General Information | Owning Land in Vanuatu | Living in Vanuatu | Helpful Links 

General Information

Vanuatu is a volcanic island chain in the south west Pacific Ocean, between Fiji and New Caledonia. There are about 80 islands with a total land area of 12,189 square kilometers reaching 900 km in a north-south direction.

The capital of Vanuatu is Port Vila, on the island of Efate.

Most of the islands are lush green tropical forest. Except for two urban areas, Port Vila and Luganville on Santo, the small population of people lives in rural villages.

Why is Vanuatu so special?

Vanuatu is one of the few places on Earth where you can enter into a very ancient culture and contact your deepest roots and connections with the natural world and feel safe and comfortable at the same time.

Security, peace, a sense of wonder at the scenic splendour of nature, garnished with a culture that goes back thousands of years. These are some of the reasons people come from Europe, Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand to visit or live in Vanuatu.

The people of Vanuatu are Melanesians and have a very strong and enduring attachment to their islands and their environment. In the more remote islands the people still follow their ancestral traditions and their artwork, dances, music, and dress will transport you to an era before the concept of time began.

Their sense of community and culture give the ni-Vanuatu people a kind of peace and friendliness that extends to visitors and residents from other lands. They are, in a word, nice.

Most of the small and widely distributed population (there are about 170,000 people living in the Republic of Vanuatu) are natives living in villages with their extended families. The expatriate community is only a few thousand individuals, many of whom have been here for generations.

The ni-Vanuatu people are multilingual. Everyone speaks their own village language plus the universal Bislama, an English/French pidgin that you will quickly pick up. Most of the people also speak English and French.

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Owning Land in Vanuatu

Land prices have been increasing steadily in Vanuatu over the last decade, making real estate investments highly attractive. Vanuatu is currently one of the best bets for those people in the "civilized" world who are dreaming of escaping from the rat race into the tropical paradises of the South Pacific.

10 reasons why land prices are going up in Vanuatu

Here are 10 reasons why land prices have been moving steadily upwards in Vanuatu.

1. Many investors turn to real estate when the world currency markets become unstable, and the Asian recession and the hand over of Hong Kong to China generated considerable interest in Vanuatu.

2. The political and social problems in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia have turned investors away from these areas and Vanuatu is a highly viable alternative.

3. The Government of Vanuatu openly encourages foreign investment and has passed new legislation - such as the Strata Titles Act - to make it easier for people to invest with a reasonable chance of a good return.

4. The government has streamlined the Foreign Investment Board, Customs, and Immigration procedures to make the formalities of investing and taking up residency as painless as possible.

5. Unlike Fiji and New Caledonia, the nearest competitors in the tourism sector, Vanuatu is free of ethnic or colonialist problems. The small population is 99% ni-Vanuatu and while not everyone gets along all the time, relations between the island people are about as good as you can find.

6. Crime is low, people friendly, and nobody has any reason to even consider terrorism.

7. The ni-Vanuatu people are happy to have real estate investors come to Vanuatu because the custom owners are the only ones who can own land. All foreigners must lease land from them and that, of course, means that they have an income - even if it is very modest.

8. Investors quickly realize that the land leasing arrangements actually work very well in Vanuatu. All leases must be registered in the central government Land Records Department. In the urban areas of Port Vila and Luganville, the government itself becomes the lessor on behalf of the custom owners. The government courts protect the interests of both the land owners and the lessee as efficiently as any land dispute court in the Western world and often better.

9. Leases are generally 50 years for residential property and 75 years for commercial property and the property lease can be renewed if, for example, the property is subdivided.

10. Waterfront property is always a limited commodity, especially in the best locations and it has been slowly dwindling as new homes, resorts, hotels, and businesses are built.

An Excellent Land Ownership System:

Until they understand how the system works, investors are sometimes concerned with the idea of leasing land as opposed to the Western concept of land ownership.

In fact, Western concepts of land ownership are hardly accurate. In most countries governments actually lease the land to individuals and companies but they call the lease payments "property taxes." If the "owner" fails to pay whatever taxes are assessed on the property, the government can and does confiscate the land.

By contrast, in Vanuatu, the government can't take the land from the indigenous people under any circumstances. But the government can and does act as an efficient and fair mediator between custom land owners and foreign investors.
The mere fact that real estate prices have been rising rapidly in Vanuatu proves their system works and works well.

