The Honorary Citizenship Act (CAP 112) of Vanuatu allows foreigners to obtain honorary citizenship through the Development Support Program (DSP) established to raise funds to support economic and infrastructural development. The Citizenship by Investment Program(CBI) is enacted under the Citizenship Act. Qualified persons can apply for honorary citizenship under Vanuatu’s CBI program by making contributions to the government. The citizenship granted under the CBI program is fully recognized by the Government of Vanuatu, and the nationality is referred to as Ni-Vanuatu. Persons who acquire citizenship under this program are granted rights to live and do business in Vanuatu and receive a passport that is renewable upon expiry.
Who Can Apply for The Vanuatu CBI Program?
- Any person with no criminal record
- Investor or business person
- Person renouncing their citizenship
- Traveler
- Stateless person
Why is The Vanuatu Citizenship By Investment Program the Best?
- It is the only CBI program of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Vanuatu is the only remaining tax-free haven.
- Visa-free travel to 125 countries – Europe, UK, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong.
- Stable and Peaceful country (doesn’t even have a regular armed forces)
- Recognized International off-shore finance center since 1972.
- English and French-speaking country and a member of the British Commonwealth.
- Best pricing structure compared to other CBI programs.
- Presence of most international banks with investor-friendly terms.
- Secure and Long-term land tenure.
- Efficient citizenship application procedure.
What Are The Steps To Acquiring Vanuatu Citizenship?
- Applicant to submit certified true copies of their passports, clearance report, medical certificate and personal record. At this juncture a non-refundable total fee of USD 20,000 is payable.
- If the FIU gives approval of no damaging findings, pre-approval is granted. The applicant then under the supervision of a DSP officer finalizes all documentation and arranges for payment. Payment is made via VRP Mena– an authorized agent for the Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment Program.
- The application is then submitted to a DSP representative for review before it’s submitted to the citizenship commission.
- The screening committee then goes through the application before the commission meets to make a recommendation.
- After the Citizenship Commission approves the application, an Agreement in Principle is issued.
- Finally, the applicant takes an oath. This is administered by the Commissioner of Oaths. It is at this occasion that the new Vanuatu citizen receives their certificate of Vanuatu citizenship and their new passport.
Why is the Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment Program the Fastest and Easiest?
There are a host of countries around the world including; Cyprus, Grenada and Santa Lucia that provide investment opportunities to foreigners through CBI programs. However, out of all these countries, Vanuatu has the fastest and easiest Second Citizenship program. The law only requires the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) clearance as the principal requirement for granting citizenship.
This process takes six weeks or less from the day of issuance of the FIU clearance, submitting the application form and making the first payment. This process doesn’t require your physical presence. To make it more convenient for applicants documents can be delivered by government officials to the new citizen at his country of residence. VRP Mena will help you with the translation and legalization of your documents as well as filling the application forms. For any enquiries call us today.
