Requirements for Vanuatu Citizenship

Yes, a foreigner can get Vanuatu citizenship, and for someone without long residence in Vanuatu the practical route is the Development Support Program (DSP). Its requirements come down to four points: no criminal conviction, clean due diligence run through the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a documented lawful source for the money, and a contribution paid in US dollars that starts at US$130,000 for a single applicant. The application is lodged through a government-designated agent, and the DSP has no residence requirement and no language test.

We assess these requirements for your family free of charge, before any government fee is paid. If you go ahead, we build the document file with you; Vanuatu law requires the application itself to go in through a government-designated agent.

Routes to Vanuatu Citizenship for Non-Citizens

The Citizenship Act [Cap 112] and the Constitution provide several ways to acquire Vanuatu nationality. Most of them depend on ties to the country that a foreign investor does not have. The table shows which ones are realistic.

Two more investment routes appear on the Office's list. The Real Estate Option Program started on 23 July 2021 and requires the purchase of property in a government-approved project in addition to the prescribed fees. The Vanuatu Contribution Program is the other; we have not been able to confirm its current status. We check both at the assessment if they are relevant to you, but the rest of this page deals with the DSP.

Vanuatu Citizenship Requirements Under the DSP

Section 13E of the Citizenship Act creates the DSP, and its detailed rules are in Order No. 33 of 2019, the DSP Regulations, as changed by Order No. 39 of 2020. Combined with the procedure the Citizenship Office publishes, they add up to six conditions.

No criminal conviction

Clause 6(9) of the Regulations bars the Commission from approving anyone with a criminal conviction. The rule is not limited to serious offenses or long sentences, so a conviction of any kind has to be discussed before an application is prepared. Tell us about it at the assessment, in confidence.

Due diligence through the FIU

Every person named in the file is screened: the agent asks the FIU for the checks, and since 2020 the FIU has run them with an international specialist firm it engages. The FIU or the firm can ask for further documents where they reasonably need them, most often about money.

A lawful, documented source of funds

Having the money is not enough; you need to show where it came from. Salary, a business or property sale, dividends and inheritance can all be acceptable, as long as the documents form a clear trail from the original source to the account that pays.

Extra conditions for some nationalities

Applicants from a country treated as restricted can be accepted only if they have not lived there for the last five years and hold permanent residence elsewhere (clause 6(8)). The Regulation does not define the term or publish a list of such countries, so this is one of the first things we check at the assessment.

Payment in US dollars through official channels

The government accepts only US dollars, paid into the DSP account at the National Bank of Vanuatu. It does not accept cryptocurrency. The timing follows the Regulations: a quarter of the prescribed government fee goes in before the Commission looks at the file, and the government keeps it if the answer is no; the remainder is settled before the certificate.

Lodging through a designated agent

DSP applications are lodged through an agent designated by the Citizenship Commission. An individual cannot send a DSP file straight to the Office.

What Is Not Required

• Residence. There is no period of living in Vanuatu before or after the grant.
• A language test. The Bislama test applies only to naturalization and marriage applications.
• An interview. The published procedure does not list one for DSP applicants; questions arrive in writing.
• Giving up your current citizenship. A constitutional amendment that came into force in 2014 recognizes dual citizenship. Whether your other country allows it is a separate question, covered in our guide to holding Vanuatu and another citizenship.

You will still give fingerprints and a photograph for the passport in person. The oath of allegiance is sworn in front of 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 and where each is done at the moment is something we confirm at the outset.

The Documents You Will Need

Each application form carries a checklist, and a file that does not match it can be returned. The groups below make up the core of a DSP file; we send you a written list built from the current form.

Identity

• A valid passport for every applicant. Under the FIU's notice of 14 January 2025, the copy must be of a passport with more than six months' validity left.
• A notarized CV. The FIU notice requires one in every file; agents usually ask for one from each adult, and we confirm the requirement for your file.

Criminal record

• A police or judicial clearance from your country of origin, named in the Regulations. The FIU or its international firm may also ask for certificates from other countries where you have lived.

Family

• Proof of each family link: the marriage certificate for a spouse, and a birth certificate or adoption order for each child.
• For dependants aged 18 to 25 and parents over 50, proof of study, of living with you or of financial dependence, depending on the category. The rules for each relative are explained on our page about who counts as a dependant.

Money

• Bank statements and the documents behind the funds: employment records, sale agreements, company accounts, dividend statements or probate papers.
• A government payment receipt, as the FIU's January 2025 notice requires; the agent confirms which payment it has to show.

Anything written in another language is translated by a certified translator, and papers from foreign authorities generally carry an apostille, or consular legalization where the apostille system does not apply. Police certificates set the pace for most families: some countries take weeks to issue them, and they can go out of date. We order them so that each one is still current on the lodging date.

Requirements for UK Citizens and Other Nationalities

The DSP does not publish a list of eligible nationalities. Apart from the restricted-country rule above, for which no list is published, the requirements are the same for everyone, which is why queries such as "Vanuatu citizenship for UK citizens" have a short answer: yes, a UK citizen can apply, and the United Kingdom permits its citizens to hold another nationality. One point is often missed. Since 19 July 2023 Vanuatu passport holders need a visa to visit the UK, and since 4 February 2023 they need a Schengen visa as well. A second passport from Vanuatu therefore adds little for travel to Europe, and we say so at the assessment if Europe is your main reason for applying.

Vanuatu Nationality and Citizenship: Is There a Difference?

For practical purposes, no. Vanuatu law uses "citizenship", and a person granted citizenship by the Commission is a Vanuatu national. What the grant produces is a citizenship certificate. The passport comes later and from a different office, the Immigration and Passport Services, and the Passports Act 2009 reserves it for citizens.

Citizenship granted by the Commission can also be taken away. Revocation is possible where the grant was obtained by fraud, where it breached the Citizenship Act or the Constitution, or where the holder ignores the restrictions in the Act. The Citizenship Office has reported that the Commission revoked around 30 citizenships granted unlawfully. Accurate, complete information at the application stage is the best protection against that risk.

How to Get Vanuatu Citizenship: The Short Version

1. Confirm eligibility and the full cost for your family in a free assessment.
2. Gather and prepare the documents, including translations, apostilles and source-of-funds evidence.
3. Lodge the file through a designated agent and pass FIU due diligence.
4. Pay 25% of the prescribed fee before the Commission considers the file, then receive the decision.
5. Take the oath, pay the balance, receive the certificate and apply for the passport.

Each of these stages, with the payments that fall due along the way, is set out in our guide to the step-by-step route once your documents are ready. Meeting the requirements is only half the decision; the other half is what the passport and nationality actually give you.

If you are not sure whether your family meets these conditions, start with a free assessment. We review convictions, the restricted-country rule, the source of your funds and each relative's eligibility in confidence, and send you a written answer with the full cost before any government fee is paid.