Vanuatu Citizenship for Families

Vanuatu citizenship for a family starts at US$150,000 for a married couple under the Development Support Program (DSP) schedule; one child takes the minimum to US$165,000, two children to US$180,000, and each further child or eligible dependant adds US$10,000. One application can cover a spouse, children under 18, sons and daughters aged 18 to 25 in full-time education who live with or depend on the applicant, and parents over 50 who live with and depend on the applicant or spouse. Each application also pays a US$5,000 due diligence fee and a VT 5,000 application fee, and each certificate costs VT 10,000.

We plan family applications with you, from deciding who goes on the file to preparing each person's documents, and the application is lodged through a government-designated agent, as Vanuatu law requires.

Cost by Family Size

The first four rows are the combinations listed on the Citizenship Office's Fees and Charges page. The three rows below them are not listed figures: they are calculated at the published US$10,000 additional-applicant rate. Certificates are VT 10,000 per person in every case.

For combinations the schedule does not list, such as a single parent applying with children, the agent confirms the figure in writing, and you have it from us before you commit. The schedule amount is the minimum program price; the Regulation sets a lower prescribed government fee inside it (US$100,000 for a couple, US$115,000 for a couple with one child and US$130,000 for a couple with two children), and the 25% advance paid before the Commission considers the file is calculated on that fee. We explain each payment, its due date and the costs outside the schedule in a separate guide.

Family Members One File Can Cover

The DSP Regulations, Order No. 33 of 2019 as amended by Order No. 39 of 2020, define who may be included with the main applicant. Each category has its own conditions and evidence:

• Spouse. A legally married spouse, shown by a marriage certificate.
• Children under 18. Children of the applicant or spouse, shown by birth certificates and, where a parent is not applying, the documents that show the right to apply for the child.
• Sons and daughters aged 18 to 25. Included if they are in full-time education and either live with or depend on the applicant or spouse; this needs proof of enrollment and of the living or financial arrangement.
• Parents over 50. Parents of the applicant or of the spouse, included if they both live with and depend on the applicant or spouse; this needs proof of age, of the shared household and of financial dependence.

Every person on the application goes through the due diligence. Borderline cases are worked through in our guide to the age and dependency conditions, case by case.

Who Usually Cannot Join the Same Application

Older articles promise more than the Regulations allow. The published definitions name the four categories above; brothers and sisters, grandparents, sons and daughters over 25, and those aged 18 to 25 who have left full-time education are not among them. Parents aged 50 or under, and parents who do not both live with and depend on the applicant or spouse, also fall outside the published definitions. A relative outside them would normally apply in their own right, with a separate schedule amount and due diligence, and we confirm any borderline case through the agent.

Ages and Timing

Because each category has an age limit, the calendar matters. A child who turns 18 before lodging moves from the simplest category into the 18-to-25 category, where full-time education and dependency must be shown. A son or daughter close to 26, or a parent just turning 50, can move in or out of eligibility depending on the lodging date. We check every age against the expected lodging date at the start, and plan the documents so that nobody falls out of a category while the file is being prepared.

Children under 18 are applied for by a responsible parent or lawful guardian. Where only one parent is applying, the file needs to show that the applying parent may do so; we tell you at the assessment which consents or court documents that requires.

Documents for Each Family Member

The pack is built person by person. A typical family file includes:

• a passport for each person with more than six months of validity;
• birth certificates for every child and a marriage certificate for the couple;
• police or judicial certificates for the adults, as the due diligence requires;
• a notarized CV (the Financial Intelligence Unit's notice requires one in every file; agents usually ask for one from each adult, and we confirm for your file);
• proof of full-time study and of living arrangements or dependency for sons and daughters aged 18 to 25;
• proof of age, residence with the applicant and financial dependence for parents over 50;
• source-of-funds evidence for the whole contribution;
• apostilles or legalization, and certified translations of documents not issued in English.

We give you the list for your own family in writing and prepare the translations and apostilles with you. We also describe the order in which a family file is lodged and decided, from the agent to the checks and the Commission.

What One Criminal Record Means for the Whole Family

The DSP Regulations state that the Commission cannot approve the application of a person who has had a criminal conviction. In a family application, that question is asked of each adult. We raise it at the free assessment, for every person on the file, before any government fee is paid, so that the family can decide how to proceed with full information.

Children Born or Added Later

A child born after the grant does not need an investment application. Under clause 8(5) of the DSP Regulation, a child born after a parent has been granted citizenship under the program is a Vanuatu citizen, and the Regulation sets a passport fee of VT 10,000 for the child. Vanuatu's passport policies point the same way, treating as citizens people born after 30 July 1980 with at least one parent who was a citizen at the time of the birth. We confirm which documents the birth registration and the child's passport need.

Adding family members after the grant has its own fee rule. Clause 8 sets the fees for a later application by a person already granted citizenship under the program for a spouse and one or two children: a US$5,000 administrative fee; where the first grant was made after the fees were reduced by Order No. 94 of 2018, the difference between the amount paid on the first application and the current prescribed fees in clause 7(1) is added. Any other dependant is charged US$10,000 each, the rate in clause 7(1)(e) or (f), under clause 8(4). Clause 8 sets these fees rather than a step-by-step procedure, so how such an application is made for your family is confirmed through the designated agent before anything is paid.

What Each Family Member Receives

Each person granted citizenship receives a citizenship certificate, and each then applies for a passport in their own name; international rules no longer allow children to be added to a parent's passport. Vanuatu recognizes dual citizenship, so the family does not have to give up its current nationality under Vanuatu law, although your home country's rules still apply. There is no requirement to live in Vanuatu. The passport biometrics are done in person; the oath is taken before a Commissioner for Oaths, which a Citizenship Office notice of August 2020 allowed by video link until further notice, and the designated agent confirms which arrangement is accepted for your file.

The passport opens 85 to 88 destinations without a visa in advance, depending on the index; the Henley Passport Index for October 2026 ranks it 60th with 85. Since 2023 it has needed a visa for the Schengen Area and for the United Kingdom. Citizenship also does not change where each family member is tax resident.

Planning the Family Application With Us

A family file has more moving parts than a single one: more documents, more ages to check, more people in the due diligence. We begin with a free assessment of who can be included and what the total comes to, then prepare each person's documents, coordinate the file with the designated agent, deal with questions during the checks and the Commission's review, and guide the payments, the oath, the certificates and the passport applications for everyone on the application.