Vanuatu’s passport deals exposed

As US looks to ban ni-Vanuatu entry, leaks reveal dangerous people buy passports

The United States is considering a ban on Vanuatu passport holders - a move that surprises no one familiar with the Pacific nation’s descent into a murky trade of selling passports, citizenship, its flag on dodgy ships and, some would argue, it's very soul.

Britain and the European Union have already shut their doors to Vanuatu’s ‘golden passports’ and visa-free entry.  In February the Paris based independent Intelligence Online published a three part series on Vanuatu and its golden passports. Its extensive reporting may have prompted Washington to include Vanuatu as the only Pacific nation facing an entry ban into the US.

Intelligence Online obtained the official list of foreign nationals who had acquired Vanuatu passports. It allowed visa-free travel to 130 countries and, said Intelligence Online, ‘is favoured by intelligence and business figures alike. The long list of 1,961 names includes a Central Asian spymaster, sanctioned Russian oligarchs, Ukrainian businessmen, Asian billionaires and diplomats.’

The passports are lucrative, selling for US$130,000 each, funding around a third of Vanuatu’s budget. Intelligence Online adds: 

‘Over a hundred businesses sell Vanuatu passports. Often registered with an address abroad, they are well connected with the administrative departments responsible for issuing documents in Port Vila. And the business is lucrative: of the $130,000 needed to acquire a passport, the selling firm pockets $70,000.’