Igor K., a businessman from Moscow, lives alone after divorcing his wife.

Regular meetings in London with his 12-year-old daughter, who studies at a local college, are important to him. The pandemic made these visits more challenging, so Igor concluded that he needed a passport that would allow him to visit London frequently.

One of the client’s conditions was the fastest possible acquisition of a second citizenship; therefore, a Caribbean option (such as Dominica) wasn’t suitable. He was presented with Vanuatu citizenship. This program has unparalleled speed (the process takes 1–2 months), and it’s also less expensive than the Caribbean programs, costing $130,000.

An additional aspect was that the client held part of his savings in cryptocurrency, and several companies he had previously contacted refused to handle digital currency and declined to assist him.

The Vanuatu program allows funds derived from cryptocurrency sales to be used as investments. To proceed, the lawyers took the following steps:

  • Verified the platform where the digital currency was held;
  • Obtained evidence of its legal origin;
  • Documented proof that the cryptocurrency belonged to our client.

After this preparatory work, we helped Igor convert the cryptocurrency into dollars, transferring them to his foreign currency account in Russia. From there, the required amounts were sent to Vanuatu, where the citizenship application process was conducted.

Further Steps

Over two weeks, we gathered the primary set of documents and processed them. The client paid $5,000 for the due diligence check, and all document copies were submitted.

Ten days later, a positive response was received from the check. Igor sent 50% of the necessary investment, and a lawyer in Vanuatu submitted the original documents to the Department of Immigration.

A month later, approval from the Department was received. The remaining half of the investment amount was then sent.

A week later, we received a scan of the new passport and the Certificate of Naturalization from the department.

According to Vanuatu law, a “new citizen” must participate in a special Oath ceremony. However, the authorized official was scheduled to visit Moscow only in a month and a half, which didn’t suit Igor’s needs.

We arranged for Igor to take the Oath at the consulate in Istanbul. Traveling to Turkey was easy for him, as he held a Turkish residence permit and enjoyed vacations in Antalya.

Three days later, after the formal ceremony, he was already enjoying the familiar beaches of Antalya. This situation with the Oath ceremony became an added bonus for him.

Two weeks later, Igor received his physical Vanuatu passport in Antalya and immediately flew to London, using his new document. Now, the pandemic won’t be an obstacle for such visits.