Vanuatu Citizenship for Russians in 2026: Terms and Procedure

The terms for Russian applicants

There are no special conditions or separate prices for Russian citizens. The amounts, timelines and checks are the same as for everyone. An application can only be filed through an authorized representative.

Russian law is not an obstacle either, since a second citizenship is allowed. There is one obligation: you must report it to the MVD within a set period, covered below.

An application can include a spouse, children and parents. Children aged 18-25 qualify if they study full time, have no income and are not married. Anyone older than 25 and other relatives are considered individually. The FIU check covers the main applicant, so that person should prepare an explanation of where the money came from in advance.

Paying from Russia

This is the most practical question for a Russian applicant. Banks in Russia and Belarus will not get this payment through. The applicant must pay personally, from a source that can be explained during the check.

Workable methods are:

• the applicant's personal account abroad
• rubles through a broker
• cryptocurrency
• an account of the applicant's own company

Payments that fail, and what it all costs

Someone else's company or someone else's card will not be accepted, even if a friend or relative has a convenient account. Choose your method early, because a slow transfer is one of the two most common reasons timelines grow.

The amounts are the same for all nationalities. With the due diligence fee, the contribution costs $135 000 for one person and $155 000 for a couple. The fund costs $165 000 for a family of up to four, or $115 000 after the share is returned. The fund share is $50 000 and stays in place for 5 years, after which the fund buys it back from its reserves under its own documents. The buyer is the fund, not the state. Translations and certification, Vanuatu citizen documents, biometrics and the passport, and bank charges are billed separately.

Biometrics and the oath from Russia

Biometrics can be done in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with sessions at least once a month. If you live elsewhere, a staff member will come to your home, office or hotel, even for one person. Every participant attends in person, children included, and it takes 30-60 minutes.

The oath is taken online by video call at a convenient time and has nothing to do with the biometrics date. No power of attorney is used: the applicant signs personally, a parent signs for children under 12, and from 12 a child signs independently.

Documents for a Russian applicant

Every participant aged 18 or over gets a police certificate from the country of citizenship and the country of residence. If you live in Russia, one country covers both. Anyone who spent more than a year in another state during the past 10 years also needs one from there. The certificate is valid for 6 months, so do not order it too early.

Proof of source of funds is mandatory in every application. A non-working spouse provides a certificate from a public organization. The full package usually comes together in 1-2 weeks, and the free preliminary check before the contract takes 1-2 working days.

Notifying the MVD

Every Russian citizen must report a second citizenship to the MVD. You have 60 calendar days from the day you acquire citizenship, counted from the certificate date. If you are abroad at that point, the 60 days run from the day you enter Russia.

You can file through the Gosuslugi portal or in person. Each adult does this individually, and a parent files for children.

What the passport changes for a Russian citizen

The most visible change is a route into Europe. A Russian passport currently cannot be used to apply for Greek residence through buying a home, while a Vanuatu passport can. The threshold is 400 000 € for most of Greece, 800 000 € for Attica, Thessaloniki and the large islands, and 250 000 € for commercial-to-residential conversions and restored heritage buildings. The reservation and deposit are made before the passport, and the purchase and application are done on the Vanuatu passport.

The passport itself covers 85 destinations without a prior visa, per the index as of 4 October 2026. They include Hong Kong for 90 days, Singapore and Malaysia for 30, and Peru for 180. Schengen, the UK, the US, Canada and Japan require a visa in advance.

The passport does not change your taxes on its own, as tax follows your tax residence. Opening an account remains the bank's decision.

If buying a home does not suit you, Greece also offers income-based residence: from 3 500 € a month, a spouse adds 20%, a child adds 15%, the card lasts 3 years and you need 6-12 months of income history. For Russian citizens, Greek lawyers check whether such an application will be accepted. Hungary may serve as a second residence option.

If you buy a home, watch the transfer tax: it is 3% today, and the Greek government has announced 15% for non-EU buyers from 1 July 2027. There is no law yet, but it is better to close the purchase before that date.

Where to begin

Start with the free preliminary check. Within 1-2 working days you will know whether there are any obstacles and how best to arrange payment. The contract and the fee come only after that. From there it usually takes 2 months and 3 at most.

Nobody can promise an outcome, which is why checking before you sign is useful. The due diligence fee is not refunded, and anything else after a refusal is governed by the program rules and your contract.

Here is how the timeline adds up: documents take 1-2 weeks, the check about a week, the Commission sits twice a month and the letter arrives roughly a week after the meeting. After approval you have 3 months to pay and take the oath, and passports are ready 2-4 weeks after biometrics.

Common questions