Vanuatu Residency

There are certain elements which are common to every applicant who wishes to establish residence in Vanuatu. Various other steps are required for establishing a business. Residency permits may be granted to investors, retirees and employees.

Investors
Persons who wish to engage in business in Vanuatu must apply to the Vanuatu Foreign Investment Board for approval.

The Foreign Investment Act was passed by parliament in July 1998 and became effective the following month. This Act establishes a Foreign Investment Board to expeditiously facilitate, promote and foster foreign investment in Vanuatu. Once an investor is issued with an Approved Certificate under this Act, the other approvals required to operate in Vanuatu, such as residency, work permits and business licences, became largely automatic. This system, whilst still finding its feet, should be a considerable improvement on the old system. In addition to providing for the establishment of the Foreign Investment Board, the Act does define certain investments and occupations as reserved for Vanuatu citizens.

Similarly, persons who wish to reside in Vanuatu without engaging in business or employment may also qualify for residence provided they can establish that they can support themselves during their residency period and that they will be investing funds in Vanuatu. The criteria used is the level of investment in Vanuatu. As an indication investment levels and the corresponding residence duration are as follows:

It is the present practice of the Immigration Department to issue a one year permit in the first instance, no matter what the level of investment, and thereafter the Department will consider a longer permit along the lines of the above table. The first year is intended to be a period to assess the suitability of an investor. There is however, no formal assessment undertaken. Persons who intend to be self employed and engaged in a business with a minimum investment of Vt 5 million (ie. approximately US$50,000) may qualify for a residency permit, renewable annually. Such persons will first be required to obtain Foreign Investment Board approval.

Retired Persons
Persons over the age of 55 may apply for a residency permit if they provide evidence of their status as a retired person in their country of origin and that they have proof of a monthly revenue transferred to Vanuatu of at least USD3,000 (for a married couple).

Employees
Persons who are required to reside in Vanuatu for employment purposes may qualify for a residency permit of one year's duration, renewable annually. A work permit in respect of such persons must also be obtained and is only available for certain occupations where there are no suitably qualified Ni-Vanuatu.