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Vanuatu residency & citizenship

VUNorth America & OceaniaHigh confidenceupdated 2026-10-11 · checked 2026-10-12
Strong passport
Years to citizenship
Immediate via CBI (~30–60 days)
Passport
86 visa-free
Remote-work visa
No separate visa; CBI grants citizenship (no stay)
Tax, remote workers
0% (no income tax)
1-bed rent / month
No recent data

Monitoring

Recent changes
CIIP reopened May 2025 (investment + donation model); EU visa-waiver suspension discussions ongoing.
Watching
EU reinstatement of Vanuatu's visa-waiver; DSP pricing changes; FIU due-diligence tightening.

Overview

Vanuatu (Republic of Vanuatu, South Pacific) runs the fastest citizenship-by-investment programme in the world — the Development Support Program (DSP), a non-refundable government contribution granting citizenship in roughly 30–60 days with no residence requirement. It is administered by the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission under the Citizenship Act (Cap 112). It is the only CBI programme in the Asia-Pacific region. [1]

Residency Programs

Type Official Program Key Conditions Duration Detail
investment_residency Not available — — —
passive_income_residency Not available — — —
digital_nomad_visa Not available — — —
highly_skilled_employment Standard work permit Job offer 1 yr, renewable —
startup_entrepreneur Not available — — —
employment_residency Work permit Job offer from local employer 1 yr, renewable —
student_residency Student permit Enrollment at local institution Course duration —
family_reunification Dependent permit Sponsor with valid permit Aligned with sponsor —
retired_residency Not available — — —
citizenship_by_investment DSP / CIIP / REO $130,000 DSP donation (single) ~30–60 days #citizenship-by-investment

Per-Program Detail

citizenship_by_investment

  • Official name: Development Support Program (DSP); alternatives: Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP), Real Estate Option (REO)
  • Conditions (DSP donation): US$130,000 single; US$150,000 married couple; US$165,000 couple + 1 child <18; US$180,000 couple + 2 children <18; +US$10,000 per additional child. FIU due-diligence fee US$5,000–5,500/application. DSP excludes China/Hong Kong (served by the identical Contribution Program, VCP). CIIP: US$100,000 donation + US$50,000 redeemable investment (4-yr). REO: US$100,000 donation + property. [2]
  • Duration / renewal: Citizenship permanent and hereditary; 10-year biometric passport. No residence requirement.
  • Path to citizenship: Direct grant; processing ~30–60 days (fastest CBI globally). [3]
  • Official source: https://vanuatucitizenshipbyinvestment.com/citizenship-by-investment
  • Community verdict: Works well (fast, cheap, but passport is weak — no Schengen/UK/US access; EU partially suspended Vanuatu's visa-free deal in 2022–2025 over due-diligence concerns).

Citizenship

Direct citizenship by investment (DSP/VCP/CIIP/REO). Naturalisation by residence also available. Dual citizenship permitted since the 2013 constitutional amendment. [4]

Tax

No income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, no wealth tax — one of the world's few zero-direct-tax jurisdictions. Citizenship holders who do not reside owe nothing locally.

IT / Digital Nomad

No dedicated nomad visa, but citizenship (via CBI) allows living and working freely. Vanuatu is remote and timezone-shifted from Europe/US, so few digital nomads settle there.

Yacht / Maritime

Vanuatu is one of the world's largest open ship registries (Vanuatu International Shipping Registry) — popular flag-of-convenience for commercial vessels and yachts.

Notes for RU Citizens

Vanuatu DSP is open to Russians and historically popular with RU applicants for a fast, cheap second passport; some agents accept payment in crypto. Note: the passport gives no Schengen access (EU suspended Vanuatu's visa-waiver 2022; partial reinstatement discussions ongoing into 2026).

Community Pulse

Long regarded as the cheapest and fastest "Plan B" passport. The EU's 2022 full suspension of the Vanuatu visa-waiver (over weak due diligence) sharply reduced its value for Europe-bound applicants and is the dominant community complaint. Russia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore access remain the main draws.

Country Card

Vanuatu is a South Pacific archipelago nation east of Australia, economically small and heavily reliant on tourism, agriculture, and its citizenship-by-investment and ship-registry revenue. It is best known in the CBI world for the fastest and one of the cheapest second passports available.

Strong points

  • Fastest CBI globally (~30–60 days)
  • Lowest single-applicant donation ($130,000) of any passport programme
  • Zero income/capital-gains/inheritance tax
  • No residence requirement; dual citizenship permitted
  • Large open ship registry (yacht/commercial flag)

Known problems

  • Weak passport (86 destinations; no Schengen/UK/US)
  • EU suspended Vanuatu's visa-waiver (2022) over due-diligence concerns
  • Remote location, high disaster exposure (cyclones, earthquakes)
  • Small, low-income economy (GDP PPP ~$3,200)

Country Snapshot

FieldValueSource
Population~335,000 (2023)World Bank ✓
Main religionChristianity (Protestant majority)Wikipedia ✓
Main languageBislama, English, French (official)Wikipedia ✓
Main city (capital or largest)Port VilaWikipedia ✓
On the coast?Yes (archipelago of ~83 islands)~
Tourism impact in seasonMedium — peak May–Oct (cyclone season Nov–Apr)~
GDP per capita (PPP)~$3,200 (2023)World Bank ✓
Median net monthly salaryNo recent data~
Cost of living indexNo recent data~
Monthly rent, 1-bedroom apartmentNo recent data~
Effective personal tax rate for remote workers0% (no income tax)tax ~
Remote-work / self-employment residence available?No separate visa; CBI grants citizenship (no stay)citizenship by investment
Years to citizenshipImmediate via CBI (~30–60 days)citizenship by investment
Maximum permitted absence during residenceNo residence requirementcitizenship by investment
Passport strength after citizenship86 visa-free destinations (Henley 2026)Henley & Partners ✓
Rule of Law IndexNo reliable data (not covered by WJP)WJP
Freedom House score82/100 (Free)Freedom House ✓
Average annual sunshine hours~2,200 hWikipedia ✓
Average annual temperature~25 °CWikipedia ✓

  1. https://vanuatucitizenshipbyinvestment.com/citizenship-by-investment ↩

  2. https://vanuatucitizenshipbyinvestment.com/citizenship-by-investment ↩

  3. https://www.vanuatupassport.vu/vanuatu-citizenship-program/vanuatu-passport-cost ↩

  4. https://vanuatucitizenshipbyinvestment.org/vanuatu-citizenship-by-investment-program ↩

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