Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment 2026: the Cheapest Passport and What It Is Worth Without Schengen

Why Vanuatu was the cheapest and fastest passport

Since their joint agreement in 2024, the Caribbean states require a donation of at least USD 200,000. Vanuatu has always sat well below that. The reason is simple: the program is one of the state's most important sources of income. According to the finance ministry's half-year figures, reported by industry outlets in summer 2026, citizenship sales brought in about 11.4 billion vatu in the first half of 2026, roughly USD 95 million and a substantial share of total government revenue.

A country that depends this heavily on the money keeps the process lean. That produced the three points the program was marketed on:

• Price: the lowest entry point of any citizenship program with a fixed donation.
• Speed: agents today quote about two to three months from a complete file to the certificate. Shorter times used to be common.
• No residence: you never have to visit Vanuatu, before or after naturalisation.

That exact combination is what the EU later classified as a security problem. More on that below.

The programs: DSP and CIIP

Vanuatu sells citizenship today mainly through two routes, both based on the Citizenship Act and its regulations.

• Development Support Program (DSP): a non-refundable donation to the state. This is the standard route and the one almost every price quote refers to.
• Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP): more expensive, with a portion going into a state-designated investment. Agents contradict each other on the size of that portion and whether it is refundable. Anyone considering this route should get the current terms in writing.

For most applicants the DSP is the relevant option. The figures below refer to it.

What it costs in 2026: the donation is only the start

The official website of the Citizenship Office and Commission could not be reached during research in October 2026. The amounts below therefore come from the matching fee tables of several licensed agents. Treat them as guide values, not as an official price list.

• Single applicant: USD 130,000 donation.
• Married couple: USD 150,000.
• Family with children: more, depending on family size. Agents' tables differ here, for example on how many children a package price includes.
• Due diligence: about USD 5,000 to 5,500 per application, non-refundable even if the application is refused.
• Biometrics, ID card, birth certificate: since July 2025, biometric data and Vanuatu identity documents are mandatory for all applicants. Depending on the agent this costs about USD 1,000 to 3,000 per person.
• Agent: applications go exclusively through licensed agents. Their fee comes on top and is negotiable.

Realistically a single applicant ends up at about USD 140,000 to 145,000, a couple with two children well above 190,000. If you only have the 130,000 figure in mind, you are under-budgeting. Add your own costs for certification, translation and apostilles at home.

The process: everything through agents, no visit

The process is built entirely for remote applications. In broad steps:

1. Choose an agent: only licensed agents may submit applications. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2025, agents must register and meet stricter requirements. Check the licence, and do not pay a sub-agent who holds none.
2. Assemble documents: passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, police clearance, proof of source of funds, bank statements, medical certificate. German or other European documents usually need an apostille and a certified English translation.
3. Due diligence: the authority and contracted screeners check criminal records, sanctions lists, Interpol and the origin of the money. This is the longest part of the process.
4. Approval in principle and payment: the donation is only transferred after approval.
5. Biometrics and oath: depending on the agent, biometrics are taken in Port Vila, at outside locations or by mobile teams. According to agents, the oath of allegiance is taken by video.
6. Certificate and passport: the naturalisation certificate and passport follow.

The main applicant must be at least 18. Certain nationalities are excluded or screened more closely. That list changes, and in spring 2026 there was even a circular that was withdrawn a few days later as published in error. For Germans and most Europeans this hardly matters, but it shows how fluid administrative practice is.

