This paper deals with an extension of our previous work (Ben Geloun and Hounkonnou 2007 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 F817) by considering an alternative construction of canonical and deformed vector coherent states (VCSs) of the Gazeau–Klauder type associated with generalized spin–orbit Hamiltonians. We define an annihilation operator which takes into account the finite-dimensional space of states induced by the k-photon transition processes of the two-level atom interacting with the single-mode radiation field. The class of nonlinear VCSs (NVCSs) corresponding to the action of the annihilation operator is deduced and expressed in terms of generalized displacement operators. Various NVCSs including their ‘dual’ counterparts are also discussed. Also, by using the Hilbert space structure, a new family of NVCSs parametrized by unit vectors of the S3 sphere has been identified without making use of the annihilation operator.