Collection and Delivery

Collection and delivery of a Vanuatu passport means the way a finished booklet gets from the issuing office in Port Vila to the holder: in person at the Department of Immigration and Passport Services, through a Vanuatu diplomatic or consular post where one is available, or by secure courier arranged by a designated agent. Which route applies depends on where you live, how the application was lodged and whether the passport is a first issue, a renewal or a replacement.

This page is for applicants and citizens who want to know how their passport will physically reach them and what to do at the moment it arrives. It compares the three routes, explains what you may need to show on collection, sets out who may collect on someone else's behalf and covers the checks worth making before signing for the parcel. The earlier stages of a first application after citizenship are described on our first passport page.

What Are the Ways to Receive a Vanuatu Passport?

Most investor-citizens do not collect in Port Vila, though the biometric step before issue is attended in person there or at an approved site abroad. Residents of Vanuatu, on the other hand, often collect in person. The table compares the usual routes.

Vanuatu has a small diplomatic network, so the second route is not available in most countries. Confirm the arrangement before you apply rather than after the passport has been printed.

Collecting in Person in Port Vila

If you are in Vanuatu, collecting at the passport office is usually the most direct option. Take the receipt or reference you were given when you applied, a form of identification and, for a renewal, the old passport if you have not already surrendered it. Check the booklet at the counter before you leave; mistakes are easier to deal with while you are still at the office.

Requirements and opening times can change, so check them with the Department of Immigration and Passport Services before you go.

How Does Courier Delivery Through an Agent Work?

For citizens by investment the agent route is the norm. The designated agent who handled the application receives the passports, often together with the certificates of citizenship, and sends them on. A sound process usually looks like this:

1. The agent confirms that the booklets have been issued and tells you the expected dispatch date.
2. You confirm the delivery address and a phone number for the courier.
3. The agent ships by a tracked, signature-required service and sends you the tracking number.
4. You or an adult you trust signs for the parcel in person.
5. You check the contents and confirm receipt to the agent in writing.

International courier times vary by destination, and customs services in some countries open document parcels for inspection. Ask your agent to declare the contents accurately, and avoid booking travel for the days immediately after the expected delivery date, so that a short delay in transit does not cost you a trip.

The agent's wider responsibilities at the moment a passport is issued are described on our page about the agent's role when a passport is issued.

Can Someone Else Collect Your Passport?

Whether a third party can collect a booklet in person depends on the rules applied by the passport office at the time, and it usually requires written authorization and identification from both the holder and the person collecting. Do not assume a family member can simply pick it up. Ask in advance and prepare the authorization if it is allowed.

For children, a parent or guardian normally receives the passport on the child's behalf. The consent and signature rules that apply to minors are set out on our signature and consent page.

What Should You Check When the Parcel Arrives?

Open the package as soon as it arrives and check before you file anything away.

• The parcel seal is intact and the number of passports matches the number of family members.
• Each booklet is undamaged, with no bent covers or loose pages.
• Names, dates of birth and photographs on each data page match your certificate of citizenship and earlier documents.
• Any certificates of citizenship included are the originals and are complete.
• Signatures are in place where the holder's signature is required.

If anything is missing or wrong, contact your agent the same day and keep the packaging. A passport that went missing in transit should be treated as lost and reported, because there is no way to confirm that it was not intercepted. The replacement route is explained on our lost and stolen passport page.

Keeping the Delivery Chain Safe

A Vanuatu passport is a valuable document, and parcels containing passports are sometimes targeted. A few habits reduce the risk:

• Use a delivery address where someone will be present to sign, not a mailbox or a building lobby.
• Do not share tracking details or photographs of the booklet on social media.
• Store the passport and the certificate of citizenship in separate places once received.
• Make a secure scan of each data page for your records.

Before traveling on the new passport, remember that it opens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 88 destinations but requires a visa for the Schengen area, on a permanent basis since 3 February 2025, and for the United Kingdom since 19 July 2023. Plan trips with that in mind once your booklet is safely in hand.