Does Your Country Allow It?

Whether you can keep your first passport after becoming a citizen of Vanuatu depends on your own country's nationality law, not on Vanuatu's. Vanuatu allows dual citizenship and does not require applicants to renounce any existing nationality. The real question is whether the country that issued your current passport lets you acquire another citizenship voluntarily and remain its citizen.

This page is for anyone considering the Vanuatu Development Support Program who has not yet checked that question. It explains the main ways countries treat a second nationality, gives a general picture for several common nationalities, sets out what can happen if a rule is ignored, and lists the points to settle before you pay a due diligence fee. Nationality law changes, so treat the examples as a starting point and confirm your own position with your government or a lawyer qualified in your country.

Why Your Home Country, Not Vanuatu, Decides

Citizenship is granted and withdrawn by each state under its own law. Vanuatu can make you a citizen of Vanuatu, but it has no say over whether your existing country keeps you as a citizen. Some countries do not care whether you hold other passports. Others treat the voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality as an act that ends their citizenship automatically, often without any notice or hearing.

That is why the decision to apply is really two decisions. One is whether Vanuatu citizenship suits your purposes. The other is whether the cost of acquiring it, in terms of your existing nationality, is acceptable. Our page on the legality of Vanuatu dual citizenship covers the Vanuatu side; this page covers the other.

How Do Countries Treat a Second Nationality?

Most nationality laws fall into one of four broad patterns:

1. Permitted without conditions. You may acquire another citizenship and keep your own.
2. Permitted with formalities. You may keep your citizenship, but must notify the authorities, register the new nationality or meet another condition.
3. Permitted only with prior permission. Keeping your citizenship depends on a retention permit or approval obtained before you acquire the new one.
4. Not permitted. Voluntary acquisition of another nationality leads to loss of your citizenship, sometimes automatically.

A General Picture for Common Nationalities

The table summarizes the general position for a selection of countries as commonly understood in October 2026. It is an orientation, not legal advice: it is not exhaustive, does not cover every exception, and nationality laws change. Check with your authorities, or a lawyer qualified in your country, before applying for Vanuatu citizenship.

What Happens If You Ignore the Rule?

In countries where loss is automatic, the consequences can surface years later, often at an inconvenient moment: when you try to renew a passport, register a child's birth, inherit property, vote or sell land that is restricted to citizens. You may find you have been treated as a foreign national for some time without knowing it. In countries that require notification, failing to notify may lead to fines or other penalties even though your citizenship survives.

Not telling your home country about a Vanuatu passport does not make the problem go away. The legal effect usually depends on the act of acquisition, not on whether anyone found out. And in the Vanuatu application itself you must declare every nationality accurately, so the record exists from the start.

Renounce or Keep: How Should You Decide?

If your country permits dual nationality, there is usually nothing to decide: you keep both. If it does not, weigh the following before applying:

• What rights you would lose with your current citizenship, including residence, work, property ownership, inheritance and family registration.
• Whether a long-term residence status, such as Overseas Citizen of India, would preserve the rights that matter to you.
• Whether a retention permit is available and how long it takes to obtain.
• Whether Vanuatu citizenship alone meets your needs: the Vanuatu passport gives visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 88 destinations, but Vanuatu nationals need a visa for the Schengen area since 4 February 2023 and for the UK since 19 July 2023.
• How the change would affect your tax position; our page on tax and dual nationality sets out the general principles.

Questions to Settle Before You Apply

Before you engage a designated agent or pay the US$5,000 due diligence fee, get clear answers to these points:

1. Does my country permit voluntary acquisition of another citizenship, and on what conditions?
2. Do I need permission in advance, or notification afterwards?
3. Do the same rules apply to my spouse and children included in the Vanuatu application?
4. If I would lose my citizenship, what status, if any, would replace it?
5. Have I received this answer in writing from an authority or a qualified lawyer?

With those answers in hand, the Vanuatu application becomes a straightforward process. The requirements for the file itself are on our page explaining what Vanuatu citizenship requires.