Switzerland to introduce permanent visa requirement for Vanuatu nationals

Bern, 15.01.2025 - From 4 February, citizens of Vanuatu will no longer be able to enter the Schengen area (which includes Switzerland) without a visa. According to the EU, citizenship programmes in Vanuatu pose a security risk to Schengen Member States. The Federal Council adopted this amendment to the Schengen acquis at its meeting on 15 January.

An agreement between the EU and the Republic of Vanuatu has been in force since May 2015, exempting Vanuatu nationals from the short-stay visa requirement to enter the Schengen area. Since then, there has been a sharp increase in the number of passports issued by Vanuatu to foreigners who invest in the country. The EU believes that these citizenship programmes allow people to circumvent the visa procedure, and that they pose a risk to the internal security and public order of the Schengen States, as the Vanuatu authorities do not carry out the necessary checks on people seeking citizenship.

For the reason stated above, the EU has already suspended the visa exemption for holders of Vanuatu passports issued after 2015. It will now extend this to include all Vanuatu citizens. Although Vanuatu has since adopted a number of legislative amendments, it has not remedied the shortcomings identified. The EU has therefore decided to reintroduce a permanent visa requirement for nationals of Vanuatu from February 2025. As part of its association with Schengen, Switzerland will adopt this regulation and amend its Ordinance on Entry and the Granting of Visas (EGVO) accordingly.

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