The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship

What is so alluring about becoming a citizen of Vanuatu? What benefits would you gain if you purchased the passport of this tropical country? These are plenty indeed. Below please find the most important advantages of acquiring Vanuatu citizenship and useful tips on how you can do it.  

Why do so many people from different parts of the world try to obtain a second passport? There can be various reasons for that but the main of them include the following ones:

• The desire to gain access to global financial services. A carefully chosen foreign passport will allow its holder to gain free access to a wide range of financial services at the international level. This will enlarge the spectrum of opportunities to use high quality banking services, to make investments, to transfer the capital, and so on.  
• The desire to have an alternative identification document at hand. It may happen that your home country passport is lost, stolen, or damaged while you are travelling abroad. In this case, you might find yourself deep in trouble especially if there is no diplomatic mission of your country in the one that you are visiting. However, if you keep a second passport at home, you can ask your relatives to send it to you with a courier and that will do the trick: You do not have to change your travel plans any longer. Of course, you will have to file the lost passport notification with the authorities but you can do it later, without cancelling your vacation.
• The desire to avoid the necessity of obtaining visas. Getting a visa is rarely problematic these days but it takes time and it takes money anyway. A carefully selected second passport can give you visa-free access to a large number of countries, which will allow travelling around the world without any restrictions.
• The desire to avoid home country’s travel restrictions. In the globalized world, many entrepreneurs have to travel abroad on business quite often. Now, some national states impose certain restrictions on foreign travel. In Turkey, for example, you have to pay a fee every time you leave the country. If you have a second passport, however, this problem will be easily solved.
• The desire to renounce the home country citizenship. If you feel that the country where you were born is not the best place to live in, the acquisition of a second passport can become the first step to relocation.
• The desire to conceal the true citizenship in order to avoid becoming a terrorists’ target. People from national states that openly combat terrorism such as the USA or the Russian Federation, for instance, may find it useful to introduce themselves as citizens of a neutral country when travelling in certain troubled spots.

These are the most widespread reasons why many people seek to acquire a second citizenship and thus a second passport. Becoming a citizen of Vanuatu is a very good option in many respects especially given the fact that the whole process will not take more than eight weeks.

The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship: What do you gain with the Vanuatu passport?  

Citizenship of Vanuatu will bring you a large number of significant benefits. The main of them include the following ones:

• Vanuatu passport gives freedom of travel. Citizens of Vanuatu can travel visa-free, obtain an electronic visa, or use the visa-on-arrival opportunity when travelling to nearly 150 countries of the world. A Vanuatu passport holder will hardly be apprehended anywhere because of the problems with the travel documents. The passport also provides for an opportunity to stay in any Schengen zone country for ninety days or in Great Britain for six months a year. No visa is required to enter the Russian Federation. In all likelihood, soon visa-free access to China will also be granted to Vanuatu citizens.

• The acquisition of Vanuatu passport will remain confidential. Vanuatu authorities are not going to inform the authorities of your home country or of your country of residence that you have obtained a second citizenship. This means that you can acquire a second passport and keep the officials of your home country totally ignorant about that.  

• Vanuatu implements attractive tax policies. Vanuatu tax legislation is among the most beneficial ones in the world. This makes the jurisdiction very attractive for entrepreneurs who wish to establish a tax-free business or use other advantages of the low fiscal burden in Vanuatu. For example, your capital gains, your global income, and the assets that you inherit are NOT taxed in Vanuatu.

• The application procedure for Vanuatu citizenship in exchange for a donation is fast and simple. The process of acquiring the Vanuatu passport is quite simple and transparent. When you apply for Vanuatu citizenship via the Development Support Government Program, you have to collect a reasonably sized package of application documents, pass the due diligence check, and make the donation. That is all.

• Vanuatu citizenship is the fastest citizenship for money in the world. The whole process starting with the application documents submission and ending with the passport issuance does not normally take more than two months. There are regulations in the Vanuatu legislation that make the Government officials process the applications in a timely manner.

