Vanuatu CBI 2026: The Complete Citizenship by Investment Guide.
If you already search with the shorthand, you know the category. This is the complete operator's guide to Vanuatu CBI in 2026: the two legal routes, who qualifies, what the file requires, how the money moves, how long it takes, and the caveats most brochures leave out. One program, known better than anyone, sold by the people who actually file it.
What is Vanuatu CBI?
Vanuatu CBI is citizenship by investment in the Republic of Vanuatu: the legal pathway by which a sovereign nation grants permanent, hereditary citizenship in exchange for a government-approved contribution, under the Citizenship Act, Cap. 112. It is not residency, not a visa, and not a golden-ticket myth. For the plain-English overview of Vanuatu citizenship generally, start there; this page is the program detail. It is a statute-defined transaction with a defined fee, a defined timeline, and defined due diligence, administered by the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission (VCC) and screened by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit (VFIU).
DSP and CIIP, the only "which one" the program asks.
The DSP.
The Development Support Programme is a direct donation: $130,000 government contribution, $145,000 all-in for a single applicant, non-refundable. Simpler, lower-gross, and what most single applicants choose. Detailed on the program page.
The CIIP.
The Capital Investment Immigration Plan folds a $50,000 redeemable Cocoa Sustainable Fund subscription onto a $110,000 contribution: $174,000 all-in gross, approximately $124,000 net after the four-year redemption. Lower net cost, higher up-front outlay, returns not guaranteed.
Who qualifies, and who can be on the file.
The main applicant must be at least 18, hold a clean criminal record, document a lawful source of funds, and be able to fund the contribution. There is no residency requirement, no language test, no interview, and no annual cap, which is what makes the timeline fast. A spouse, dependent children, and in defined cases dependent parents can be included in the same file; family pricing scales the government contribution and applies the flat fees per applicant. The full family ladder is on the cost page.
The file is the whole game.
Vanuatu CBI is a vetting process before it is anything else. The VFIU, with Interpol National Central Bureau checks and Citizenship Commission review, screens every file. The required documents are government application forms, certified copies of birth, marriage, and police clearance certificates, medical certificates, professional references, and source-of-funds documentation.
For Bitcoin-funded files, the source-of-funds reconstruction is the part that decides outcomes: where the coins came from, exchange withdrawals documented on both halves, mining or payment income, and a defensible cost basis. We pre-audit that history before submission so the VFIU sees a file that answers its questions in advance. The full playbook is on the source of funds page.
How the money moves, and how long it takes.
Fees are staged: a due-diligence payment on lodgement, a portion of the processing fee on submission of the application, and the balance after approval in principle by the Citizenship Commission. On the CIIP, the fund investment is due alongside the final payment. Government processing runs 30 to 60 days from a complete file; the VFIU reports within approximately one week of completed screening. From first engagement, plan on roughly two to four months including document preparation. The seven-stage walkthrough is on the process page, and selected 21 CBI invoices may be settled in BTC, Lightning, or USDT by prior arrangement after compliance clearance.
One short visit. Four accredited centers.
Under the Passport Amendment Act 2025, which aligned issuance with ICAO biometric standards from May 2025, one in-person enrolment is mandatory. We schedule it at the center most convenient for your travel: Port Vila, Dubai, Hong Kong, or New Caledonia. No travel to Vanuatu itself is required, but the visit is real, and we never pretend the file skips it.
The honest edges, and who stands behind the file.
What we say out loud.
Schengen visa-free access was revoked in December 2024 and the UK now requires a Standard Visitor visa, so the count is 87 destinations. Vanuatu participates in CRS. A second passport is not tax residency and does not erase US citizenship-based taxation. The biometric visit is mandatory. None of this is hidden; it is on the page.
The advisor files the file.
cbi.vu is the Vanuatu surface of 21 CBI. A booking goes to Adam Juchniewicz, CEO, 21 CBI, not a junior associate or a chatbot. 21 CBI is also a licensed agent of the El Salvador Freedom Passport under The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador. One program, filed firsthand, with the math on the page.
The program answers.
What is Vanuatu CBI?
Citizenship by investment in the Republic of Vanuatu: the legal pathway, under the Citizenship Act, Cap. 112, by which the government grants permanent, hereditary citizenship in exchange for a government-approved contribution. Two tracks, the DSP and the CIIP, both screened by the VFIU and granted by the Citizenship Commission.
What is the difference between the DSP and the CIIP?
The DSP is a direct donation: $130,000 contribution, $145,000 all-in for a single applicant. The CIIP is an investment route: $110,000 plus a $50,000 redeemable fund, $174,000 all-in gross, approximately $124,000 net after the four-year redemption. The DSP is simpler and lower-gross; the CIIP has a lower net cost but a higher up-front outlay and unguaranteed returns.
Who is eligible for Vanuatu CBI?
A main applicant who is at least 18, has a clean criminal record, can document a lawful source of funds, and can fund the contribution. No residency, no language test, no interview, no annual cap. A spouse, dependent children, and in defined cases dependent parents can be included.
What documents are required?
Government application forms, certified copies of birth, marriage, and police clearance certificates, medical certificates, professional references, and source-of-funds documentation. For Bitcoin-funded files, an on-chain source-of-funds reconstruction is supported and treated as the normal starting point.
Is the Vanuatu CBI file done remotely?
Mostly. The file is prepared and submitted without travel to Vanuatu, but one in-person biometric enrolment is mandatory (ICAO standard, from May 2025), completed at Port Vila, Dubai, Hong Kong, or New Caledonia. Remote except for one mandatory in-person biometric visit, which we never paper over.
Where these facts come from.
We cite the law and the data, not the marketing. Verify any line here before you move a single sat.
- Legal basis
- Citizenship Act (Cap. 112), and the Development Support Program established under Order 33 of 2019.
- Passport standard
- Vanuatu Passport (Amendment) Act 2025, which introduced the mandatory biometric enrolment: one in-person visit, from May 2025.
- Screening
- Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit, with Interpol and Vanuatu Citizenship Commission checks on every file.
- Mobility
- Henley Passport Index, 2026: 87 destinations. Schengen visa-free access was revoked in December 2024, effective February 2025; the UK the same month.
- Pricing
- Government contribution and the full fee schedule, canonical to 21cbi.io/programs/vanuatu and itemized on the cost page.
Keep reading.
Vanuatu vs Türkiye
Donation versus property you must hold for years. Which structure actually frees you. →
The WorkThree file shapes
Single, couple, family. Composited files that show how a real source-of-funds stitch runs. →
MethodSource of funds, on-chain
How a Bitcoin position becomes a file the FIU can clear, with no forced sale. →
See the math, then the file.
Run the numbers on the pricing page, read the 16-page Vanuatu Brief, or go straight to a confidential file-read with Adam. One program, fully argued, with the trade-offs on the page.