Concept
Vanuatu is a Pacific island nation with the world's fastest citizenship by investment program. A passport here is issued in literally a couple of months, with no residency or language requirements, and donation starts at approximately USD 130,000 for a single applicant. It is precisely the speed and simplicity that made the program popular—and they also brought reputational and mobility problems.
Cost and Timeline
The main route is the Development Support Program (DSP): a non-refundable contribution from approximately USD 130,000 for a single applicant, around USD 150,000 for a married couple, and from USD 165,000 for a family of three or more, plus fees for due diligence, biometrics, translations, and processing. There is also an alternative Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP) with a partially refundable component. The timeline is one of the shortest on the market, often around two months, since the procedure is built on remote submission.
⚙️ In March 2025, Vanuatu authorities temporarily suspended the CIIP plan for regulatory overhaul and stricter applicant screening; after a brief pause, the program resumed. Processing speed is both a strong point and a reason for external pressure, so current status should be verified.
EU Visa-Free: Revocation
The main event of recent years is the loss of visa-free entry to Schengen. The EU was concerned about applicant screening standards and security risks of golden passports. A partial suspension was introduced back in 2022, and on December 12, 2024, the EU Council fully removed Vanuatu from the visa-free countries list. Now any Vanuatu citizen must obtain a Schengen visa in advance, and this directly undermines the program's main promise—freedom of movement.
Who and Why
🔗 Related
Citizenship by Investment · Second Passport and Plan B · Passport Index · St. Kitts and Nevis CBI · Dominica CBI · Grenada CBI
After the EU visa-free revocation, the value of a Vanuatu passport has shifted. It still provides second citizenship quickly and without relocation, does not require renunciation of previous citizenship, and the country has no taxes on worldwide income, capital gains, or inheritance. As a tool for urgent Plan B and tax neutrality it works; as a key to free movement in Europe—no longer. Before choosing, it is reasonable to soberly weigh precisely the reputational component.
🍓 Vanuatu issues a passport faster than almost all competitors and without residency requirements, but since December 2024 visa-free access to Schengen has been revoked. Today it is more a tool for tax neutrality and urgent Plan B than for European mobility.
This material is expert-analytical in nature and does not constitute individual legal or tax advice.