Authorized Agents

Authorized agents — designated agents, in the language of the programme — are the firms licensed under the regulations made under Vanuatu's Citizenship Act [CAP 112] to lodge citizenship applications on behalf of applicants. An application cannot reach the Citizenship Office except through one of them, which makes the licence the single most important credential to check before you engage anyone.

This page is for applicants who are being approached by several firms and want to understand what the licence is, who actually holds it, and how to confirm it. It concentrates on the licensing structure. What a licensed agent must then do for you, from client checks to payment handling, is set out on the agent obligations page.

What Does an Agent Licence Mean in Vanuatu?

A designated agent licence is permission, granted under the regulations, to act as the formal channel between applicants and the Vanuatu authorities. It carries three practical consequences:

• only a licensed agent can lodge an application and communicate with the Citizenship Office about it;
• the authorities hold the licensed agent responsible for the files it lodges and the conduct of its business;
• the licence can be affected — and with it the agent's ability to act — if the agent breaches the conditions on which it was granted.

We do not reproduce the licensing conditions clause by clause, because they are set and amended by regulation. If an agent cites a specific requirement of its licence, ask it to name the current instrument it relies on.

A Vanuatu agent licence is equally important for what it does not mean. It is not an endorsement of the agent's fees, its marketing or its predictions. It does not give the agent any part in the decision on your file, which belongs to the Citizenship Commission. And it does not make the agent a government body, whatever its website may imply.

Licensed Agent, Sub-Agent or Promoter?

Most applicants seeking Vanuatu citizenship never deal with a licensed agent first. They meet a consultancy, a migration firm or a website in their own country, which then works with a licensed agent in Vanuatu. Knowing which kind of firm is in front of you changes what you should ask.

Type of firm	Holds a Vanuatu licence?	Can lodge your file?	What to ask
Licensed designated agent	Yes	Yes	Name of the licensed entity and a copy of the current licence
Authorized sub-agent or partner of a licensed agent	No — it works under another firm's licence	No, only through the licensed agent	Which licensed agent will lodge the file, and who you contract with
Marketing website or lead generator	No	No	Who it passes your enquiry to, and what it does with your documents

None of these models is improper in itself. The problems start when the role is blurred — when a promoter describes itself as "the official agent", collects money it is not entitled to hold, or cannot say which licensed firm will lodge the file.

How Do You Verify a Designated Agent?

Verification should be done before any money changes hands, and it should not depend only on documents the agent sends you. A practical sequence:

1. Get the legal name. Ask for the full registered name of the licensed entity, not a trading brand.
2. See the licence. Ask for a copy of the current licence and note its date and any reference it carries.
3. Match the entity. Check that the licensed entity is the same one that signs your engagement letter and is named in the payment instructions.
4. Confirm independently. Contact the Citizenship Office using official contact details you have found yourself, and ask whether the entity holds a current licence. Whether a public list of agents is available, and what is and is not published, is covered on the published registers page.
5. Check continuity. Ask what happens to your file if the agent's licence lapses or is suspended while your application is pending.

What Can Happen to a Licence?

A designated agent licence is not a permanent status. It is granted on conditions set by regulation, and like most regulatory licences it can lapse, be suspended or be cancelled if those conditions are no longer met. We do not describe the grounds or the procedure clause by clause, for the same reason as above: they are set by regulation and amended from time to time.

For an applicant, three practical points follow:

• a licence that was valid when an agent was first recommended to you may not be valid when your file is lodged, so check its status close to the date of lodging, not only at first contact;
• the entity that holds the licence matters more than the brand: if a group restructures or changes its trading name, confirm that the licensed entity is still the one acting for you;
• a licence says nothing about the agent's commercial terms. How a licensed agent should present the official amounts, its own fee and the payment instructions is covered under what a licensed agent must do.

The same applies to the routes an agent offers. New applications under the Capital Investment Immigration Plan were suspended by the Citizenship Commission in March 2025, and no reopening has been confirmed. A licensed agent should not be selling a route that is closed, while the Development Support Program, with contributions from US$130,000 for a single applicant, was not affected.

Why Licensing Matters Beyond Your Own File

The licensing of agents is one of the main tools the Vanuatu authorities have for controlling the quality of what reaches them. Weak screening in the past contributed to the foreign restrictions now attached to the passport: the European Union's full suspension of its visa waiver from 4 February 2023 and the permanent visa requirement under Regulation (EU) 2025/11 from 3 February 2025, and the UK visa requirement from 19 July 2023.

A licensed Vanuatu agent that does its job — turning away files built on false information, asking hard questions about source of funds — is protecting the programme as well as you. Choosing an agent on the strength of the cheapest fee or the boldest promise works against both. How the agent fits into the full sequence of steps, from engagement to the certificate of citizenship, is shown on the statutory stages page.