Aruba · within the Kingdom
Emigrating to Aruba
The same passport, a stricter door than the neighbouring island: unlike on Curaçao, on Aruba you simply need a permit for the first five years. In return the mildest safety net outside Europe — your AOW comes along in full, single rate included, and your children go to school in Dutch. This page shows how the chain really runs.
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- Kind of journey
- Within the Kingdom — five years' permit, then by operation of law
- The chain
- DIMAS permit → Censo → cedula → AZV
- Note
- Your AOW comes along in full — and education is in Dutch
Last updated: August 2026
The journey
Five phases, from orientation to being settled
No visa, no language barrier — and still a journey with real clocks: ten weeks for the permit, three weeks for the registration, thirty days for the health insurance, and a renewal that comes back every year. Whoever knows the chain is settled in months.
- 1
Orientation
The same passport, a door of its own
Aruba arranges its own admission, of Dutch citizens too — and almost every website gets it wrong: a European Dutch citizen without Aruban ties doesn't get a declaration by operation of law on arrival here, but needs a permit for the first five years. In this phase you get to know the staircase (five years' permit, then by operation of law, free after ten years), choose your route — employment, business or living off assets — and explore the island outside high season. With an honest trump for families: education is in Dutch there.
- 2
Closing the Netherlands
An ordinary emigration — with the sharpest edges off
Your health insurance, benefits and AOW accrual stop, as with every emigration. But within the Kingdom a lot works out well: your accrued AOW comes along in full — including the single rate of 70% and the partner allowance — your certificates need no apostille, and the old Kingdom arrangement assigns the taxation of AOW and pension to Aruba. What you seal yourself: the healthcare transition, the fresh certificates with their clocks, and the RDW proof almost nobody knows about.
- 3
The move
A customs territory of its own — with a generous exemption
Within the Kingdom means nothing at the border: Aruba levies its own import duties plus 7% tax on almost all imports. But the removal-goods exemption cuts right through that — no import duties and no border tax on your used household contents, and even the car can come along if you've owned and used it for six months. The pet is mildly arranged (no titre test, no quarantine), and the container only sails once you've landed and registered.
- 4
Registration on Aruba
Every link wants to see the previous one — and one window counts double
The chain is fixed: the DIMAS permit (ten weeks, applied for by your employer in the case of employment, no security deposit for Dutch citizens), then the registration at Censo with your fresh Dutch papers, then the cedula — and then the clock that's about real money: whoever reports to the AZV within thirty days of registration is insured retroactively; whoever comes later pays everything in between themselves.
- 5
Arrival
From settled to island rhythm
Two things still need action: converting your driving licence — the Dutch one is invalid on Aruba as soon as you live there, and the BER wants to see the RDW authenticity declaration you arranged before departure — and learning to live with the clocks of your status: renew every year, after five years the declaration by operation of law, free after ten. The school is the quiet trump: in Dutch, with mavo, havo and vwo, for tens of euros a year.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Aruba journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 2.3 of your plan
AOW, AOV and child benefit: the mildest safety net outside Europe
- Lead time
- an afternoon of research; decide on voluntary insurance
- Costs
- voluntary AOW insurance: premium via the SVB calculator
Here Aruba is the mildest destination outside Europe. Your accrued AOW goes with you in full — including the single person's rate of 70% and the partner allowance, arranged by order in council, no treaty needed. But the accrual stops: the Caribbean part of the Kingdom counts as abroad, so every year costs 2% — the voluntary insurance (apply within one year of departure, at most ten years) closes that gap. Something starts to stand against it: as a resident you accrue Aruban AOV, also 2% a year, with a pension age of 65. And child benefit: export to Aruba is formally arranged, but it hangs on your Dutch insurance — whoever emigrates fully is no longer insured and in practice sees it stop. So don't count on it.
This is step 2.3 of 31. The other 30 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
What it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 3.000 – € 8.700
Where does that difference come from?
- De eerste maanden€ 2.500 – € 7.000
Open the breakdown below: there you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 100 – € 800
- De verhuizing
- € 400 – € 900
- De eerste maanden
- € 2.500 – € 7.000
View the itemsPer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Verblijfsvergunning (DIMAS)€ 80 – € 650
- Censo, cedula en uittreksels€ 60 – € 150
De verhuizing
- Reis(estimate)€ 400 – € 900
Vliegen, enkele reis Amsterdam-Oranjestad buiten het hoogseizoen. Geen alternatief over de weg — dit is de overzeese bestemming.
