Vanuatu Digital Residency
A secure, government-issued digital identity — and a permit to use defined Vanuatu services from anywhere in the world. The Estonia-style model, built for the Pacific. Not a visa, not physical residence, never citizenship.
Vanuatu, as a service
Vanuatu National Overseas Status — the Digital Residency — gives a vetted applicant a sovereign digital identity and lawful access to defined Vanuatu e-services: to authenticate, to sign, to deal with the Republic online, and in time to form and run a company through a modern digital registry.
Estonia pioneered this model in 2014 and has issued digital identities to people from more than 170 countries. Palau followed in the Pacific in 2022. The field of credible, well-regulated sovereign programmes is still small — and the first Pacific nation to run one at full integrity holds an advantage that later entrants cannot easily take back.
What a Digital Resident receives
A sovereign digital ID
Government-issued, KYC-verified digital identity — your credentials to deal with Vanuatu from anywhere.
Authentication & e-signature
Legally recognised authentication and electronic signature for defined dealings under the Act.
Access to e-services
A permit to use defined Vanuatu online services, with categories and entitlements set by the Schedule.
A path to digital business
First in line for the Digital Corporate Registry — company formation and administration, when that phase opens.
- Not a right to live in, enter or settle in Vanuatu — it is not a visa
- Not a travel document, and not a path to one
- Not citizenship, nationality or any political right
- Not, by itself, tax residency — seek independent advice on your own position
Five steps, fully online
Apply online
Identity details and documents submitted digitally to the Bureau.
Screening
KYC, AML/CFT and sanctions screening under the common statutory framework — the same rulebook as every programme.
Government decision
Grant or refusal decided by the Bureau. The operator administers; the Government decides.
Digital ID issued
Credentials issued and entered in the register; authentication and e-signature become available.
Use & renew
Access defined e-services from anywhere; renew by subscription, subject to continued compliance.
The registry, and the digital economy after it
The Digital Residency is the identity layer of a wider national platform. The Bill already enacts the Digital Corporate Registry (Schedule 4) as a later phase; beyond it lie value-added services built on verified identity. Each layer compounds the last — turning a single programme into a durable digital-economy revenue base for the Republic, and the capabilities it builds in cybersecurity, compliance and financial technology stay in the country and its people.
Be first in the Pacific’s digital front door
Register your interest and be notified when Digital Residency opens for applications.