Visa requirements for Vanuatu citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Vanuatu. As of 22 July 2024[update], Ni-Vanuatu had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 93 countries and territories.
A mutual visa waiver agreement was signed with Russia on 20 September 2016 and entered into force on 21 October 2016.[1]
- Schengen Area
Vanuatu signed a mutual visa waiver agreement with Schengen Area countries on 28 May 2015.[2]
The European Commission initiated the visa suspension mechanism against Vanuatu due to concerns over Vanuatu's investor citizenship scheme, also known as a "golden passport" program. These schemes allow foreign nationals to obtain Vanuatu citizenship and passport through investment, thereby gaining visa-free access to the EU while bypassing regular visa procedures.[3]
The Commission found serious deficiencies and security failures in Vanuatu's investor schemes, including:
- Granting over 10,000 passports to foreign nationals (mostly from visa-required countries) between 2015-2021, with a very low rejection rate
- Lack of residence requirements or physical interviews with applicants
- Short application processing times, preventing proper security screening
- Granting citizenship to individuals listed in Interpol databases and with forged documents
The suspension was implemented in three phases from May 2022 to August 2024, but Vanuatu failed to provide satisfactory remedies despite legislative changes. Key issues remained unresolved, such as:
- Lack of exchange of information with applicants' countries of origin to verify documents
- Continued economic reliance on the investor schemes
- Inconsistent statistics provided to the Commission
As a result, the Commission concluded that Vanuatu's investor schemes still pose risks to the EU's internal security. It proposed transferring Vanuatu from the visa-free to the visa-required countries list under the Visa Regulation. The visa exemption suspension was extended until February 2025 to allow the legislative process.
- ^ "Двусторонние договоры - Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации". Mid.ru. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ^ "EU signs visa waiver agreements with 7 ACP countries". www.consilium.europa.eu.
- ^ REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the suspension of the visa exemption for nationals of Vanuatu