How Much Vanuatu Citizenship Costs

Vanuatu citizenship costs US$130,000 for a single applicant under the Development Support Program (DSP) schedule that the Citizenship Office publishes. A married couple pays US$150,000, a couple with one child US$165,000 and a couple with two children US$180,000, and each further applicant adds US$10,000. On top of that, every application pays a US$5,000 Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) due diligence fee and a VT 5,000 application fee, and each citizenship certificate costs VT 10,000.

The figures above are the government side of the bill. The passport itself, your documents and our professional fee sit outside it, and we set all of them out in a written quote after a free assessment, with the government amounts kept apart so you can check each one against the official schedule.

The Government Schedule, Line by Line

The table follows the Fees and Charges page of the Citizenship Office and the Citizenship (Development Support Program) Regulations, Order No. 33 of 2019 as amended by Order No. 39 of 2020. The second column is the minimum price of the program for each family; the third is the prescribed government fee that the Regulation sets inside that price.

Each further child or eligible dependant adds US$10,000 to the listed figure. A couple with three children, for example, comes to US$190,000, calculated at the published US$10,000 additional-applicant rate. For combinations the schedule does not list, such as a single parent with children, the agent confirms the figure in writing, and you have it from us before you commit.

What the US$130,000 Is, and What It Is Not

The most common mistake in published guides is to call the whole US$130,000 "the government fee" or "the government contribution". The DSP Regulation draws a distinction. Clause 4 sets US$130,000 as the minimum price at which the program is offered to a single applicant. Clause 7(1) sets the prescribed government fee for that applicant at US$80,000. The higher family tiers follow the same pattern.

The distinction matters for one practical reason: the advance payment that the Regulation requires before the Commission looks at your file is calculated on the prescribed fee, not on the full program price. A guide that tells you to pay "25% of US$130,000" up front has started from the wrong number. When we quote, we show you the program price, the prescribed fee within it and the date each part falls due.

When Each Payment Falls Due

Costs are spread over the life of the application. In the order they normally arise:

1. Due diligence fee. The US$5,000 FIU fee is paid when the designated agent submits your details for background checks. The published sources do not say whether it is refundable, so budget for it as spent once the checks begin.
2. Application fee. VT 5,000 is paid when the application is lodged with the Citizenship Office.
3. Advance on the government fee. Under clause 6(2) of the Regulation, 25% of the prescribed government fee must be paid before the Citizenship Commission considers the application. If the application is refused, this part is not returned.
4. Balance. The remaining part of the prescribed fee is paid before the citizenship certificate is issued. Clause 6(3) also allows the full fee to be paid at the outset.
5. After approval. The Citizenship Act gives an approved applicant three months to take the oath and complete payment, with a further two months available on a written request that gives a reasonable excuse. If the window closes, the approval lapses and a new application is needed.
6. Certificate fee. VT 10,000 for each person is paid before the certificates are printed.
7. Passport. The passport is applied for separately once citizenship is granted.

One statement you will see on many sites, including in simplified form on official pages, is that "you only pay after approval". Under the Regulation that is not accurate for the DSP, because a quarter of the prescribed fee is paid before the decision and is at risk if the file is refused. We plan the payment dates with you so that no amount is transferred earlier than it needs to be.

How Much Does a Vanuatu Passport Cost?

A Vanuatu passport cannot be bought on its own. Only citizens can hold one, so the real price of the passport is the cost of citizenship set out above. Once the certificate is issued, the passport is a separate application to Vanuatu's Immigration and Passport Services, with its own modest fee set by the passport office and a biometric capture that is done in person. The Citizenship Office has stated publicly that it does not issue passports of any kind, so any offer of a passport without a citizenship grant, including so-called diplomatic passports, should end the conversation.

Costs Outside the Government Schedule

A realistic budget also covers items that no official table lists, because they depend on your family and your documents:

• Our professional fee for the assessment, the family plan, the preparation of the file and our work with you through due diligence, the decision, the oath and the passport. It is quoted in writing, as a fixed figure, before you commit.
• Documents. Police or judicial certificates, apostilles or legalization, certified translations, a notarized CV (the FIU notice requires one in every file; agents usually ask for one from each adult, and we confirm for your file) and copies certified to the standard the due diligence team expects.
• Source-of-funds evidence. Bank letters, company records, sale contracts or tax filings that show where the money came from. Gathering these costs little if records are in order and more if they have to be recovered.
• Travel. Passport biometrics are taken in person, so you may need a trip. The oath is taken before a Commissioner for Oaths; a Citizenship Office notice of August 2020 allowed it by video link until further notice, and that notice has not been withdrawn, so the designated agent confirms which arrangement is accepted for your file. How each step is organized is confirmed at the time.
• Bank and currency costs. Government amounts are paid in US dollars only. If your funds sit in another currency, or in digital assets, conversion and transfer charges come on top.

What You Lose if the Application Is Refused

The clear loss on a refusal is the 25% advance on the prescribed fee, which the Regulation does not return. The US$5,000 due diligence fee has gone on the checks by then, and the published sources do not say whether any of it is refundable; document costs are also spent. This is why the assessment comes first. The Regulation states that the Commission cannot approve an applicant who has a criminal conviction, so a conviction of any kind is raised and discussed before any government money moves. Gaps in the evidence for your funds are the other common reason a file runs into trouble, and they are cheaper to close before lodging than after.

Why Prices Quoted Elsewhere Do Not Match

If you have compared several websites, you will have seen totals that disagree by tens of thousands of dollars. The usual reasons are:

• per-dependant surcharges, per-person due diligence charges and "processing fees" that do not appear in the official schedule;
• figures carried over from the Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP), which uses a different structure; it was suspended in March 2025 and is reported to have reopened in May 2025 under amended rules, but no official notice confirming the current terms has been published (we explain the CIIP's status and its conflicting figures separately);
• the full program price described as a government fee, with the advance payment then worked out on the wrong base;
• agent and adviser fees folded into a single "all-in" number without a breakdown.

Our quote separates the government amounts, which no one can change, from everything else, which you are entitled to see itemized. If a quote you hold cannot be split that way, ask for the breakdown before you sign anything.

Paying in US Dollars, Through the Official Channel

The Citizenship Office has stated that it does not accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency and that the US dollar is the only currency recognized in the Regulations. The DSP Regulation treats a payment as made when it has been deposited in the DSP account held with the National Bank of Vanuatu. If your wealth is held in digital assets, it has to be converted before payment and the conversion documented for the background checks; we explain that sequence in our guide to funding Vanuatu citizenship from crypto assets.

Working Out the Figure for Your Family

The schedule is the same for everyone, but the total is not. It depends on who goes on the application, whether older children and parents qualify as dependants, and how much work the documents need. Our page on pricing larger families person by person works through bigger households and the age and dependency conditions that decide who can be included. For the rules of the program itself, see our overview of how the investment route works, from its legal basis to each stage.

The quickest way to a reliable number is the free assessment: tell us who is applying, and we return the government amounts for your family, our fee and the expected document costs in writing.