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Pathway

Vanuatu Citizenship by Family or Ancestry

Vanuatu Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

Vanuatu’s family rules distinguish citizenship from birth, applications through certain parents or grandparents, and applications through a spouse. The correct process depends on your birth date, family relationship, and the relative’s citizenship history.

Citizen parent at birth
A person born after July 30, 1980 with a Vanuatu-citizen parent is a citizen from birth
Other ancestry cases
Confirm the parent-or-grandparent category and application with the Citizenship Office
Spouse applications
Legal marriage, at least two years living together in Vanuatu, and a passed citizenship test in Bislama

Summary

Vanuatu’s family citizenship provisions include citizenship from birth and separate applications through ancestry or marriage, each with different legal requirements. Constitution Article 11 makes a qualifying post-independence child a citizen from birth. Form C(a) is an entitlement application with ancestry and, where naturalization is relied on, timing rules. Form B requires a legal marriage, at least two years living in Vanuatu with the citizen spouse before applying, and the citizenship office's Bislama test.

Separately, the Citizenship Office uses Form B for a non-citizen spouse and Form C(a) for citizenship through the family category called entitlement. Its application guide says entitlement can apply where a parent or grandparent is of Ni-Vanuatu ancestry or is a citizen through an approved application after residence. A child can also sometimes be included when a parent is granted naturalization. These routes should not be combined without first identifying the correct legal basis.

Finding the right Vanuatu family citizenship process
  1. Map the family and citizenship history Check birth dates, relationships, and when each relative became a citizen.
  2. Confirm whether citizenship already exists or needs an application Use the correct birth, family-entitlement, spouse, or included-child process.
  3. Complete the required evidence and final steps Follow the applicable residence, test, oath, certificate, and identity requirements.

Some children are already citizens from birth; spouse and other family applications use different rules.

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Eligibility

Child of a citizen

For a person born after 30 July 1980, start with Article 11's automatic-at-birth rule. Evidence normally includes the applicant's full birth record and proof that at least one parent was a Vanuatu citizen when the applicant was born. If the parent became a citizen through an application after the birth, check whether the child was included in that application. The Citizenship Office says this does not establish entitlement, but section 12(3A) of the Act allows a later application for a child omitted from the parent's application.

The Citizenship Office's entitlement guidance also refers to a parent or grandparent of Ni-Vanuatu ancestry or a citizen through an approved application after residence. Because “ancestry,” automatic citizenship, and citizenship through a naturalized relative are legally different, the Office should confirm whether Form C(a), civil registration, or another form is required.

Spouse of a citizen

A non-citizen spouse may apply under Form B only if the marriage is legal and the applicant has lived with the Vanuatu-citizen spouse in Vanuatu for at least two years before applying. The amended Citizenship Act also requires the spouse applicant to sit and pass a citizenship test in Bislama. Marriage alone, or two years of marriage while living abroad, does not meet the published test.

Family included in a parent’s or spouse’s citizenship application

The amended law allows a naturalization applicant to request inclusion of a spouse and children named in the application. The spouse must personally state that they wish to become a citizen. Inclusion depends on the main application being granted and on the family members satisfying the form and document requirements. The Act also allows a later application for an omitted child; ask the Office which procedure applies.

Across these routes, expect certified birth, marriage, name-change, adoption, custody, identity, and Vanuatu citizenship records. Immigration may need to certify residence or the family basis before the Citizenship Office decides the application.

What This Route Allows

An automatic citizen can register the citizenship and apply for citizen identity and passport documents once the claim is accepted and the records are complete. A person granted citizenship by the Commission can do the same after completing the oath and certificate steps.

Citizenship allows the person to live in Vanuatu without a residence visa. Vanuatu now recognizes dual citizenship, but the laws of the person's other country remain separate and may require notice, permission, or renunciation.

The Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Department says a person newly granted citizenship must apply for a National Identity Card within 28 days. Passport issuance is a separate documentation process; a citizenship application or family relationship by itself is not a passport.

What This Route Is Not

This is not proof that every child or grandchild of a Vanuatu citizen needs a new citizenship grant. Some children are citizens automatically; others must establish entitlement or another route. Applying under the wrong form can obscure a stronger existing claim.

It is not immediate citizenship for a foreign spouse. The applicant must meet the period of living together in Vanuatu, Bislama test, document, and decision requirements. A partner who is not legally married should examine the partner residence visa rather than assume the spouse-citizenship rule applies.

It is also not a way to bypass missing civil records. Where names, parentage, dates, or the relative's citizenship basis differ across documents, resolve those discrepancies with the Citizenship Office or civil registry before applying.

Next Steps

  1. Build a short family timeline: each person's birth date and place, marriage dates, and when and how the parent, grandparent, or spouse became a Vanuatu citizen.
  2. For a post-independence child of a citizen parent, ask the Citizenship Office or civil registry whether this is registration of citizenship acquired at birth rather than a grant application.
  3. For entitlement, obtain the parent or grandparent's birth, ancestry, naturalization, citizenship-certificate, National ID, or passport evidence and confirm that Form C(a) is correct.
  4. For a spouse case, document the legal marriage and at least two years living together in Vanuatu, and obtain the current Bislama test instructions before applying on Form B.
  5. Obtain true application forms from the Citizenship Office or a recognized consultant. The Office warns that online copies are for review and that official application forms should come from the Office.
  6. Complete any Immigration certification, oath, new-citizen registration, and passport steps only after the correct citizenship basis has been accepted.

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Other routes in Vanuatu.

Sources