Are you in the market for a second passport? One that can get you into scores of countries — including Europe, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia — without needing a visa?
Or perhaps you’d like to park your money in a tax haven where there are no personal or corporate income taxes.
Maybe you’d just like to get away from the rat race and live on a picturesque tropical island in the South Pacific.
Vanuatu, then, could be the place for you.
These are some of the selling points of Vanuatu’s citizenship by investment scheme, or cash-for-passports as it’s also known locally.
Sales have been booming in recent years, providing the Government with an unexpected but lucrative source of revenue.
But not everyone is happy about the scheme, with several prominent locals — including former presidents and high-ranking chiefs — saying it undermines the value of Vanuatu citizenship and the country’s fight to gain independence from its former colonial masters, the French and British.
The recent deportation of a group of Chinese nationals, some of whom had obtained Vanuatu citizenship, focused even more adverse attention on the scheme.
So how does it work?
Many countries have citizenship by investment schemes but often applicants are required to become permanent residents first and then only after a number of years do they become eligible to become a citizen.
Under Vanuatu’s scheme, successful applicants can become citizens within a matter of months, and there’s no requirement to reside in the country or even set foot on Vanuatu soil at all. St. Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment.
