Most CBI cost pages quote one cost. Vanuatu has two real pathways with different shapes: DSP is a pure donation; CIIP is a lower donation plus a $50,000 redeemable investment in the Cocoa Sustainable Fund. This page shows both side-by-side so the trade-off is visible.
Pathway 1 / DSP
Pure donation. The simplest one-line structure. Non-refundable contribution to the Vanuatu government.
Pathway 2 / CIIP
Lower donation, plus a $50,000 investment in the Cocoa Sustainable Fund. Redeemable after a four-year hold.
Government donation
$130,000
Non-refundable. Paid after VCC approval.
21 CBI advisory (5% of donation)
$6,500
Five percent of the government donation; flat.
Due diligence (flat)
$5,000
VFIU background, Interpol NCB, and VCC review.
Birth registration + national ID
$2,500
Per applicant; mandatory civil registration on grant.
Passport enrolment
$1,000
Per applicant.
DSP single applicant, all-in
$145,000
| Line item | DSP Single | DSP Family of 4 | CIIP Single | CIIP Family of 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Government donation Non-refundable. Paid after VCC approval. | $130,000 | $180,000 | $110,000 | $110,000 |
Cocoa Sustainable Fund investment CIIP only. Redeemable after 4-year hold. | n/a | n/a | $50,000 | $50,000 |
21 CBI advisory (5% of donation) No percentage on CIIP fund investment (capital, not fee). | $6,500 | $9,000 | $5,500 | $5,500 |
Due diligence (flat) VFIU background + Interpol NCB + VCC review. | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Birth registration + national ID (per applicant) Mandatory civil registration on grant. | $2,500 | $10,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
Passport enrolment (per applicant) | $1,000 | $4,000 | $1,000 | $4,000 |
All-in (out of pocket) | $145,000 | $208,000 | $174,000 | $184,500 |
Net after 4-year Cocoa Fund redemption CIIP only. DSP is non-refundable end to end. | $145,000 | $208,000 | $124,000 | $135,000 |
For live BTC and sats equivalents at today’s exchange rate, use the Cost Calculator. BTC rates shift; static sats figures go stale quickly.
Choose DSP if you want the simplest possible structure: one donation, non-refundable, no fund administration, no four-year carry. Most single applicants and most fast-moving family files pick DSP.
Choose CIIP ifyou are a cost-conscious family that can carry $50,000 of capital for four years. The CIIP donation is $110,000 flat across family sizes up to four, plus the $50,000 redeemable fund investment. Net of the four-year redemption, CIIP at the family-of-four tier lands at $135,000 all-in against DSP’s $208,000 at the same family size. The trade-off is the four-year capital lock on the fund investment.
Processing speed, due diligence, and the resulting passport are identical for both pathways. The Vanuatu Citizenship Commission reviews both files under the same framework; the pathway difference is the contribution structure, not the citizenship grant.
The 21 CBI advisory fee and the due-diligence fee settle on Bitcoin (on-chain), Lightning, or USDT at engagement. Credit cards and bank transfers also accepted as needed. The government donation (and CIIP fund investment) move through our authorized Vanuatu legal partner after the Citizenship Commission approves the file; we coordinate the conversion with full transparency and lock the BTC/USD rate at the moment of payment.
Writing the cheque is straightforward. The work that earns the engagement fee is the source-of-funds package: origin discovery, custody mapping, on-chain analysis, reconciliation, and the VFIU-formatted submission. For most Bitcoin files, the source-of-funds work is the largest single piece of the engagement.
The full methodology is public: Bitcoin source-of-funds methodology.
At $130,000 DSP single, Vanuatu is more expensive than São Tomé ($90,000) but much cheaper than Türkiye ($400,000) or El Salvador ($1,000,000). What you buy for the premium over STP is processing speed: Vanuatu is the fastest CBI in the world (30 to 60 days), giving you a second passport on the wall before most programs have cleared due diligence.
If Vanuatu is the right shape for your family, the next step is a confidential call. We will tell you on the first call whether DSP or CIIP fits your situation. Encrypted. No obligation. No payment required to start the conversation.
Adam Juchniewicz, CEO, 21 CBI
