Entry Requirements and Visas

Requirements for entry into Aruba as a tourist

For persons who want to visit Aruba as a tourist, the following applies. Persons who are considered a tourist are those who travel to Aruba for one of the following purposes: vacation and relaxation, sport, health reasons, family matters, study, religious purposes or a business visit.
During their stay in Aruba tourists are not allowed to work.

Upon arrival in Aruba a tourist must have:

• a passport that is valid upon entry and for the duration of stay in Aruba. If the tourist holds a passport from a visa required country, he must have a valid visa sticker in his passport;
• a completely filled-in and signed Embarkation and Disembarkation card (ED-card);
• a valid return- or onward ticket;
• the necessary documents for returning to the country of origin or to a country that he has the right to enter, for example a valid residence permit (temporary or permanent), a re-entry permit or a (entry) visa;
• if so requested, the tourist has to be able to prove to the satisfaction of the migration officer that he has a valid reservation for an accommodation in Aruba (e.g. hotel or apartment) or that he owns property in Aruba (a residence, condominium, apartment, timeshare apartment or a pleasure yacht moored in Aruba with a length of at least 14 meters measured on the water line);
• if so requested, the tourist has to be able to prove to the satisfaction of the migration officer to dispose of adequate financial means to provide for hotel expenses (if applicable) and living expenses during his stay or that he has a declaration of guarantee from a legal resident of Aruba.

The final authorization for admission to Aruba remains with migration officer at the border-crossing/port of entry. The migration authorities at the border-crossing/port of entry have the authority to grant or refuse admission.
Admission can be refused if not all admission requirements are fulfilled by the time of entering Aruba or if the tourist has been blacklisted.

Duration of admission

The maximum period of time that a person can be admitted to Aruba as a tourist is in principle 30 days. The total amount of days a person can stay in Aruba as a tourist cannot exceed 180 days per year.

Extension of stay upon entry

Upon entry in Aruba, the following persons can apply for an extension of their stay for more than 30 days but not exceeding 180 days:

• nationals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands can request an extension of their stay for up to 180 consecutive days;
• nationals from the countries mentioned in list A and visa required persons who are exempt from the visa requirement, can request an extension of their stay for up to 180 consecutive days, if:
  • they have property in Aruba, i.e. a house, condominium, apartment, time-share, apartment or a pleasure yacht moored in Aruba with a length of at least 14 meters measured from the water line. They must show proof of ownership of the property.
    For a stay of up to 180 days.
  • If they don’t have property in Aruba, they must have a declaration of guarantee from a resident of Aruba who will act as guarantor for and be liable for any costs incurred during their stay. The guarantor in Aruba can download the declaration of guarantee from our website, following the procedures to have it legalized and sent it to the visitor abroad; the tourist can request for a stay of up to 90 days.
  • The migration officer is satisfied that the visitor has sufficient funds to cover his extended stay.

All tourists who apply for an extension of their stay beyond 30 days are required to have travel insurance (medical and liability) valid for the duration of the extended stay.

If a tourist wants to stay longer then the number of days granted by the immigration officer on the ED-card upon admission, he or she can apply at the office of Dimas for an extension for up to 180 days if applicable. The form for tourist stay extension is available at the office of the DIMAS, and can also be downloaded. An application for an extension of stay can be filed at the DIMAS from Monday to Thursday, from 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM. There is no filing fee for a tourist extension application.

The following documents have to be presented:

• original application form for extension of tourist stay;
• copy of the profile page and all the written and stamped pages of the petitioner’s passport, valid for at least another 3 months when the extension is applied for;
• copy Embarkation-Disembarkation card (ED-card);
• copy valid return ticket;
• copy of travel insurance (medical and liability) valid for the duration of the extended stay;
• if the petitioner is not staying at his own private residence or at a hotel/resort, he needs to present a declaration of guarantee from a resident of Aruba who will act as guarantor for their stay.

Anyone wanting to stay longer than 180 days in Aruba will need a residence permit and will not be considered a tourist.

Visas for the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

As of 10 October 2010 it is possible to visit more than one Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands using a single visa. The visa is valid for all parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean for a visit as a tourist or for a short stay in the countries Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten and for the Dutch Caribbean islands Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba.

If you need a visa for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean and how to apply: www.government.nl

Nationalities not required to obtain a visa & the visa waiver programme

For the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (the countries of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten) and the Caribbean Netherlands (the Dutch public bodies Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba)

*1 - Guyanese nationals do require a visa for St Maarten)
*2 - holders of a British National (Overseas) passport
*3 - Hong Kong – holders of a Special Administrative Region passport
*4 - only for Curaçao – Jamaican nationals do require a visa for Aruba, St Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands

Caribbean visa waiver programme

• Holders of a valid multiple-entry short-stay visa for the Schengen Area
  All holders of a valid multiple-entry visa for the Schengen Area are exempt from the visa requirement for the Caribbean.
• Holders of a valid multiple-entry visa for the US and/or Canada
  Nationals of the following countries with a valid multiple-entry visa for the United States of America and/or Canada are exempt from the visa requirement for the Caribbean.

Nationality	Aruba	Curaçao	St. Maarten	Caribbean NL
Bolivia	v	v	v	v
China	v	v	v	v
Colombia	v	v	v	v
Cuba	v	no waiver	v	v
Dominicaanse Rep.	v	v	v	v
Guyana	no visa req.	no visa req.	v	no visa req.
Haiti	v	v	v	v
India	v	v	v	v
Jamaica	v	no visa req.	v	v
Peru	v	v	v	v

More information can be found at: www.government.nl

When do you need an invitation/declaration of guarantee?

A visa-required tourist needs a declaration of guarantee/invitation to apply for a visa if he has been invited to participate in a sports event by an organization on Aruba or if he’ll be staying at the home of a relative or an acquaintance. The person or organization in Aruba who will act as guarantor for the tourist’s stay has to declare that they’ll guarantee all costs than can arise from the short stay of the tourist in Aruba. The guarantor is responsible for sending the declaration of guarantee/invitation to the visa-required tourist. Please note that having the declaration doesn’t mean that the visa will be issued. It is only one of the requirements that the visa applicant has to submit.

The declaration of guarantee/invitation form is available at the office of the DIMAS and can also be downloaded from www.dimasaruba.com, as well as the instructions about the relevant procedure.

Living and Working in Aruba

Persons who want to live and work on Aruba must have a Valid residence permit from the Directorate of Alien Integration, Policy and Admission (DIMAS).

For more information contact:

DIMAS
Paardenbaaistraat # 11
Oranjestad, Aruba
Tel: +(297) 522 1500
Fax: +(297) 522 1505
E-mail: dimas@aruba.gov.aw
Website: www.dimasaruba.com

 

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