Foreign tourists love Vanuatu for its tropical forests, ocean beaches, a unique underwater world, amazing traditions, and indigenous people. However, you don’t have to be a tourist in Vanuatu. The country administers a citizenship-by-investment program so you can ‘buy’ a passport of Vanuatu and spend as much time there as you wish on legal grounds. Below we provide the main facts about Vanuatu and dwell on the local citizenship-by-investment program in some detail.
A variety of Islands in Vanuatu
Vanuatu is an island archipelago and each island has its own specific features. If you are looking for the most ancient thickets of sandalwood trees, pristine beaches, mountains, and caves, you can find them on Erromango Island.
If you would like to walk along the slopes of an active volcano, you can find Yasur volcano on Tanna Island. The volcano is not very high (361 meters above sea level), which makes it easily accessible.
You can find more than 30 indigenous tribes on Malecula, (Malakula) Island. Every tribe has preserved its language and way of living. If you want to see ancient rock paintings, you should visit Fels Cave on Lelepa Island.
Epi Island is great for beach vacations and other kinds of entertainment. You can lie on white or black volcanic sand on the coast or you can on excursions to old colonial plantations and tropical forests.
Espirito Santo is the largest island of the archipelago and there you can find the White Sands, one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. The tallest mountain (1,649 meters above sea level) is also located on this island and its name is Tabwemasana. Dozens of ships have sunk near Espirito Santo in different epochs, which attracts divers from around the globe.
A curious fact: not far from Efate Island, you can find an underwater post office and this is the only such post office in the world. You can dive to a depth of five to six meters and send a letter placed in a special waterproof envelope.
Hotels in Vanuatu
In Port Vila and Luganville (the two largest cities in Vanuatu), you can put up at aparthotels or bungalow complexes. The hotels normally have three or four stars but you can find a five-star hotel in Vanuatu as well. Guesthouses welcome you on smaller islands.
Transport in Vanuatu
Public transport – buses and taxis – can be found on all larger islands but there are no railroads in Vanuatu. Marine and air transportation is also in high demand. Islands located close to each other are linked by boats and small ships. The largest ports are found in Port Vila, Luganville, and Forari. The national air carrier connects the islands sitting for away from each other.
Politics and economy of Vanuatu
Vanuatu became independent from Great Britain and France only in 1980. Before that time, the country used to be called New Hebrides.
Vanuatu is a republic and a parliamentary democracy. Elections take place every four years. The legislation system is an amalgamation of British, French, and local laws. Vanuatu is a member of all major international organizations.
Agriculture, cattle breeding, fishery, tourism, and foreign investments are the main pillars of the local economy. To increase the amount of foreign investment, the authorities of Vanuatu have put attractive fiscal regulations into force. The country is an offshore jurisdiction and a tax haven used by many foreign companies.
International Business Companies registered in Vanuatu are tax exempt for the first 20 years of their existence. They have to pay only companies registration fees of mere US$300 per year. If you would like to buy an existing company in Vanuatu, your corporate and personal income tax is going to be 0%.
The personal income, wealth, inheritance, and capital gains taxes are not charged in Vanuatu. Capital can be repatriated from the country at no cost either. We must note that the fiscal conditions are equal for local people and foreigners in Vanuatu.
The official currency is vatu in Vanuatu but many shops also accept American, Australian, and New Zealand dollars.
Real estate and construction in Vanuatu
Most houses are small in Vanuatu: you will mostly find villas and two-story houses holding a few apartments in the country. All houses are resistant to natural disasters. Tsunamis, earthquakes, and cyclones with pouring rain and gusty winds are not infrequent in Vanuatu.
The average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Port Vila is US $150,000. The prices for detached houses sitting close to the shore start at US$200,000. We are speaking about high-quality buildings preferred by the expats from Australia, New Zealand and other countries.
Apartment rental varies between US$500 and US$1,500 per month depending on the location and the number of bedrooms. Renting a house by the ocean will cost you from US$1,000 to US$2,500 per month.
Citizenship of Vanuatu by investment
Vanuatu is the only country in the region that administers a citizenship-by-investment program. The opportunity to obtain a Vanuatu passport by investment first emerged in the 1990s. The program has been amended several times since then.
Today, two citizenship-by-investment programs are administered in Vanuatu. The first one is called Vanuatu Contribution Program (VCR) and it serves citizens of China, Taiwan, Macao, and Hong Kong. The second one is called the Development Support Program (DSP) and it serves everybody else.
Foreigners ‘buy’ Vanuatu passports by the thousand and the local budget receives millions of dollars in revenue.
The programs are continuously modernized to fit the European standards of granting citizenship to foreign investors. Currently, the Government of Vanuatu is planning to modify the VCP program and enhance the due diligence procedures. This is likely to increase the terms of application processing and the overall cost of the Vanuatu passport.
Key terms and conditions of Vanuatu citizenship-by-investment program
In essence, a foreigner can become a citizen of Vanuatu by donating at least US$130,000 to the state fund and covering additional application processing costs. In addition, all applicants for citizenship of Vanuatu shall prove their solvency and bring clean police records. You don’t have to speak a language of Vanuatu (many different languages are spoken in the country), you don’t have to take any history tests, and neither do you have to live in the country to keep the passport.