De eerste maanden
- De eerste maanden(estimate)€ 2.500 – € 7.000
Gemeubileerd onderdak tot de container er is, borg en eerste huur (lange-termijnhuur loopt grofweg van duizend tot drieduizend dollar per maand), de overbruggingszorgverzekering tot de AZV dekt, inrichting op een importeiland en leven tot het eerste salaris. De internationale school staat hier bewust niet in — het Nederlandstalige bekostigde onderwijs kost tientjes; wie internationaal kiest, telt daar zelf tienduizenden dollars per jaar bij op.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 7 to 10% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 17.500 to € 25.000.
De overdrachtsbelasting is 3% tot een waarde van Afl. 250.000 en 6% daarboven. De notaris rekent 0,5 tot 3%, afhankelijk van de transactie. Samen kom je op 7 tot 10% van de koopsom, en daar komt een eventuele makelaar nog bij. De grondslag is de koopsom of de marktwaarde — de hoogste van de twee.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 22 August 2026.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
That was the move. And once you live there?
Who may tax your pension once you live in Aruba, is there a favourable regime, and how do you become insured? That depends on where your income comes from. Tick it and you see which rules apply to you — with the source.
See the financial conditionsThe departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Aruba: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that only a short update when something in Aruba really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Read on
The knowledge base on Aruba
Per phase, the articles that are already there. They're written from the same journey and go deeper than what fits above.
Orientation
- 3 min
Aruban admission: five years of permits, then by operation of law
Unlike on Curaçao, a European Dutch citizen on Aruba gets no declaration by operation of law on arrival: for the first five years you simply require a permit, with an annual renewal. How the staircase works — five years of permits, then by operation of law, after ten years free — and which softeners apply to Dutch citizens.
Updated 22 August 2026
- 3 min
Working and earning on Aruba: florin, cessantia and the zero band
The Aruban labour market runs on tourism, the minimum wage has been an hourly wage of Afl. 11.58 since 2026, and on dismissal through no fault of your own there is a statutory payment: the cessantia. What a Dutch employee needs to know about pay, tax, illness and the premiums that come off your payslip.
Updated 22 August 2026
Leaving the Netherlands — for every destination
- 2 min
Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
- 2 min
Emigrating with children after a divorce: the consent that comes before everything
With joint custody you can't just go abroad with the children — you need the consent of the other parent, or substitute consent from the court. What the court weighs, and why leaving without consent is legally child abduction.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Emigrating on early retirement: the CAK route is expected to close as of 1 November 2026
Whoever moves to the EU or Switzerland with a Dutch pension arranges their healthcare via the CAK. That door is closing to a crack: as expected, from 1 November only new applicants with AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong will be admitted. Early retirement and RVU fall outside it — whoever is already a customer keeps their rights.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 2 min
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 2 min
Your AOW accrual stops on departure — and you have one year to repair that
Every year outside the Netherlands costs you 2% AOW (the Dutch state pension), for life. The SVB has a voluntary continuation that closes that gap — but signing up is only possible in the first year after departure, and almost everyone misses that deadline.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Your Dutch pension abroad: what comes along, and who levies
The AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the EU and to Australia — the latter thanks to a treaty from 2001. Your company pension too, but *where* you pay on it depends on the tax treaty, and the exemption you arrange yourself.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 2 min
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 9 min
Partner comes along without a job of their own: deregistering, healthcare, AOW and the house
Your partner has a job, a visa or a right of residence there; you come along without a job of your own. Administratively you're then no passenger: the deregistration, the end of your health insurance and your AOW accrual apply to you separately. What you get back if you arrange it well, what it costs if you let it slide — and why "just staying registered" isn't an option.
Updated 7 September 2026
- 2 min
Stopping allowances on emigration: do it yourself, and in time
Housing allowance, healthcare allowance, childcare allowance and child budget don't stop by themselves on the day you leave. Whoever lets them run gets a reclaim months later — this is what you arrange per allowance.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 3 min
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 6 min
When does your pension stay taxed in the Netherlands? The three pots and the three conditions
"Your pension is taxed in your new country of residence" is right by approximation and not in the details. Your AOW, your company pension and your government pension each follow a rule of their own, and with the company pension the Netherlands can still levy if three conditions apply at once. This article explains which three, and which four questions you have to answer for your own situation.
Updated 27 August 2026
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.