The legal framework
One framework Act: the institution and the rulebook in the main body, the programmes in Schedules with the force of law — a standard, respected drafting approach used in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.
Where the Bill stands
Council of Ministers approvalDecision N°273 of 6 October 2025 establishes the programme, the Bureau and the Task Force.
Drafting Instructions settledThe Task Force settles the instructions with the responsible Ministries and the State Law Office.
3Bill finalised with Parliamentary CounselCurrent stageThe Vanuatu National Bureau Bill 2026 is being finalised for presentation to Parliament.
4Before ParliamentPresentation, debate and passage of the Bill by the Parliament of the Republic.
5CommencementThe Bureau is constituted and the programmes open in stages by Order in the Gazette.
This tracker is updated as the Bill progresses. Status shown as at the date in the page footer.
Foundation
From Decision N°273 to the Bill
The programme rests on Council of Ministers Decision N°273 of 6 October 2025, which approved the programmes, the Bureau and the delivery partnership, and appointed the implementing Task Force under the Prime Minister’s authority. The Vanuatu National Bureau Bill 2026 turns that decision into a national foundation: a statute that survives changes of government and earns the confidence of international partners.
The Bill consolidates programmes previously drafted as separate bills into one instrument — one set of definitions, one integrity framework, one Bureau — presenting a single defensible Act to Parliament and to international reviewers.
The main Act — Parts 1 to 7
- Part 1 — Preliminary
- Short title, commencement, definitions, and the objects of the Act — including the citizenship firewall.
- Part 2 — The Bureau
- Establishes the Bureau as a statutory body — functions, Board, governance, and accountability to the Council of Ministers and Parliament. Includes the partnership and revenue arrangements.
- Part 3 — Common Regulatory Framework
- AML/CFT and due diligence, data protection, confidentiality, cybersecurity, and international cooperation — applied across every programme.
- Part 4 — The Programmes
- How each programme is established, who is eligible, and how applications are decided and documents issued.
- Part 5 — Offences and Penalties
- Fraud, misuse and false documents — the penalties that protect the integrity of the system.
- Part 6 — Review, Appeals and Regulations
- Administrative review, appeals to the Supreme Court, and the regulation-making power.
- Part 7 — Miscellaneous
- Fees, transitional provisions, review of the Act, and protection from personal liability.
The Schedules — where the programmes live
- Schedule 1 — National Status
- Eligibility, application, grant, renewal, dependants, revocation, the National Register and the Certificate.
- Schedule 2 — Non-Citizen Passport
- The travel document of the National Status — in its own Schedule because it amends the Passports Act and meets ICAO Doc 9303.
- Schedule 3 — Digital Residency
- The online digital-identity and digital-services programme, its categories and entitlements.
- Schedule 4 — Digital Corporate Registry
- The enabling framework for a digital company registry — a later phase, opened once the core programmes are proven.
- Schedule 5 — Amendments
- Consequential amendments to the Passports Act [CAP 20], the Immigration Act [CAP 66] and the International Companies Act [CAP 222].
- Schedules 6–7 — Fees & Forms
- The fee schedule and prescribed forms — adjustable by regulation, after consultation, for administrative flexibility.
The key point: the things that matter most — what the programmes are, the citizenship firewall, the safeguards — sit at the level of primary legislation, which only Parliament can alter. Only routine matters such as fee amounts and form layouts can be adjusted by regulation, and even those follow a consultation process.
Documents
Key documents are published here as they are released.
Glossary
- AML / CFT
- Anti-Money-Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism — international rules to stop criminal or terrorist money, built into the Bill for both programmes.
- At-risk
- An investment that can rise or fall in value and is not guaranteed. The National Development Fund is at-risk — not capital-protected.
- The Bureau
- The Vanuatu National Bureau — the Government statutory body created by the Bill to run the programmes.
- COM Decision N°273
- The Council of Ministers decision of 6 October 2025 that established the programme and appointed the implementing Task Force.
- Digital Residency
- An online identity and permit (Estonia-style e-Residency) letting a non-citizen use defined Vanuatu services from abroad. Not a right to live in Vanuatu.
- ICAO Doc 9303
- The international standard for machine-readable travel documents, used by passports worldwide. The Non-Citizen travel document follows it.
- KYC
- Know-Your-Customer — verifying who an applicant really is before issuing anything.
- National Development Fund
- An independent, at-risk, regulated investment fund that channels qualifying investments into government bonds and strategic national projects.
- Non-Citizen Passport
- The ICAO-standard travel document issued to National Status holders — legally distinct from the Ni-Vanuatu citizen passport.
- PPP
- Public-private partnership — here, 25 years plus a 15-year renewal, with the partner funding the build and the State holding every sovereign power.
- SBD
- Strategic Business Development — the non-returning contribution route: money paid directly to investment-committee-approved local enterprises.
- VFSC
- The Vanuatu Financial Services Commission — the financial-services regulator that supervises the National Development Fund.
Read it against the Bill
Every safeguard described on this website points to where it lives in the Bill — so anyone can verify it. In any case of doubt, the Bill as presented to Parliament governs.