The Council of the European Union has officially decided to remove Vnuatu from the list of countries whose citizens will no longer be permitted visa-free travel to the bloc.
The ending of visa exemption for Vanuatu was decided today, December 12, 2024, Schengen.News reports.
The visa-free travel agreement with Vanuatu was temporarily suspended back in 2022. However, since the country failed to meet the conditions set by the EU about its investor citizenship scheme, which has resulted in security and migration risks, the EU body decided to end the agreement permanently.
The EU is revoking the visa exemption, which had already been suspended since 2022 because Vanuatu runs an investor citizenship scheme which has resulted in security and migration risks for the EU.
The decision of the EU to end visa exemption for Vanuatu means that all its nationals will now need to undergo the Schengen visa application process and obtain the document in order to be able to enter the territory of the EU.
The same rules will also apply to foreigners who have obtained Vanuatu’s citizenship through investment. They will no longer enjoy visa-free entry privileges and will need to hold a valid Schengen visa to visit the bloc for any purpose.
Vanuatu Has Abused EU’s Trusts, Rapporteur Cunha Said
Vanuatu became part of the list of countries whose citizens are permitted visa-free entry to the EU on May 28, 2015, and since May 25, 2015, the country has been granting citizenship to foreign nationals via investor citizenship schemes.
The EU had some concerns about the investor citizenship scheme of Vanuatu and established a dialogue with the country to remedy the situation. However, despite the efforts made by the EU, the concerns in relation to Vanuatu’s investor citizenship scheme continued to persist, leading to the permanent ending of visa exemption.
The Council’s decision follows the EU Parliament’s votewhich took place earlier in November.
In his address after the voting, Rapporteur Paulo Cunha said that Vanuatu has been selling its citizenship and abusing the trust of the EU.
He further stressed that by now, it is clear that this third country’s citizenship program allows individuals to obtain citizenship in exchange for financial investments and grants them visa-free access to the Schengen Area.
Cunha also said that the requirements Vanuatu has for those who want to obtain citizenship via investment are very concerning while noting that the short processing periods that the country has been applying represent a problem, too, as this does not permit sufficient background checks.