March 10, 2025: Days after acquiring citizenship of Vanuatu, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, has directed the Citizenship Commission to cancel Modi’s Vanuatu passport. This decision comes after Modi, the founder of the Indian Premiere League (IPL), applied to surrender his Indian passport at the Indian High Commission in London.

The cancellation is due to Modi’s alleged attempt to avoid extradition. Napat emphasized that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and applicants must seek citizenship for legitimate reasons. Modi is accused of bid-rigging, money laundering, and violating India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999.

Interestingly, Vanuatu’s Citizenship by Investment programme allows investors to obtain a passport within 30 to 60 days, with a cost around 1.3 crores approximately in Indian rupees, and it comes with a “no residency requirement”.