Anyone going to Vanuatu to travel, take up residence or live needs to know what they can bring in free of duty and what they must declare. The rules for an ordinary traveller differ from those for someone who comes to live. This article is based on the "Personal Concession", "Concession for Personal & Household Effects" and "Prohibited Imports" pages of the official Vanuatu Customs and Inland Revenue website, checked on 25 October 2026.
The traveller's duty-free allowance
Under the "Personal Concession" page, this allowance is for bona fide passengers over 18 finally disembarking in Vanuatu, and these goods enter "free from import duty and other taxes":
| Goods | Duty-free allowance |
|---|---|
| Tobacco | 250 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 25 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco |
| Alcohol | up to 2.25 litres of spirits, or up to 2.25 litres of wine, or up to 9 litres of beer |
| Fragrance | 25 centilitres of toilet water or 10 centilitres of perfume |
| Other goods, new or used, including gifts | up to a value of 50,000 vatu per person, excluding prohibited and restricted goods |
Conditions of the allowance
- The goods must not be sold.
- The goods must belong to the passenger and accompany them on disembarkation, or be bought immediately after arrival in Vanuatu.
- The goods are for personal use or unsolicited gifts, not in commercial quantities or for commercial purposes.
- Accompanied personal effects, including professional instruments and tools, are not part of this allowance and have a separate concession.
More than 50,000 vatu
If new or unused goods exceed 50,000 vatu, the difference is assessed. The page's own example: goods worth 120,000 vatu minus 50,000 means 70,000 vatu is subject to duty and value added tax at the rates in force.
Duty-free shops are in the arrival and departure areas of Port Vila International Airport, and only travelling passengers with valid tickets may buy from them.
What must be declared?
Under the same page, travellers must declare:
| Item | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Commercial goods | goods carried for business or commercial use |
| Prohibited or restricted goods | such as medicines, illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia, firearms, ammunition, weapons and obscene items |
| Other people's goods | goods carried on behalf of other people |
| Money | cash, currency or negotiable bearer instruments of 1,000,000 vatu or the foreign currency equivalent |
The page warns that non-compliant travellers face heavy penalties and prosecution.
The personal and household effects concession for residents
The "Concession for Personal & Household Effects" page offers this to two groups:
| Group | Condition | Deadline for importing the goods |
|---|---|---|
| New resident | someone taking up residence in Vanuatu for the first time | within 6 months of the residency visa being granted |
| Returning resident | a Vanuatu resident absent for at least 12 months in the previous two years | within 6 months of the last return to Vanuatu |
| Goods | Condition |
|---|---|
| Personal and household effects | owned and available for the owner's use for at least 12 months before leaving for Vanuatu |
| One motor vehicle per family changing residence | owned and available for use for at least 12 months before departure; right-hand drive vehicles are prohibited |
| One power boat or sailboat on a trailer | towable by a passenger vehicle, with the same 12-month condition |
Goods outside this concession: tobacco products, spirits and wines, perfumes in commercial quantities and goods of a commercial nature. The page states: this concession can only be granted once.
Prohibited and restricted goods
The "Prohibited Imports" page, based on Order No. 115 of 2014, has two lists. Some important examples for travellers and new residents:
| Type | Goods | Permit authority |
|---|---|---|
| Prohibited | obscene material, offensive weapons, beef from Europe, copra and several other goods | no permit |
| Restricted | firearms and ammunition | Firearm Licensing Officer, Vanuatu Police Force |
| Restricted | animals and biological products | Principal Veterinary Officer |
| Restricted | plants and plant products | Minister of Agriculture |
| Restricted | dangerous drugs | Minister of Health |
| Restricted | cash or bearer instruments of 1,000,000 vatu or more | Financial Intelligence Unit |
| Restricted | right-hand drive vehicles | Minister of Internal Affairs |
Under the same page, drug preparations for personal use are exempt from the dangerous drugs rule if they meet the conditions of section 3(2) of the Order, including a letter from a medical practitioner. The household effects page also lists live animals, including family pets, in its short list of prohibited or restricted goods.
Two examples
These examples are hypothetical and only use the figures of the official pages.
Example 1: a traveller with a new laptop. A 35-year-old traveller carries a new laptop worth 120,000 vatu and two one-litre bottles of spirits.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Spirits | 2 litres is less than 2.25 litres | duty free |
| New laptop | 120,000 − 50,000 | 70,000 vatu subject to duty and value added tax |
Example 2: a family moving to live there. Their residency visa is granted on 1 March 2027.
| Question | Answer under the official page |
|---|---|
| Last date for importing household goods | 1 September 2027 (6 months) |
| Furniture and dishes used for three years | meet the 12-month condition |
| A car bought 8 months ago | less than 12 months; does not meet the concession's condition |
| A right-hand drive car | prohibited |
| Using the same concession a second time in future | not possible; only once |
Practical points
- Keep receipts and purchase dates for household goods and vehicles to show the 12-month condition.
- Plan the shipment of your goods around the date of your residency visa; the deadline is six months.
- Carry personal medicines with a doctor's letter.
- Declare cash of 1,000,000 vatu or more; see Vanuatu's currency and banks in the article "Money and banks in Vanuatu: the vatu, the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu and official rates".
- See the types of residency visa in the article "Visas and residence in Vanuatu: types, documents and fees for non-citizens".
Royal Golden does not give customs or legal advice. This article is general information, and the decision on any goods rests with Vanuatu Customs.
Sources
- Vanuatu Customs and Inland Revenue, personal concession for travellers — https://vanuatucustoms.gov.vu/home/section/customs/travellers/personal-concession.html (checked on 25 October 2026)
- Vanuatu Customs and Inland Revenue, concession for personal and household effects — https://vanuatucustoms.gov.vu/home/section/customs/travellers/unaccompanied-personal.html (checked on 25 October 2026)
- Vanuatu Customs and Inland Revenue, prohibited imports (Order No. 115 of 2014) — https://vanuatucustoms.gov.vu/home/section/customs/travellers/prohibited-imports.html (checked on 25 October 2026)