Where It Takes You

A Vanuatu passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 88 countries and territories. That number used to be higher. Significant changes, including the suspension of access to the EU Schengen Area and the United Kingdom, have dramatically altered its global mobility power. For any current or prospective holder, understanding these new rules isn't just important—it's essential.

Visa-Waiver Suspension - A temporary or permanent revocation of a prior agreement that allowed citizens of one country to enter another without a pre-approved visa. As per EU law, such a suspension can be enacted due to security concerns, as seen with Vanuatu under amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806.

The Critical Challenge: Recent Changes to Vanuatu's Visa-Free Access

The biggest issue facing Vanuatu passport holders is the severe reduction in visa-free travel, especially to Europe. What was once a key benefit has been rescinded. This isn't a static list; it's a fluid geopolitical situation demanding careful navigation.

Most damaging was the suspension of the visa-waiver agreement with the European Union's Schengen Area. Citing concerns over Vanuatu's citizenship by investment programmes, the EU acted. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/693, the exemption was first temporarily suspended for passports issued from 25 May 2015.

This then led to a much broader suspension affecting all Vanuatu nationals from 4 February 2023 to 3 February 2025. This action, grounded in Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, means travel to the 27-nation bloc now requires a pre-arranged Schengen visa. If you miss this deadline, your application will simply be rejected. The original visa-waiver agreement, which had applied since 28 May 2015, was formally killed off, with the visa requirement becoming permanent from 3 February 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2025/11.

Making its own decision, the United Kingdom government also withdrew visa-free access. Effective from 19 July 2023, all citizens of Vanuatu are now required to obtain a Standard Visitor Visa before travelling to the UK. These changes fundamentally gut the passport's value for those prioritizing European travel. A detailed review of its remaining benefits, and the Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment program itself, is now more critical than ever.

Understanding Your Passport's Power: Vanuatu Passport Ranking and Statistics

To make an informed decision, you must quantify the passport's current strength with objective data. While its power has diminished without EU and UK access, it absolutely retains value for travel to other key regions.

According to the Henley Passport Index, the Vanuatu passport recently ranked 50th globally. This provides access to approximately 88 destinations without needing a prior visa. That puts it in a mid-tier category—stronger than many passports in Africa and South Asia, but now lagging behind Caribbean programmes that kept their Schengen access.

A more detailed breakdown of this access reveals the following:

• Visa-Free: You can enter about 48 countries with just a valid passport.
• Visa on Arrival (VoA): Roughly 32 countries will issue a visa when you land at the airport or border. This can sometimes mean unexpected fees or delays, so it's wise to have local currency and allow extra time.
• Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA): A handful of destinations (around 3) require a simple online pre-registration before you fly.

Other indices paint a similar picture. Other publishers arrive at slightly different totals because each applies its own convention on visa on arrival, electronic visas and territories. But remember, these figures are dynamic. They can change overnight based on evolving diplomatic relationships. The key takeaway is this: the passport's utility now depends entirely on your specific travel patterns, favoring those with interests in Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean.

The Complete Vanuatu Passport Visa-Free Countries List by Region

Here is a detailed breakdown of destinations accessible to Vanuatu passport holders without a pre-arranged visa. Always distinguish between fully visa-free countries and those requiring a visa on arrival (VoA) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA).

Asia

Vanuatu provides strong access to key economic and leisure hubs across Asia.

• Hong Kong: 90 days
• Singapore: 30 days
• Malaysia: 30 days
• Philippines: 30 days
• Israel: 90 days (eTA required)
• Indonesia: 30 days (VoA)
• Cambodia: 30 days (VoA)
• Laos: 30 days (VoA)
• Maldives: 30 days (VoA)
• Nepal: 90 days (VoA)
• Timor-Leste: 30 days (VoA)

Africa

Access across Africa is a mix of visa-free and visa-on-arrival arrangements.

• Botswana: 90 days
• Eswatini (Swaziland): 30 days
• Gambia: 90 days
• Mauritius: 90 days
• Tanzania: 90 days (VoA available)
• Uganda: 90 days
• Zambia: 90 days
• Zimbabwe: 90 days
• Madagascar: 90 days (VoA)
• Mozambique: 30 days (VoA)
• Seychelles: 90 days

Oceania / Pacific

As a Pacific nation, Vanuatu enjoys excellent access to its neighbours.

• Fiji: 120 days
• Micronesia: 30 days
• Kiribati: 90 days
• Samoa: 60 days (Entry Permit on arrival)
• Palau: 30 days (VoA)
• Solomon Islands: 90 days (Visitor's Permit on arrival)
• Tonga: 30 days (VoA)
• Tuvalu: 30 days (VoA)

The Americas & Caribbean

The passport allows for significant travel throughout the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America.

• Antigua and Barbuda: 180 days
• Bahamas: 90 days
• Barbados: 180 days
• Dominica: 180 days
• Dominican Republic: 30 days
• Grenada: 90 days
• Haiti: 90 days
• Jamaica: Visa-free
• St. Kitts and Nevis: 90 days (eTA may be required)
• St. Lucia: 42 days
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 90 days
• Ecuador: 90 days
• Panama: 90 days
• Peru: 180 days

A Note on Europe (Post-Suspension)

Travel to the Schengen Zone now requires a Schengen visa. This is not optional. It applies to all 27 member states, including major destinations like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. The visa-free agreement is suspended. While some non-Schengen European countries might maintain separate bilateral agreements (e.g., Russia allows 90-day visa-free stays), you must verify these independently before booking any travel.

