Vanuatu's Economic Citizenship Programme — Peak Revenue, EU Visa Suspension, and a 2025 Overhaul

Vanuatu introduced its Economic Citizenship Programme (also called the Citizenship by Investment Programme, CIIP) in 2015-2017, granting citizenship to foreign investors contributing to a national development fund, modelled on Caribbean schemes such as St Kitts and Nevis'.

The programme quickly became a major budget line for the Pacific archipelago. IMF Article IV reporting shows Economic Citizenship Programme revenue peaked at around 14% of GDP in 2020, helping fund government operations and disaster response including, later, Port Vila earthquake reconstruction.

However, IMF and European reviewers identified governance weaknesses, including low application-rejection rates and inadequate vetting that had granted citizenship to individuals posing security risks. The European Union suspended visa-free travel for Vanuatu passport holders from February 2023 and, after continued concerns, the EU Council permanently revoked the visa waiver via Regulation (EU) 2025/11 adopted 12 December 2024; Switzerland took parallel action.

Vanuatu itself suspended its main investor-citizenship route in March 2025 for roughly 100 days, reopening in May 2025 with tightened due diligence — mandatory biometric capture, a national ID requirement, ICAO-aligned vetting standards and e-passports. By 2024, programme revenue had fallen to around 7% of GDP, roughly half its 2020 peak. The case is a cautionary counterpart to the region's other investment-migration programmes: strong short-term fiscal upside, but real governance and diplomatic risk if oversight lags growth.

Read the full analysis: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/12/12/vanuatu-council-ends-visa-exemption/