Switzerland bans most visa-free entries to Vanuatu over ‘golden menace’
Switzerland does not permit visa-free entry for Vanuatu citizens whose passports were issued on or after May 25, 2015.
The ban is in effect until February 3, 2023.
This follows a decision by the Council of the European Union in March to partially terminate the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu.
The EU had concerns that Vanuatu’s investor citizenship programs known as “Golden Passports” posed a threat to EU countries.
The Federal Department of Justice and Police, which works with the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration, said that people with passports issued before May 25, 2015 are not affected by the decision.
Both EU and Swiss authorities said Vanuatu issued passports to foreigners without proper security clearance and that this could pose a risk to public order and internal security.
When the EU Council published its decision to suspend the visa-free travel agreement with Vanuatu in March, it highlighted that in many cases the authorities in Vanuatu had granted citizenship to applicants listed in Interpol databases.
The council also claimed that applications were processed quickly with no security checks and those receiving Vanuatu golden passports were not required to be physically present in Vanuatu.
The EU has also urged its member states that use golden passports to stop the practice, calling the systems “ethically, legally and economically objectionable”.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.