• You can acquire citizenship of Vanuatu for the whole family. You can apply for Vanuatu citizenship for yourself only or you can include your family members in the application as well. When filing a ‘collective’ application, you can obtain Vanuatu passports for your spouse, your children, your parents, and your spouse’ parents. If you apply with your family, the cost of acquiring passports for all members will increase, which is something to be expected. The required donation for a sole applicant is US$ 145,000 while a family with two kids will have to donate US$ 30,000 more.

• You can acquire a lifetime citizenship of Vanuatu. When your application is approved and when the passport is handed over to you, you become a citizen of Vanuatu for life. The same goes for the members of your family. At the same time, the passport is going to be valid for ten years only. After this term expires, the passport has to be renewed and a small renewal fee paid. The new passport is going to be valid for another ten years.

• You do not have to be personally present in Vanuatu neither to file the application for citizenship nor to collect and retain your passport. Foreign nationals are not required to come to Vanuatu in order to obtain citizenship of the country. You can stay wherever you are while an immigration agent submits the application documents on your behalf and follows the application process until it is completed. Please bear in mind that the immigration agent needs to hold a license issued by the Vanuatu Government.

• Vanuatu provides for a high level of personal confidentiality. Vanuatu is a country where the Government is very easy on the people: it does not watch nor control them. The country is perfect for those who value confidentiality. If you are a public figure and you want to hide away from everybody for a while, Vanuatu is an ideal country that will serve this goal.
• Vanuatu is a politically neutral country. The tropical state in the Pacific Ocean keeps political neutrality and develops relationships both with the East (China and Russia) and with the West (Australia and the USA). Vanuatu has no political opponents nor any ongoing disputes.

The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship: How can you acquire the Vanuatu passport in 2020?

There are two ways to become a citizen of Vanuatu. The first is by making a non-returnable donation to the state budget and the second is via naturalization. Vanuatu legislation does not prohibit dual citizenship, which is certainly good news for those who would like to preserve their current citizenship while obtaining a second passport.

If you apply for citizenship of Vanuatu via the Development Support Program (that is, if you want to literally ‘buy’ the citizenship), you have to prepare a number of documents such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, education transcripts, employment agreements, police clearances, and so on. In case you are applying with your family, the documents of all family members need to be submitted.

The legislation of the country requires that all applicants for Vanuatu citizenship hire a licensed immigration agent who is authorized to interact with the authorities when submitting the application for citizenship and during the application processing time.

The immigration agency will request an advanced payment. Please remember that if you deal with a Vanuatu immigration agent on your own, you must necessarily ask to see the license! Citizenship-by-investment is a multibillion business and there are frauds around. If you apply for our assistance, however, we promise to guard you against all possible illegal and fraudulent schemes.  

Currently, citizenship of Vanuatu can be purchased at the following prices:

• A sole applicant – US$ 145,000;
• The main applicant plus the spouse – US$ 155,000;
• The main applicant plus the spouse plus one more family member (dependent) – US$ 165,000;
• The main applicant plus the spouse plus two more family members (dependents) – US$ 175,000.

The prices quoted above include the following items: the non-returnable donation to the state fund; the Government fees; the Vanuatu immigration agent’s fees; the fee for application process support by a licensed international immigration company.

There is also an additional cost that you will have to cover. The country legislation requires that all new citizens of Vanuatu take an oath of allegiance to their new motherland. The oath can be taken on a visit to the islands but it is not mandatory, as there are two other options available. One is visiting an embassy or consulate of Vanuatu and taking the oath there. The other is bringing two Government officials to the place of your choice and taking the oath in their presence.

This is not to say that they will travel anywhere in the world to put a new citizen to oath. However, if the air connection with Vanuatu is stable and there are no visa issues with the country that the Government representatives are travelling to, organizing the trip is quite possible. Our clients have taken oaths of allegiance to Vanuatu in Prague and Frankfurt in Europe, the UAE in the Middle East, and Hong Kong in Asia. If you would like to make use of this opportunity, it will cost you approximately US$10,000.   

The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship: How can you become a citizen of the country via naturalization?

