Citizenship
A citizen of the Velocity Interoperability Network is a person recorded in the register of citizens maintained by the Immigration Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network. Citizenship carries the right to enter and remain in the Network without a visa, to hold a passport of the Network and to connect registered devices for as long as they remain certified. Citizens are subject to the entry rules in the same way as everyone else.
Citizenship is acquired by one of five routes. The founding citizens were recorded when the Network was established on 6 September 2026. A child of a citizen becomes a citizen when the birth is registered. A person who has lived in the Network on a work visa for four years, or served in it on a member staff visa for two, may apply for a grant. In exceptional cases the Network may grant citizenship on its own initiative to a person nominated by two member organisations.
The staff of member organisations are not citizens by virtue of their employment. They enter the Network on a member staff visa and remain nationals of wherever they came from. Service in the Network counts towards a grant, but citizenship is a separate step that must be applied for and is recorded only when the Department has decided the application.
Citizenship, once recorded, is not lost by absence from the Network. It may be withdrawn only where it was obtained by a false statement, and then only after the citizen has been told the grounds and given an opportunity to reply.
Routes to citizenship
| Route | Who qualifies | Conditions | How it is recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founding citizenship | Persons recorded as citizens at the establishment of the Network on 6 September 2026 | None; recorded on establishment | Certificate on request |
| Citizenship by descent | A child of a citizen, wherever born | Registration of the birth with the Department within 12 months | Certificate on registration |
| Grant after residence | Holder of a work visa resident in the Network | 4 years' continuous residence; no breach of the entry rules; an organisation inside the Network attesting to the residence | Application, 200 credits |
| Grant after service | Staff of a member organisation on a member staff visa | 2 years' service in the Network on the member's behalf; the member organisation's support | Application, 200 credits |
| Grant on the Network's initiative | A person whose contribution to the Network the Department considers exceptional | Nomination by two member organisations; the Department's decision | No fee |
Records and documents
- The register of citizens
- The Department's record of every citizen of the Network. It records the citizen's name, the route by which citizenship was acquired, the date it was recorded and the passports issued. The register is not published; a citizen may ask for a copy of their own entry.
- Certificate of citizenship
- A document stating that the holder is recorded in the register. It is issued on request to any citizen, and automatically when a birth is registered or a grant is made. A certificate is not a travel document; travel requires a passport.
- Passport of the Network
- Issued only to persons recorded in the register. An applicant for a first passport whose entry cannot be found is asked to establish citizenship first, by certificate or by application for a grant.
- Record of residence and service
- The entry and departure records made at points of entry, and the visas issued, form the record on which an application for a grant after residence or service is decided. Keep the entry records you are given.
Applying for a grant of citizenship
Step 1: Check that you qualify
Confirm the route under which you apply and that you meet its conditions on the date of application. Residence is continuous if no single absence from the Network exceeds 90 days and total absences do not exceed 12 months in the qualifying period.
Step 2: Obtain the supporting statement
A grant after residence requires an attestation from an organisation inside the Network that has employed you or with which you have been connected for the qualifying period. A grant after service requires the support of your member organisation.
Step 3: Submit the application and fee
The application form will be published on this site when the first applicants become eligible. Applications submitted before that date are held and examined in the order received once the form is published.
Step 4: Attend for verification
Identity is verified in person. The Department compares the applicant with the record of entries and departures and with the visa on which residence or service was completed.
Step 5: Receive the decision
The Department decides a grant within 60 working days of a complete application. A successful applicant is recorded in the register and issued a certificate of citizenship. A refused applicant is told the reason and may apply again when it has been addressed.
Step 6: Apply for a passport
Once recorded in the register, a new citizen may apply for a passport of the Network in the ordinary way.
Milestones
6 September 2026
Register of citizens opened
The Department is made responsible for the register and records the founding citizens of the Network.
September 2026
Certificates of citizenship available on request
Founding citizens may request a certificate. The first certificates are issued within the published standard of fifteen working days.
To be announced
Registration of births opens
Parents may register a child born to a citizen. Children born before the procedure opens may be registered within twelve months of its opening.
September 2028
First applications for a grant after service
Staff of member organisations who have completed two years' service in the Network from its establishment become eligible.
September 2030
First applications for a grant after residence
Holders of work visas who have completed four years' continuous residence from the establishment of the Network become eligible.
Citizens travel on a passport of the Network. The time taken to issue certificates and decide grants is stated under Processing Times. Questions about the register or about an entry in it may be sent to contact@immigration.gov.vin.