Photo: Andrew Gray
With all the setbacks of recent years, Vanuatu's citizenship sale schemes should be dead in the water - instead they are thriving, and geopolitical chaos is playing a part.
The citizenship-by-investment sector is the biggest single revenue earner for Vanuatu's government, but lingering issues of integrity cast a shadow over it.
In 2024 when Vanuatu became the first country to lose its European Union visa-free access over concerns about its golden passport scheme, there were fears it would be a huge blow to the sector.
But designated agents for Vanuatu's citizenship programmes have told RNZ Pacific this has not necessarily hurt them much, as their product has other benefits and passport holders can still apply to access Europe.
However, Vanuatu's
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