The citizenship-by-investment sector is the biggest single revenue earner for Vanuatu’s government, but lingering issues of integrity cast a shadow over it.
In 2024 when Vanuatu became the first country to lose its European Union visa-free access over concerns about its golden passport scheme, there were fears it would be a huge blow to the sector.
This issue came to a head last September when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia – which served as the correspondent bank for the National Bank of Vanuatu – advised it would no longer facilitate transfers for certified agents in the citizenship programmes.
Overall, the sector is doing well. According to the Vanuatu Daily Post, citizenship sale receipts made up the bulk of the US$31 million in revenue in the past year – 24.3 percent more than what was forecast, with around 2000 foreigners granted citizenship last year.
‘We have Chinese, we have Indonesians, we have Russians. Most of them are from different countries but they also have passports from different countries,’ Joeph said.
‘So they come in, for example, some might be Chinese but they also have a Mexican passport, so they apply in from a Mexican passport.’