Vanuatu tourist and visitor visa

The tourist visa is meant for travellers with a genuine intention to visit Vanuatu for tourism and leisure or to see family and friends for a short period. It allows one entry and a stay of 120 days (four months). The visitor visa is shorter, 30 days on a single entry, and suits visits to friends or relatives and attending meetings or conferences. Both classes forbid employment, commercial and business activity.

In the Immigration Act No. 17 of 2010, a visitor visa is granted for 30 days and expires early if you leave before then, and an extended visitor visa runs for more than 30 days but less than 12 months, with a ceiling of 18 months in total in any three consecutive years.

Nationals of exempt countries obtain the tourist or visitor visa on arrival, and no application charge is payable for a visitor visa by an exempt person. Section 2 of the Act defines exempt persons as nationals of Commonwealth countries and of European Union member states, unless a country is excluded by regulation, nationals of Melanesian Spearhead Group states and other classes prescribed by regulation. Everyone else must apply and be approved before travelling.

The exemption list linked from the eVisa portal is an archived 2023 version, and some nationalities appear on it both among countries that get a visa on arrival and among those that must apply in advance. If your nationality is not clearly exempt, apply in advance on the eVisa portal or confirm your status with the Department of Immigration before relying on a visa on arrival.

Non-exempt applicants pay VUV 5,150 for the tourist visa and VUV 7,420 for the visitor visa through the eVisa application. People flying in who will leave by yacht, cruise ship or another vessel use the one-way ticket entry (120 days, single entry, listed at VUV 20,600); its approval must be shown to border officers on arrival. Passengers and crew of yachts and other small craft cleared through the online arrival pre-clearance receive a tourist visa in their passport at the seaport office. A transit visa (VUV 1,855) covers people who stay in a proclaimed area while travelling on to another country.

Both short-stay classes are listed as not extendable and do not allow a change of visa status inside Vanuatu. Under section 34 of the Act, a visitor visa can be applied for only from outside Vanuatu, and a person in the country can apply for another visa only while holding a valid one. Anyone who needs to stay longer or to work, study or invest must apply for the matching class. A bridging visa (VUV 15,450, up to three months) exists for people whose visa is expiring but who must finalise documents before leaving.

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 non-citizen who enters without a visa, or stays on after the visa ends, commits an offence under section 26 punishable by a fine of up to VT500,000, up to two years' imprisonment or both. 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.