Vanuatu has a chequered history and has remained center of focus, when it comes to citizenship by investment in the pacific.
Vanuatu first introduced “passport for convenience” scheme along with other pacific island tax havens in the 1990’s. During the period 1996–1997, roughly 300 Vanuatu passports are believed to have been sold under “passports-for-cash” programmes. In 1994, two Australian real estate developers presented schemes to the Vanuatu government involving the sale of Vanuatu passports to investors. In the first, real estate developer John Avram and his Melbourne-based associates suggested developing an offshore financial centre on Moso Island with its own bank, casino, companies registrar, financial markets, and through it to offer Vanuatu residency and citizenship to business investors.
The Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP) was initially proposed by Vanuatu Registry Services Limited (Deputy Commissioner of the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission) in early 2012 and fully adopted by the Government of Vanuatu in April 2014. The objective of the plan is to create local jobs, stimulate the economy and keep the national budget balanced. The citizenship is for life, and does not require visiting Vanuatu. The investment for citizenship required under this scheme was $260,000 . CIIP citizens do not have a right to vote or run for public office
Vanuatu Economic Rehabilitation Programme (VERP) was introduced in 2015 with the aim of raising revenue post Cyclone Pam through a fast-track citizenship program. Successful applicants have been approved and received their Citizenship Certificates as well as passports already. It is a cooperative program that involves the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission, the Immigration Department, the State Law Office, Finance Intelligence Unit, the Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority, the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (in the case of formation of companies), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office as the Minister responsible for Citizenship.
VERP was phased out by March 2017 to be replaced by similar programmes – Vanuatu Development Support Programme (VDSP) and Vanuatu Contribution Programme (VCP)
In March 2018, Vanuatu significantly reduced prices of VCP/DSP schemes from $220,000 to $150,000 to compete with other Caribbean countries, since then this program has become most popular around the world.