a visa is granted for in practice, and the permanent-residence subclass.
• How dependent children can accompany you.
• The absence of wealth and inheritance tax, which rests on evidence by absence, and whether Vanuatu certifies tax residence.

Ask Mira, by Mirabello

For a first answer at any hour, ask Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence. It reads the same verified programme data as this page and can compare the Vanuatu route with the other routes in the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index. A specialist then checks the details that decide your case.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps

From Zurich, Dubai and Hong Kong SAR, Mirabello Consultancy checks how your income can be certified by a bank operating in Vanuatu, asks the Department of Immigration for the current bond amount and any presence condition before you commit, prepares the police clearances and medical certificate, helps you choose the visa length and plans each new grant. To find out whether you qualify, book a free, confidential consultation.

Information only, not legal or tax advice. Requirements were read from the official sources linked above on 11 October 2026 and can change; we confirm them for your case.