With Bitcoin reaching out to almost $50,000, there has been increased interest from fintech investors applying citizenship by investment programs.
Vanuatu made headlines in 2018 becoming the first country to accept Bitcoin for citizenship by investment program. Unfortunately this information is not true to this.
We want to clarify some important things about accepting Bitcoin for Vanuatu DSP citizenship by investment program.
Update: We now accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other major cryptos directly for Vanuatu citizenship for all payments. Bitcoin can also used to prove USD 250,000 minimum asset requirement to apply for CBI. Please contact us for more information.
First of all, Vanuatu government and citizenship commission officially does not accept BTC for payments to citizenship program. This is because the high volatility of bitcoin plus impossible to do background checks on the source of funds.
Another eligibility check for applicants who apply for Vanuatu: You must also show evidence of USD 250,000 of total assets to apply for Vanuatu citizenship. Bank statements are accepted. This hidden requirement many people dont know.
Agents and service providers do not want to board high risk clients who have criminal background or origins of money from illegal bitcoin activities (drugs, hacking, terrorism etc).
Cryptocurrency due diligence is still an evolving industry.
There is a reason we tell our clients to convert to fiat through Coinbase. You can register free coinbase account. Coinbase supports crypto to bank account withdrawal in supported countries. Then withdraw to their bank account and payments must come from their bank accounts. Since Banks do their own KYC and AML compliance checks and this way, makes it possible for applicants pass due diligence and background checks by proving source of funds before being approved of citizenship and passport. These checks are done by Financial intelligence unit in Vanuatu.
A police certificate, not older than 3 months also required from authorities from where you live.
Another important probity check is the name of senders bank account must match the name of main application applicant applying for Vanuatu citizenship.
If you have mined bitcoin or a hodler you have to prove it using blockchain transactions.
Vanuatu citizenship at todays price will cost you 2.83 BTC equivalent of USD 130,000 for single persons. Additional costs apply for family members and children. As per DSP program rules, you only need to pay 5%, 25% and 70% in stages spread over 2 months. The standard procedure is to pay due diligence fee first and the rest only after approval. You dont have to make the investment if your application is refused. Please also use our CBI calculator to see the prices by specifying the correct ages.
Important Eligibility
You can only apply for Vanuatu citizenship for investments if you meet ALL of the following conditions.
- Applicants must be able to provide proof of the source of funds for a Due Diligence verification of no less than $250,000
- An applicant, or anyone included in an application, must not have any criminal record, and must be a high standing member of their country and community.
- The main applicant must be at least 18 years old, and below 65 at the time of application submission
- The Vanuatu program is not open for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea or Yemen, unless they have permanent residence outside those countries and have lived outside of those countries for more than 5 years.