How the EU withdrew visa-free access

Until 2022, Vanuatu citizens could travel to the Schengen area without a visa under a 2015 agreement. That was the main reason investors bought the passport. The EU dismantled the access in stages:

• March 2022, partial suspension: Council Decision (EU) 2022/366 of 3 March 2022 suspended the agreement for ordinary passports issued from 25 May 2015. The date was deliberate: from then on, the number of citizenships sold rose sharply. Holders of older passports could still travel visa-free.
• February 2023, full suspension: Council Decision (EU) 2022/2198 of 8 November 2022 suspended the agreement in full from 4 February 2023. Since then every Vanuatu citizen needs a Schengen visa, regardless of when the passport was issued.
• February 2025, permanent: Regulation (EU) 2025/11 of 19 December 2024 moved Vanuatu from the visa-exempt list to the visa-required list, applying from 3 February 2025. The Danish Immigration Service sums up the reasoning: Vanuatu grants citizenship to people with no connection to the country, approves almost all applications, and its screening does not guarantee a sufficient level of security.

For context: Vanuatu was the first, and for a long time the only, state against which the EU used its suspension mechanism because of a citizenship program. At the end of 2025 the EU tightened that mechanism with Regulation (EU) 2025/2441. Since then, schemes that grant citizenship without a genuine link to the country are expressly a ground of their own for suspending visa-free travel. For Vanuatu this changes nothing, it is already on the visa list. For the Caribbean states it is a real risk.

As of October 2026: Vanuatu citizens need a regular visa for every trip to the Schengen area. There are reports of talks about restoring visa-free travel, but no decision. Anyone buying a Vanuatu passport today should not count on that changing any time soon.

United Kingdom: visa required since July 2023

On 19 July 2023 the UK introduced a visa requirement for Vanuatu nationals with immediate effect, including for tourist visits. The UK government explicitly cited concerns about the citizenship by investment scheme. A short transition period for trips already booked ran until 16 August 2023. Dominica was hit by the same decision.

The United States never granted Vanuatu citizens visa-free entry, Vanuatu was never part of the Visa Waiver Program. Nor is Vanuatu on the list of treaty countries for the US E-2 visa. If you want a second passport mainly as a door into the US, Grenada and the E-2 visa is the better fit.

What the passport still gets you in 2026

Without Schengen and the UK, what remains is a passport that still offers visa-free or simplified access in Asia, the Pacific and parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. The exact count varies by index and date. For any specific destination, check that country's current entry rules rather than relying on rankings.

What the passport is realistically still good for:

• Backup passport: a second travel document in case your own passport is lost, confiscated or unfavourable in certain countries.
• Citizenship for people with a weak first passport: for someone whose home passport offers little visa-free travel, Vanuatu can still be an upgrade. For EU citizens it is clearly a step down for travel.
• Passing it on to children: citizenship passes to descendants, with all the pros and cons.

What it is not good for:

• Travel to Europe and the UK: irrelevant for EU citizens, who use their own passport, but the biggest loss of value for everyone else.
• Bank accounts: banks and fintechs now look critically at citizenships from investment programs. A Vanuatu passport opens no accounts an EU passport would not. It can even make onboarding harder because it counts as a risk factor. For more on accounts abroad, see Bank accounts outside the EU.
• Tax: see the next section.

What German readers need to know

Since the reform of the German Nationality Act on 27 June 2024, Germans no longer automatically lose German citizenship when they acquire a foreign one on application. The old retention permit is no longer needed. Vanuatu itself allows dual citizenship. The topic is covered in detail in Dual citizenship for Germans.

For tax, a second passport changes nothing. Germany taxes on residence and habitual abode, not on nationality. If you live in Germany you stay fully taxable there, however many passports you hold. Tax savings only come from a genuine move with a new residence, and that is an entirely different question. The residency routes are covered in Plan B: residency options. How it works out in your case depends on the details and belongs with an adviser who knows both nationality and tax law.

The risks that are not on any price list

• Further restrictions: visa-free access can disappear in other countries too. The EU and the UK have shown how quickly that can happen.
• Revocation: citizenship based on false or incomplete information can be revoked. The donation is then lost.
• Rule changes without notice: fees, required documents and excluded nationalities changed several times in 2025 and 2026. What an agent promised six months ago may be different today.
• Agent risk: the donation is non-refundable. Pay a dubious intermediary and you may end up with neither money nor passport.