One more way to acquire Vanuatu citizenship and the corresponding passport is to ‘naturalize’ in the country. The donation option does not require residency in Vanuatu. As a matter of fact, you do not even have to pay a visit to the country to pick your passport. The naturalization option, on the contrary, requires that you live in Vanuatu the best part of the year during ten years before you can apply for citizenship.

To legalize your presence in Vanuatu over these ten years you have to acquire a permanent residence permit. This can be done before going to the islands. In any case, you will have to submit a few documents when applying for the residence permit such as the police clearance, your current passport, birth and marriage certificates, university diplomas and a number of other papers.

Besides, some payments will also be required. These include the state fee of about US$ 540 and the immigration agent fee that is negotiable. You will also have to put around US$ 2,500 in a bank located and licensed in Vanuatu.

The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship: What else is attractive about the country?

Vanuatu is a group of nearly eighty islands in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Australia and New Zealand to the west of Fiji. It is obviously not the richest country in the world but it has been among the happiest countries for many years now, according to the Happy Planet Index. The country is rather small but it is truly diverse in terms of both its culture and its nature.

Even though English, French, and Bislama (a Creole language, a kind of mixture of English and French) are the official languages of Vanuatu, around one hundred different dialects are actually spoken in the country. Some languages are found nowhere else on the planet and it is not a rare case when residents of different islands or even different villages on the same island do not understand each other.

Both the tourist and the business ecosystems of Vanuatu have been established for a long time. Since the 1970s, the country has been an offshore financial center and today it continues to offer the full range of company registration services and attractive business opportunities for those who would like to engage in commerce in a tax-free country with a stable legal environment.

The combination of advanced technologies, international business services, absence of taxation, and a well-developed business sector in Vanuatu has made the country a popular tax shelter. Vanuatu is home for a large number of headquarters and branch offices of many international banks. Fiber optic cables running under the water connect Vanuatu securely with the rest of the world, so doing business with the local banks on a remote basis is not a problem at all, as data are transmitted fast.

The islands popular both with private yacht owners and with cruise ship passengers offer a great variety of natural beauties that arrest the eye.

Vanuatu is located a few hours away by plane from many large airports in the South Pacific region. It is easy to reach the country from Australia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia. 

International flights arrive to the islands of Espirito-Santo and Efate, and these air havens are located close to the largest cities of Vanuatu. When in the country, you can travel by car, light airplane, ferry, or boat.

The tourist sector generates a large portion of national income in Vanuatu. A great number of hotels, resorts, and other recreational facilities have been constructed for tourists’ entertainment in the country. You can stay at a luxury resort, at a five-star hotel, at a bungalow in the countryside, or even lodge with a Vanuatu family if you want to immerse into the local culture.  

Air-excursions, one-day cruises along the picturesque shores, zip line tours, hiking tours, eco-tours, fishing, diving, and snorkeling opportunities – many types of recreational activities are at your disposal in Vanuatu.  

You must also try the local food in a small restaurant, a pub, or a café. If you want a top-class dinner, you can order one at a large elegant restaurant in a bit city. It addition to a great choice of fish and other seafood, the agricultural sector of Vanuatu supplies beef and pork, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and fantastic chocolate. 

The advantages of Vanuatu citizenship: What makes you hesitant?

The combination of the affordable price of the Vanuatu passport, the low taxes, the offshore business infrastructure, and the high tourist potential makes Vanuatu a very attractive country where you can acquire a second citizenship.

If you also take into account the friendliness of the local people, the natural wonders, the comfortable climate, the perfect food, and the wide choice of lifestyles in Vanuatu, this Pacific archipelago will look even more inviting. Relocating to the islands may be not a bad idea at all!

If you are an investor or a businessperson who wants to diversify the capital flows, please consider the opportunity to invest in the passport of Vanuatu. The country does have tax policies that are appealing to foreign business executives and that provide for wonderful opportunities to let your business flourish.

Would you like to have more information about acquiring Vanuatu citizenship? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] and we will gladly answer all your queries and assist you in obtaining a second passport of Vanuatu.