Suspension of visa waiver programme

EU suspends visa free-travel with Vanuatu

Passport sales account for more than a quarter of Vanuatu's government revenue—they made up 35 percent of its revenue in 2020—but the EU has criticised the scheme for its lack of due diligence, including the granting of citizenship to criminals.

An EU proposal to suspend the visa waiver agreement was finalised last week.

Vanuatu Business Resilience Council chair Glen Craig said he estimated the golden passports scheme, which allows people to buy passports for $US130,000, could drop in sales by 80 to 90%.