At the beginning of August 2024, the mass media writing about investment immigration published articles about a new requirement that had been introduced by the Vanuatu immigration authorities. Namely, they said that candidates for economic citizenship of Vanuatu had to pay personal visits to the county to collect their passports. As Vanuatu is a remote country in the Pacific Ocean, the new requirement looked rather harsh.
Applications for Vanuatu citizenship could still be filed remotely but a personal visit was required for submitting biometric data. This new requirement aroused indignation on the part of immigration agents and their clients, especially those who were in the middle of the process of acquiring Vanuatu passports. By the middle of the month, the situation became clearer. The Vanuatu Government went along with the candidates for economic citizenship of the country and softened the requirement.
The context
In early August 2024, the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission published a memo with new rules of passport issuance. According to the text, all candidates for Vanuatu citizenship had to visit the Immigration and Passport Service in person beginning September 1, 2024. There they would have to go through biometrics submission and face recognition procedures in front of the officers of the Service.
Previously, the procedure of acquiring economic citizenship of Vanuatu had been fully remote. Naturally, foreign investors as well as immigration agents became indignant about this new requirement.
Citizens of many countries need visas to enter Vanuatu. While they had been able to acquire second citizenship remotely before, now they had to spend additional time and effort on solving the visa issue. The situation was aggravated by the fact that most people have to change planes to get to Vanuatu and many of them have to do so more than once.
Thankfully, the concerns were soon allayed. Now those who don’t want to or cannot go to Vanuatu to submit their biometrics can go through the personal identification procedures at Vanuatu embassies in foreign countries.
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Personal identification at Vanuatu diplomatic missions
The recently appointed Monster of the Interior Andrew Napuat (in the photo above) said that biometric data registration facilities would be installed in four Vanuatu embassies:
- In Brussels (Belgium);
- In Dubai (the United Arab Emirates);
- In Hong Kong;
- In Nouméa (New Caledonia).
The facilities allow registering biometric data in real time. The data is going to be sent to Vanuatu and used when issuing passports. It is expected that the installation procedures will be completed within 3 months.
The Minister has also noted that the Vanuatu Government has signed a 3-year cooperation agreement with the Mühlbauer Company that will provide technical support to the new equipment. Mühlbauer is a company with more than 40 years of experience and with the staff of over 5,000 specialists. It has participated in 300+ projects involving the installation of personal identification systems in different parts of the world. These include:
- Australia;
- New Zealand;
- The Federative States of Micronesia;
- Fiji.
Commenting on the joint project, Mühlbauer representatives emphasized the company’s commitment to teamwork and cooperation, noting that the successful implementation of the new system requires a major collaborative effort. The company will continue to provide support through preventive maintenance, training of Vanuatu officials, and system upgrades.
The Ministry of the Interior is also committed to eliminating the factors that have been causing delays in passport issuance. The goal is going to be achieved with the help of a new administrative process that has been designed in cooperation with Mühlbauer.
The Minister has also noted that the Republic of Vanuatu is switching to electronic passports with improved security features. According to the Government official, the country’s passport system has been seriously upgraded and now Vanuatu passports have microchips and advanced security mechanisms. This provides enhanced protection and simplifies international travel for citizens of Vanuatu.
