Why Vanuatu boasts one of the most popular ‘golden passport’ schemes

Buying citizenship

CBI or economic citizenship allows individuals to acquire citizenship in a country by making significant financial contributions to its economy. Countries around the world offer foreigners citizenship to attract investment and stimulate economic growth.

Malta, Turkey, Montenegro, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Egypt also have CBI programs.

Vanuatu’s program

According to the website of investment migration firm Global Residence Index, “Vanuatu’s citizenship by investment program is the fastest and most simple citizenship program available… Very few documents are required, and all documentation can be provided digitally”, meaning the applicant does not even have to set foot in the country to become a citizen.

The cost of Vanuatu citizenship ranges from $135,500 to $155,500 (Rs 1.18 cr to 1.35 cr), with options to also purchase citizenship for a family of four. Processing times vary from 30 to 60 days after the filing of the application. The BBC reported in 2019 that passport sales account for roughly 30% of the country’s revenue.

Specific advantages

Aside from the ease and speed of the process, Vanuatu’s program provides some specific benefits.

🔴 As of 2025, a Vanuatu passport allows visa-free entry to 113 countries. The Henley Passport Index ranks the Vanuatu passport as the 51st strongest in the world (out of 199 countries), ahead of Saudi Arabia (57), China (59), and Indonesia (64). India ranks 80th.

Vanuatu’s passport was even stronger until March 2022 when the European Council temporarily suspended its visa-free access to the European Union due to security concerns around the golden passport scheme. The suspension was made permanent in February 2023.

🔴 Vanuatu is, for all intents and purposes, a tax haven. It is a zero-tax jurisdiction that is free of personal income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and wealth tax. While Vanuatu does charge indirect taxes such as VAT, as well as tax on property transactions, rates are typically lower than other countries in the South Pacific. It also has lax reporting requirements, which make it a “strategic jurisdiction” for tax purposes.

For what remains a very poor country, with a per capita GDP (current US$) of only 3,515.2 (World Bank, 2023), there is a major financial incentive to be a tax haven. Offshore financial services is one of the biggest revenue-generators for the country.

Scandals in recent years

In recent years, Vanuatu has faced multiple corruption scandals and allegations that its citizenship scheme and tax laws are being used by global criminal syndicates.

Analysing more than 2,000 golden passports issued in 2020, The Guardian reported that among those granted citizenship were “a Syrian businessman with US sanctions against his businesses, a suspected North Korean politician, an Italian businessman accused of extorting the Vatican, a former member of a notorious Australian motorcycle gang, and South African brothers accused of a $3.6bn cryptocurrency heist”.

“Experts have warned the scheme is ripe for exploitation, creating a back door for access to the EU and UK… Vanuatu’s taxation laws make the country an attractive site for money laundering,” the UK daily said.