A Note on the United Kingdom, Australia & New Zealand

• United Kingdom: A Standard Visitor Visa is mandatory for all travel. Visa-free access was revoked on 19 July 2023.
• Australia: You need an eVisitor (subclass 651) visa. This is an electronic visa that must be secured before you travel.
• New Zealand: An NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) is required before you can board your flight.

This article is published by an independent law firm for informational purposes only and does not represent or claim affiliation with any government body, international organization, or official authority.

Which Countries Accept the Passport

The list below covers every destination open to a Vanuatu passport without a visa obtained beforehand, separated by how admission works. The ranking figure of 88 is built from 55 visa-free countries, 26 granting a visa on arrival and 7 partially recognised territories given separately at the foot of the page. Stay lengths are as published and are the destination's decision, not Vanuatu's.

Visa-free entry

You arrive, you show the passport, you are admitted. No advance application and no fee.

Africa (11)

Destination	Permitted stay
Angola	30 days
Botswana	90 days
Eswatini	30 days
Gambia	90 days
Lesotho	90 days
Mauritius	90 days
Rwanda	30 days
Tanzania	90 days
Uganda	90 days
Zambia	90 days
Zimbabwe	90 days

The Americas and the Caribbean (17)

Destination	Permitted stay
Antigua and Barbuda	180 days
Bahamas	90 days
Barbados	180 days
Belize	—
Costa Rica	30 days
Dominican Republic	30 days
Ecuador	90 days
El Salvador	90 days
Grenada	90 days
Guatemala	90 days
Haiti	90 days
Honduras	90 days
Jamaica	—
Nicaragua	90 days
Panama	90 days
Peru	180 days
Trinidad and Tobago	—

Asia and the Pacific (7)

Destination	Permitted stay
Fiji	120 days
Hong Kong	90 days
Kiribati	90 days
Malaysia	30 days
Micronesia	30 days
Philippines	30 days
Singapore	30 days

Europe (5)

Destination	Permitted stay
Belarus	30 days
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days
Moldova	90 days / 180
Montenegro	90 days
Russia	90 days per calendar year

Territories (15)

Destination	Permitted stay
Anguilla	3 months
Bermuda	—
British Virgin Islands	—
Cayman Islands	—
Cook Islands	31 days
French Guiana	—
French Polynesia	—
Gibraltar	—
Montserrat	—
New Caledonia	—
Niue	30 days
Pitcairn Islands	14 days, landing fee
Réunion	—
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	—
Wallis and Futuna	3 months

Visa on arrival

These issue the visa at the port of entry. Expect to pay, and expect some of them to ask for proof of onward travel or accommodation first. Convenient, though the admission decision has simply been moved to the moment you land.

Africa (6)

Destination	Permitted stay
Burundi	30 days
Cape Verde	30 days
Comoros	45 days
Egypt	30 days
Senegal	30 days
Seychelles	3 months

Asia and the Pacific (10)

Destination	Permitted stay
Macau	—
Maldives	30 days
Marshall Islands	90 days
Nauru	90 days
Palau	30 days
Samoa	60 days
Solomon Islands	45 days
Timor-Leste	30 days
Tonga	31 days
Tuvalu	30 days

Both eVisa and visa on arrival (10)

Destination	Permitted stay
Bolivia	90 days
Cambodia	30 days
Guinea-Bissau	90 days
Laos	30 days
Madagascar	90 days
Malawi	30 days
Mozambique	30 days
Nepal	90 days
Sierra Leone	30 days
Thailand	15–30 days

Partially recognised territories

They form part of the ranking total, so they appear here for completeness. The conditions attached to several make the access considerably less practical than it looks.

Territory	Access and conditions
Kosovo	visa free, 90 days
Northern Cyprus	visa free
Palestine	visa free
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	visa free; a permit is needed beyond 28 days in any 12 months
South Ossetia	visa free, but entry requires a Russian multiple-entry visa and three days' notice
Transnistria	visa free; registration required after 24 hours
Somaliland	visa on arrival, 30 days, US$30

Electronic visa — not visa-free

A further 40 destinations will grant an electronic visa to Vanuatu citizens. An eVisa is an application, a fee and a decision in the ordinary sense, merely handled online, and it is left out of the 88 above. Including it is why some sources describe this passport as reaching well over a hundred places.

Africa (16)

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Togo

.

Asia (20)

Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

.

Europe and the Americas (4)

Albania, Colombia, Cuba, Ukraine

.

Countries That Require a Visa

What is missing from the list tends to matter more than what is on it, and two of the absences are recent.

The Schengen Area. Visa required. The waiver was suspended in full on 4 February 2023 and made permanent by Regulation (EU) 2025/11 of 19 December 2024, which moved Vanuatu to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 with effect from 3 February 2025.

The United Kingdom. Visa required since 19 July 2023, when Vanuatu was added to the visa national list in Appendix Visitor of the Immigration Rules.

The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan. Visa required. None of these has ever been open to Vanuatu passport holders without one.

Immigration rules are the destination's to set and can change overnight. The position above was correct when written; verify with the relevant immigration authority before you book.