What does emigrating to Aruba cost?
Answer four questions and you have an honest range for your situation. For every item it says whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. The paperwork stays under a thousand euros here. The money is in the container across the ocean and in the first months on an island where almost everything is imported.
Looking for the whole route to Aruba, not just the costs? See the steps, the order and the paperwork →
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?
- The first months€ 2.500 – € 7.000
Below 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
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Residence permit (DIMAS)€ 80 – € 650
- Censo, cedula and extracts€ 60 – € 150
De verhuizing
- Travel(estimate)€ 400 – € 900
A flight, one way Amsterdam-Oranjestad, outside the high season. There is no alternative by road: this is the overseas destination.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 2.500 – € 7.000
This item covers the time until the first salary. It includes furnished accommodation until the container arrives, deposit and first rent, and bridging health insurance until the AZV covers you. The AZV is Aruba's general health insurance. Long-term rents run roughly from one thousand to three thousand dollars a month. Furnishing is included too, on an import island where almost everything comes from abroad. The international school is deliberately not included here. The Dutch-language publicly funded education costs tens of euros. Anyone choosing international adds tens of thousands of dollars a year themselves.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 5 to 9% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 12.500 to € 22.500.
Together you usually arrive at 5 to 9% of the purchase price, and any estate agent comes on top. The transfer tax rate slides: 3% on the first Afl. 250,000 (Aruban florin) and 6% on the part above it. On a home of Afl. 600,000 that comes to about 4.75% in total. That tax is based on the purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher. The notary charges 0.5 to 3%, depending on the transaction.
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.
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One thing you can sort out today
Closing down the Netherlands is the same work for everyone, wherever you're going. With the letter pack you enter your details once, and every cancellation and notification letter is ready: health insurance, rent, employer, bank, pension fund. Each comes with the date by which it has to go out. € 49 one-off, and it's also included in every plan.
In Vertrekklaar you get the complete picture of your own costs, with your route, your documents and your deadlines.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with four questions, but the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates on your real situation: who's coming, which household contents, whether the car comes along. It also watches the deadlines: ten weeks for the permit, thirty days for the AZV, and the renewal that comes back every year. A one-off € 299, no subscription.
Leaving with AOW or a pension? Compare how countries tax your pension
Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Aruba: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Aruba change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, send one offer, and now and then one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
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