Vanuatu Inquiry Uncovers 1,390 Missing Diplomatic Passports and Issuance Abuse

Vanuatu's Public Accounts Committee has found that 1,390 diplomatic passports went missing between 2019 and 2024 and remain unaccounted for, with most disappearing in a single year. The parliamentary report also details irregularities in how diplomatic documents were processed and issued to foreign nationals, including alleged misuse by the prime minister and the foreign minister.

Key facts

• 1,390 diplomatic passports went missing between 2019 and 2024, including 1,301 in 2024 alone.
• The report was released on Tuesday by Vanuatu's parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
• Prime Minister Jotham Napat and Foreign Minister Marc Ati are cited over the improper appointment of foreign nationals as special envoys and trade commissioners.
• Vanuatu lost visa-free access to the European Union in December 2024.
• The committee recommends cancelling unlawful citizenships and passports, a process the report says Vanuatu began last year.

What did the inquiry find?

The committee reported significant irregularities in the processing and issuance of diplomatic passports. It found that amendments to Vanuatu's Passport Act bypassed the Council of Ministers, or cabinet, and contravened international conventions on diplomatic missions and officers. The report also said the amendments violated constitutional provisions covering public office holders and dual citizens.

During a visit to the passport office, committee members found the building and room holding passport stock were not suitable or adequately secured. The report noted that no cameras were installed inside or outside the building.

Who is named in the report?

The committee found that Prime Minister Jotham Napat, Foreign Minister Marc Ati and other senior officials appointed foreign nationals as special envoys and trade commissioners, granting them diplomatic status and passports without meeting residency requirements or legal mandates. The allegations against Napat relate to his time as foreign minister.

Neither official responded to the committee's requests for comment, and Ati later declined to comment.

The report cites the January 2023 appointment of Chinese national Han Hans as special envoy on trade and investment to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore by then-Foreign Minister Napat. Special envoys were not eligible for diplomatic passports at the time, yet a week later Hans collected his passport directly from Napat rather than from the chief protocol officer legally authorised to distribute them. Hans was arrested in China on 22 August 2023 after travelling on his Vanuatu diplomatic passport and was later prosecuted and sentenced; the report does not specify the charges.

Why did Vanuatu lose EU visa-free access?

The European Union removed Vanuatu's visa-free access in December 2024, citing serious security and migration risks, inadequate applicant screening, fast processing times and cases where citizenship was granted to people listed in Interpol databases. Vanuatu is also on the EU's tax haven blacklist. Its citizenship-by-investment scheme costs as little as $130,000 and comes with few restrictions.

What this means for travellers

Travellers should note that Vanuatu passport holders do not have visa-free access to the EU. The committee recommends cancelling unlawful citizenships and passports, and the report says Vanuatu began doing so last year, so documents obtained through irregular channels may be withdrawn.

What happens next

The committee has recommended holding officials accountable, cancelling unlawful citizenships and passports and strictly overhauling internal security controls to safeguard national sovereignty. No timetable for these measures has been announced.