Vanuatu close family visa

The applicant must be the spouse or a dependent child of either a Vanuatu citizen or a non-citizen who resides in Vanuatu on a visa that allows secondary applicants. The Immigration Act defines a member of the family as a partner, meaning a legal spouse or a person in a marriage-like relationship, a dependent child, meaning an unmarried child under 18 or aged 18 to 20 and dependent on the person, and anyone else the Director decides should be treated as family.

Descendants of Vanuatu citizens and former citizens have their own class, the Ni-Vanuatu descent visa (12 months, multiple entries, VUV 20,600, extendable, no work).

The fee is VUV 61,800 per adult and VUV 5,150 for applicants under 18. The visa lasts 12 months, allows multiple entries and can be extended. Family members of a residence visa holder can also be granted a residence visa for the same period as the holder under section 30 of the Act, and partners and children of permanent residents a permanent residence visa under section 30A.

Apply on the eVisa portal under the close family visa, attach the passport and proof of the marriage or parent-child relationship along with the sponsor's citizenship or visa, and pay the fee. Renew before the 12 months end. Applications are lodged on the Vanuatu eVisa portal run by the Department of Immigration and Passport Services, Tamarama Building, Kumul Highway, Port Vila, telephone +678 22354, email evisa@vanuatu.gov.vu, open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 17:00. The portal lists each class with its duration, number of entries, fee in vatu, whether it can be extended and whether a change of status is allowed.

Under section 37 of the Immigration Act No. 17 of 2010, a visa is granted only if the applicant is not a prohibited immigrant, passes the character test, does not have a contagious disease or mental condition that puts community health at risk, has provided any security required, and has the financial means to support themselves and any dependants. Under section 38, a sentence of 12 months or more, or several terms totalling two years or more, means the character test is failed, although the Director may waive minor offences committed at least five years earlier.

A refusal notice must state which criteria were not met and that you may ask the Minister to review it. Under section 58, the review request is made in writing within 14 days of the notice; the Minister must affirm, vary or set aside the decision within 14 days and send the reasons within 7 days. Under section 59, the Minister's decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 21 days.

Close family visa holders must not engage in employment, commercial or business activities, and a change of visa status is not allowed. A family member who wants to work needs a work permit and an employment visa of their own. Under section 47(2) of the Act, when a principal's visa is cancelled, visas of the same class held by family members because of that relationship are cancelled too. Every visa is subject to the general conditions in section 44: obey the laws of Vanuatu and the visa conditions, do not behave in a way prejudicial to peace, good order or public morality, and tell the Director of any significant change in your personal or financial circumstances. Under section 47 the Director may cancel a visa, for example for a breach of conditions, false statements or loss of financial means, after giving the holder 14 days to answer a notice of proposed cancellation.