Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment

Vanuatu remains a contribution-led programme

Vanuatu's Development Support Program is built around a government-mandated contribution rather than a large qualifying property purchase. The Citizenship Commission publishes the fee schedule and designates agents through whom the programme is handled. Applicants should use those official sources because heavily discounted third-party offers have long been a risk in the market.

The Commission currently publishes US$130,000 for a single applicant, US$150,000 for a married couple, US$165,000 for a couple with one child and US$180,000 for a couple with two children, plus due-diligence and other charges. Additional applicants carry further fees.

The government also states that CBI programme payments are not accepted in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency and that the official programme currency is the US dollar. That is a useful fraud check: an intermediary asking for a qualifying contribution through a private crypto wallet is not following the published government process.

The family schedule matters more than the single-applicant headline

Vanuatu's pricing steps up by household composition rather than using one universal contribution. Adult dependants and parents are also governed by the programme's current definitions. A family comparison should therefore be built from the actual ages and relationships rather than extrapolated from US$130,000.

The programme also charges due diligence separately. The official fee page currently lists an FIU diligence charge in addition to the citizenship amount. Any adviser quotation should show government amounts and professional fees as separate lines.

Due diligence and agent status should be verified directly

Applicants should confirm that the person handling the case is a designated agent recognized by the Citizenship Commission. The Commission also maintains warnings and programme information on its official government domain. That is particularly important where an overseas promoter is involved.

The application requires identity, police and financial evidence. A quick processing reputation should not be confused with weak screening; source of funds and the applicant's background still need to withstand review.

The programme is not based on long-term residence

The DSP is designed as a direct citizenship route rather than a multi-year residence-to-naturalisation process. Applicants nevertheless have to complete the prescribed oath and citizenship formalities. The exact method for those steps should be checked at the time of application because procedures can change.

Vanuatu has also made clear that programme payments must follow the currencies and channels recognized in its regulations. An applicant should not assume that an agent can substitute cryptocurrency or an informal payment structure for the official process.

Passport utility and citizenship should be evaluated separately

Visa-free access can change after citizenship is granted because it depends on decisions by other governments. That does not normally cancel the underlying Vanuatu citizenship, but it can reduce the practical value that motivated the application.

Before applying, confirm the current government fee schedule, designated agent, dependant eligibility, due-diligence charge and actual travel access relevant to the applicant. A citizenship decision should survive even if a mobility list changes later.

Vanuatu's mobility has changed materially in recent years, which is a reminder that visa-free access is not a property of citizenship that the issuing state can guarantee. Anyone applying mainly for travel convenience should check the specific destinations that matter to them on the actual decision date rather than relying on an old global passport ranking.