Vanuatu’s government again faces international scrutiny, with the United Kingdom and the European Union now considering blacklisting Vanuatu passports, a move that would effectively ban passport holders from entering the UK and EU territories.
This development follows the recent suspension of visa-waiver agreements by both jurisdictions, prompted by ongoing security concerns linked to Vanuatu’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, which authorities have consistently failed to address.
The loss of visa-free access, first with the EU and later with the UK, was intended as a wake-up call to the country, yet it has done little to address the loopholes within the programme and to tackle the security threat to international counterparts.
Instead, Vanuatu continues to grant citizenship to questionable individuals without thorough and robust due diligence, prompting renewed scrutiny from European and UK authorities who warn that the programme has become a growing security risk with serious consequences for the nation’s global standing.
The UK reimposed visa requirements on Vanuatu in July 2023, ending the longstanding visa-free access for Vanuatu travelers. UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman cited “clear and evident abuse” of Vanuatu’s investment citizenship program, noting that passports had been granted to individuals “known to pose a risk to the UK”.
This move followed on the heels of Europe’s action: in 2022 the EU Council suspended Vanuatu’s visa-free Schengen access, and by late 2024 it formally revoked Vanuatu’s EU visa waiver, an unprecedented sanction against a country running a “golden passport” scheme. An EU explanatory note identified lack of rigorous vetting and poor background checks as a “serious security threat” behind the decision.
European officials listed multiple security failures in Vanuatu’s program. The first and foremost failure lies in the background checks, which are being continuously ignored by the Vanuatu government. Due to these lapses in due diligence procedures, serious concerns have been raised about the integrity and competitiveness of the CBI program. .
In addition to that, other failures included extremely low rejection rate of applicants, no residency requirements and very short processing times, lack of information-sharing with applicants’ home countries, and even the granting of citizenship to people flagged on Interpol wanted lists or to nationals of countries that require visas to enter the EU.
Despite these warnings, Vanuatu’s response has been widely criticized as sluggish and ineffective. The government in Port Vila professed to be working on reforms, and even set up a special task force to review the CBI scheme, but insiders say little was done.
According to a senior official at the Citizenship Office, the task force has been “highly inactive and is failing to fulfil the requirements of the European Union”. Vanuatu continued to market and issue citizenship with minimal background checks, even to individuals of serious concern.
Notorious fugitives such as Indian business tycoons Atul and Rajesh Gupta, wanted in South Africa for corruption, obtained Vanuatu citizenship, as did exiled cricket magnate Lalit Modi, highlighting glaring lapses in due diligence.
One senior officer, speaking to local media, lamented that the government “is silent and has not ordered anything to secure the programme… The government has still not banned Russians from obtaining citizenship by investment as all other countries did. I am afraid that the EU might impose further sanctions against Vanuatu, which will serve as major damage to the citizens… and our economy,” the officer warned. This revelation came after reports that Vanuatu was still accepting applications from Russian nationals despite other CBI countries halting them following the Ukraine invasion.
Local and international observers concur that Vanuatu’s leadership failed to act decisively to clean up the program even after red flags were raised. “It is clear that the unstable government failed to take concrete decisions to safeguard its breadwinner programme,” one analysis noted, adding that over half of Vanuatu’s economy depends on CBI revenues
Cronulla News reported that despite being “red-flagged” by the European Commission in early 2022, the government never thoroughly re-vetted the thousands of passports already issued under the scheme. Internal disputes and “ego issues” among top officials were blamed for paralyzing reform efforts.
Now Vanuatu finds itself increasingly isolated. Its CBI scheme, once attractive for providing easy global mobility, has seen its value plummet with the loss of UK and EU visa-free travel. Both London and Brussels have effectively put Vanuatu on a security watchlist; officials in Europe are even weighing a full blacklist of Vanuatu passports if risks persist.
There is rising concern that Vanuatu citizens – the vast majority of whom have no connection to the CBI scheme will pay the price for their government’s lax controls. Travel to many countries has become more cumbersome, and there are whispers that international banks and intermediaries could also downgrade or sever ties with Vanuatu to mitigate exposure to illicit actors.
The stakes for Vanuatu are enormous: the CBI program has been a financial lifeline, but continuing without reform may invite even harsher consequences. Western partners have made it clear that without rigorous screening and accountability, Vanuatu’s global standing will remain in jeopardy and its passports at risk of becoming pariahs in the international community.
