Based on careful monitoring and assessment of Vanuatu's citizenship schemes for investors, the EU has concluded that they have serious shortcomings that could pose a risk to the EU, in particular due to:
- an extremely low refusal rate, which raises doubts about the reliability of security and due diligence checks
- the absence of requirements for physical presence or residence, short processing times, and the lack of information exchange with applicants' countries of origin or residence
- the granting of citizenship to applicants listed in Interpol databases
- the nationalities of successful applicants, including several countries whose citizens require a visa to enter the EU
Next steps
The decision will be published in the Official Journal and will take effect two months after publication. Under the visa waiver agreement, notice of a suspension decision must be given to the other party no later than two months before it takes effect.
Background
The visa waiver agreement has applied between the EU and Vanuatu since 2015. This agreement allows Vanuatu citizens to travel to the EU without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
In recent years, Vanuatu has introduced additional citizenship schemes for investors, and the number of successful applicants has grown. In 2017, the Commission began investigating these schemes, as they raised serious concerns due to weaknesses in their security. The Commission also warned Vanuatu's authorities about the suspension clauses contained in the visa waiver agreement. Despite a commitment by Vanuatu's authorities to carry out reforms to address these issues, in April 2021 the government of Vanuatu took further steps to establish a new citizenship program.
In this context, the Commission concluded that the investor schemes operating in Vanuatu run counter to the objectives of EU visa policy, and on January 12, 2022, proposed a partial suspension of the visa-free agreement with Vanuatu.
Source: IMI Daily
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