Vanuatu CBI After the EU Schengen Suspension: An Honest Assessment

Vanuatu's citizenship by investment programme retains one number no other programme can match: thirty days to passport. No Caribbean programme comes close. No EU programme is within a year. For applicants holding South Asian, African, or Gulf passports who need a second citizenship quickly, that figure has driven tens of thousands of applications since the programme was formalised in 2017. The events of 2022, however, changed the calculus — and advisers who are not communicating this clearly are not serving their clients.

The EU suspension: what happened and where it stands

In March 2022, the European Union suspended visa-free access for Vanuatu passport holders, citing inadequate due diligence standards in the citizenship by investment programme. The suspension affected all 27 Schengen member states. The Vanuatu government responded with a series of substantive reforms: mandatory third-party due diligence for all applicants, biometric passport controls, enhanced source-of-funds documentation requirements, and the appointment of an international compliance advisory board.

The reforms have been assessed as materially improving programme standards. They have not resulted in restoration of Schengen visa-free access. As of the date of this article, Vanuatu passport holders require a Schengen visa to travel within the EU's free-movement area. Negotiations between Vanuatu and the EU are ongoing. The timeline for any reinstatement of visa-free access is not confirmed.

Current passport coverage

The Vanuatu passport currently provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to approximately 90 destinations, including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and most of Southeast Asia. This represents meaningful mobility for applicants based in the Gulf, South Asia, or Africa whose primary travel destinations are the UK and Asia-Pacific. It is significantly below the 140–150 destination access of the leading Caribbean programmes, which have all maintained Schengen visa-free access throughout this period.

Due diligence: the post-reform position

The post-2022 due diligence framework is considerably more rigorous than the pre-suspension programme. Independent assessments suggest that the mandatory third-party check requirement, combined with enhanced source-of-funds documentation, has brought Vanuatu's standards meaningfully closer to those of Dominica and St Kitts. They remain less prescriptive than Malta's structured vetting framework. For applicants with clean backgrounds, this is largely procedural. For applicants from certain jurisdictions with complex financial reporting environments, documentation requirements have become significantly more demanding.

Investment parameters

The Development Support Programme requires a contribution of USD 130,000 for a single applicant (increased from USD 105,000 prior to the 2022 reforms) or USD 180,000 for a family of four. Total costs including government and processing fees land in the USD 150,000–200,000 range for most family applications. Processing remains the fastest in the CBI market at approximately 30 days.

Citizenship Times assessment

Vanuatu is the appropriate programme for a specific applicant profile: South Asian, Gulf, or African nationals whose travel requirements centre on the UK, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, and for whom processing speed is the primary constraint. It is not appropriate for applicants whose rationale for a second citizenship includes EU Schengen access until that access is formally restored. Any adviser presenting the Vanuatu programme without clear disclosure of the current Schengen visa requirement is providing incomplete counsel. Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Kitts & Nevis all maintain full Schengen visa-free access and should be the default recommendation where EU mobility is material to the applicant's use case.

Programme terms are subject to change without notice. Verify current access and due diligence requirements with a licensed adviser before any application decision.