Application Process & Timeline

Your Path to Citizenship

Seven clear steps. 60 days on average. Fully managed by our team. No travel required.

7

Clear steps, start to finish

60days

On average, submission to approval

100%

Remote process to approval

One in-person biometric appointment is required at the passport-issuance stage.

How It Works

From your first conversation to passport in hand

The Vanuatu citizenship application process is straightforward when managed by experienced professionals. Stanford Knight has processed thousands of applications and refined every step to minimise delays, prevent complications, and deliver results.

Here is exactly what happens from your first conversation to passport delivery.

timeline

Seven steps, fully managed

Every stage is handled by your SKP team. The points where payment falls due are marked, so you always know what is owed and when.

Book Your Consultation

Your journey begins with a confidential conversation with one of our senior advisers. We discuss your situation, assess eligibility, recommend the right programme (DSP or CIIP), and answer every question. No commitment. No pressure.

Duration: 45–60 minutes

Engage Stanford Knight

If you decide to proceed, we formalise our engagement. You receive a clear engagement letter outlining scope, timeline, costs, and responsibilities.

$5,000 government due-diligence fee is paid at this stage.
Duration: 1–2 days

Document Collection

We provide a comprehensive document checklist tailored to your circumstances. Our team guides you through every requirement — what’s needed, how to obtain it, how to format it. Nothing is left to guesswork. The full document set is available in advance on the Document Checklist resource page so you can begin gathering before you engage.

See the full Document Checklist
Duration: 7–14 days *Duration depends on your responsiveness and document availability.

Application Preparation

Our team compiles your formal application — every document reviewed, verified, formatted, and assembled to government standards. We check everything twice before submission.

25%  of the government contribution is paid immediately before lodgement.
Duration: 5–7 days

Government Submission

Your application is submitted directly to the Citizenship Commission of Vanuatu by our Port Vila team. Because our office is adjacent to the Commission, submission is immediate and any initial queries are handled same-day.

Duration: 1 day

Due Diligence & Processing

The Citizenship Commission conducts its due diligence — background checks, financial verification, sanctions screening. If government has questions, our team responds directly and immediately. Our proximity to the Commission means no delays waiting for intermediary communication.

Duration: 30–48 days (typical)

Approval, Oath & Passport

Your application is approved. You take the oath of allegiance — administered remotely via consulate or embassy — and your Vanuatu passport is issued and delivered securely to your specified address.

Remaining 75% is paid on approval. For CIIP, the $50,000 Impact Fund investment is confirmed.
Duration: 7–14 days
Typical total timeline
~60 days DSP — submission to citizenship approval
~60 days CIIP — submission to citizenship approval
+2–3 wks Plus a further 2–3 weeks for biometric enrolment and passport delivery (see Section 5 below).
After approval

From Approval to Passport in Hand

Approval is the milestone. The passport is the deliverable. Here is what happens between the two — managed end to end by your SKP team.

Current Enrolment Locations
Port Vila Head Office

Vanuatu Passport Office

Dubai

Vanuatu Consulate, UAE

Hong Kong

Vanuatu Consulate

Noumèa

Vanuatu Consulate, New Caledonia

Additional enrolment centres are coming online in the coming months as the Vanuatu Government continues to expand its consular biometric infrastructure. Your SKP advisor will keep you informed as new locations open.

Passport-Stage Fees

What the passport stage costs

Your headline citizenship cost is all-inclusive. The fees in this section apply only to the passport issuance step, after citizenship has been granted. There are two routes, and they are priced differently.

Billed separately · At passport issuance

Passport application fee

Paid directly to the Vanuatu Passport Office when your passport is issued.

No biometric capture fee.

VUV 100,000 per person

Biometric capture fee Overseas only

(Dubai, Hong Kong, Nouméa, or any future overseas centre):

Charged at the consulate when biometrics are taken outside Vanuatu.

USD 1,000 for the principal applicant and USD 800 / dependant
Most cost-effective route
No fee in Port Vila. Complete enrolment at the Passport Office in person and this cost disappears entirely.

Passport application fee

Paid directly to the Vanuatu Passport Office when your passport is issued.

No biometric capture fee.

VUV 200,000 per person

Biometric capture fee Overseas only

(Dubai, Hong Kong, Nouméa, or any future overseas centre):

Charged at the consulate when biometrics are taken outside Vanuatu.

USD 3,000 principal · USD 800 / dependant

For families travelling together, completing biometrics in Port Vila is the most cost-effective route — and combines naturally with a few days in the country whose citizenship you have just acquired. We lay out both options in writing as part of your post-approval briefing — precise fees, available appointment dates, and travel logistics — so you can decide based on convenience, cost, or both.

Our proximity

Our Port Vila office is directly adjacent to the Citizenship Commission. When government has a question, our team answers it the same day — often the same hour. Other agents wait for emails across time zones.

Our preparation

We check every document before submission. Incomplete or incorrectly formatted documents are the primary cause of delays in citizenship applications. Our preparation eliminates this risk.

Our relationships

We work with the Citizenship Commission daily. Our team knows the officials, understands the process, and anticipates requirements before they become complications.

Our track record

100% Success on all properly submitted applications

That statistic reflects the quality of our preparation and the rigour of our eligibility assessment.