You do not have to be a resident of Vanuatu or have employment in Vanuatu to purchase commercial or residential property and generate income from this property. You will not pay income taxes in Vanuatu on any income that your investment earns although the company will have to participate in the sales tax process and pay other government fees such as businesses licences etc.

The Process of buying land in Vanuatu:

1. Sign an "Agreement for Sale and Purchase" form.

2. Pay the deposit..

3. Sign the Lease Transfer.

4. Settle the transaction.

5. Pay a Stamp Duty of 2% to the Government.

6. Register the transfer at the Lands Records Department and pay 5% registration fee.

7. Pay Solicitor's fees (Negotiable, usually 1%). This step can be avoided, if desired, by allowing LeisureVest Limited to complete the transaction.

These costs are not applicable if the current lessee is a company or trust and the buyer simply buys the shares of the company or buys the trust with all its assets.

Tax Advantages:

Vanuatu has no Inheritance Tax and no Capital Gains Tax.

You can purchase the lease as a Vanuatu International Company or as a Trust to maximize tax benefits to yourself if necessary.

You can do the transaction in any currency agreeable to both parties.

If you decide to rent the property to generate income, you will be required to collect 12.5% sales tax from your tenant and pay this to the government.

The real reason people invest in Vanuatu

There is a reasonable opportunity to make money by investing in Vanuatu, but most people who invest in waterfront property in Vanuatu are seeking the relaxed, friendly, natural atmosphere of this tropical South Pacific country.

People who come to live in Vanuatu are seeking the lifestyle, the culture, the adventure, the fishing and diving and walks in wilderness. They want a place to live where nobody hassles them and the living is easy.

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Living in Vanuatu

Residence permits

Lots of people would love to live in the South Pacific islands. But of course, these islands are very small and the island society, along with the natural environment, is also very fragile. All of the island nations have taken precautions that prevent a flood of immigrants and regulate who can live there.

It is, in fact, very difficult or even impossible to get a residency permit for many South Pacific Island nations. Vanuatu is one of the most liberal, but the government is still very concerned that new residents meet certain financial and social standards. Vanuatu's residency laws do not discriminate against race, nationality or religion.

Long term residence permits. Major investors can obtain long term residence permits. So, for example, if you buy real estate in Vanuatu, you will automatically qualify for a residence permit.

It is the present practice of the Immigration Department to issue a one year permit in the first instance, no matter what the level of investment, and thereafter the Department will consider a longer permit along the lines of the above table. The first year is intended to be a period to assess the suitability of an investor. There is however, no formal assessment undertaken.

Persons who intend to be self employed and engaged in a business with a minimum investment of Vt 5 million (ie. approximately AUD$60,000) may qualify for a residency permit, renewable annually. Such persons will first be required to obtain Foreign Investment Board approval.

Standard residence permits are issued for a duration of one year, renewable every year provided conditions of first issue are unchanged. Fee: 20,000 Vatu per year (about AUD$240).

Work permits are issued by the Labor Department and attached to Residence Permits. Work Permits require an application from both the Employee and the Employer.

A repatriation bond (including airport tax) must be settled by the employer. For individuals seeking an investors permit and work permit, the bond is 5 million Vatu (about AUD$60,000).

Retirement Permits

If you plan to retire to your new waterfront property in Vanuatu, and have a monthly retirement revenue transfer to Vanuatu of at least 300,000 Vatu (AUD$3,500) per month, you can obtain a retirement permit which is good for life.

For any type of residence permit you will need to provide the following:

1. A Police Clearance from your Country of Origin

2. A Birth Certificate

3. A list of dependents, including their gender and a copy of their birth certificates.

4. A certificate of Incorporation (for investors).

5. A divorce certificate if you are divorced.

6. Medical Certificate stating your medical condition

7. Marriage Certificate if you are married.

8. A copy of your Passport

9. 2 Passport Photos.

Helpful Links

Vanuatu Tourism Official Web site - www.vanuatutourism.com

Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority - www.investinvanuatu.com

Vanuatu Currency Converter - http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic?user=webright

RocketGuide (Tourism Guide) to Vanuatu - http://www.rocket-guide-vanuatu.com/

General Information | Owning Land in Vanuatu | Living in Vanuatu | Helpful Links