Andrew Tate to Retain Vanuatu Citizenship After Government Review

Vanuatu has confirmed that controversial influencer Andrew Tate will maintain his citizenship, following a government review that found no irregularities in his naturalization process. This decision comes despite recent revelations by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) that Tate acquired his “golden passport” around the time of his 2022 arrest in Romania on charges including rape and human trafficking. The government’s stance underscores a complex situation where legal adherence at the time of application takes precedence over subsequent allegations.
According to government spokesperson Kiery Manassah, a thorough examination of Tate’s documents by the citizenship office revealed that he had received clearance from Interpol and the UK at the time of his application. This pre-existing clearance was the basis for the original decision to grant him citizenship, and as such, no fault has been found with the process or the documentation presented by Tate. Manassah emphasized that the legal process followed all due diligence protocols as they existed at the point of application.
Manassah acknowledged the government’s retrospective concern, stating that if they had been aware of the current allegations, Tate would not have been granted citizenship initially. However, he emphasized that the government cannot retroactively revoke citizenship based on information discovered later. This legal limitation, he explained, prevents the government from acting on new information that was not available during the initial vetting phase.
While Tate remains a Vanuatu citizen for now, Manassah indicated that future conviction on the charges he faces could lead to a review of his citizenship status. The Vanuatu government is also committed to strengthening its due diligence processes to prevent similar situations from arising in the future, recognizing the program’s “very bad reputation overseas” and aiming to restore public trust in its passport scheme.