Your car to Curaçao: one exemption, twelve months of ownership, otherwise the full rate
One passenger car per family may come along tax-free — provided it was in your possession and use for twelve months before shipment. Whoever falls outside that pays import levies that usually tip the sum towards: buy there.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, your car can come to Curaçao. One passenger car per family may even come tax-free, provided it was in your possession and use for twelve months without interruption before shipment, the moment it goes on board.
What that means in money:
- If you meet that requirement, taking it costs € 2,500 to € 4,000 in freight, clearance, inspection and plates.
- If you don't, roughly a third of the car's value is added and the item runs up to about € 11,000.
The find in the customs brochure lies in two details:
- The exemption covers not only the import duty but, by operation of law (so automatically, without a separate request), also the turnover tax.
- The ownership requirement is counted up to the moment of shipment, not up to your arrival.
The pitfall is what you do not get back. The remaining BPM, the Dutch car tax still contained in your car's value, is lost on export to Curaçao. The refund only applies within the EU/EEA. So rather take a written-off car than a young one. Or buy one on the island.
Why is the car a sum of its own?
On Curaçao the car is not a side issue of the move but a sum of its own. For the household goods six months of ownership suffices; for the car the bar is higher. Whoever clears it drives tax-free. Whoever misses it pays levies that can easily amount to a third of the car's value.
When do I get the exemption?
Customs grants an exemption for one passenger vehicle per family, with one hard requirement. The car was in your possession and use for at least twelve months without interruption, counted up to the moment of shipment and not up to your arrival. A car you bought with the move in mind almost never meets that requirement.
Sports and hobby vehicles (the classic car, the "wabi") fall outside it in any case. And after the exemption the same disposal ban applies as for the household goods: twelve months no selling, renting out or lending.
In the file:
- your registration certificate
- the proof of export from the Netherlands
- your proof of purchase
- the proof of insurance
- the exemption request
On top of that come the documents the household-goods exemption asks for anyway, including the confirmation documents of your Kranshi registration (your entry in the island's population register). So check the date on your registration certificate today, and only then decide whether the car goes into the container.
What does it cost, with and without the exemption?
| With exemption | Without exemption | |
|---|---|---|
| Condition | 12 months of possession and use before shipment, one car per family | — |
| Import duty | exempt | market sources unanimously quote 27%; the official tariff table is only available for inspection at the Inspectorate |
| Turnover tax | exempt by operation of law | 9%, calculated on the value including freight |
| What you do pay | freight (cheapest in the household container), clearance, inspection of € 16, plates | the same, plus the levies |
| Indication | € 2,500 to € 4,000 | up to about € 11,000 |
| Disposal ban afterwards | 12 months | — |
| BPM refund in the Netherlands | none — only within the EU/EEA | none |
If you fall outside it, you pay import levies on the value of the car plus the freight and insurance. So the shipping itself is taxed along. Customs doesn't publish the rates on a clickable page. Treat the 27% as an indication, therefore, and ask customs or your mover for the current calculation before you decide. But the direction is clear, and that direction is usually called:
buy there. Curaçao has a lively second-hand market, and cars hold their value there remarkably well. What you pay more on purchase than in the Netherlands, you largely get back on sale. Add the freight costs and the container's waiting time, and the car you brought really only wins if it meets the twelve-month requirement and you are genuinely attached to it.
What happens after arrival?
If the car comes along, the usual row still awaits after arrival: the inspection, the Curaçao registration plate and the annual road tax. If it didn't come, the week after your sédula (the island's identity card) is the week of buying.
And your driving licence? You register it free at Kranshi. Exchanging it for a Curaçao licence is also possible later: it costs XCG 175 (Caribbean guilders), with a doctor's statement at most two months old and a certificate of authenticity from the Netherlands. There is no official deadline on it, and for once that is a clock that does not tick. The practical reason to do it anyway at some point: your Dutch licence expires eventually, and renewal then belongs to your country of residence.
In the Netherlands don't forget the cancellation letter for your car insurance. The cost indication for Curaçao works out the rest for you.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Curaçao or go straight to step 3.4 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Customs Curaçao — moving a passenger vehicle — douane.cw
- Customs Curaçao — the brochure with the conditions (PDF) — douane.cw
- Dutch Tax Administration — bpm refund on export; only on registration in the EU or EEA — belastingdienst.nl
- Digital desk Curaçao — registering a foreign driving licence, free — loketdigital.gobiernu.cw
- Digital desk Curaçao — exchanging a foreign driving licence: XCG 175, doctor's statement and certificate of authenticity — loketdigital.gobiernu.cw
Read on
- CuraçaoThe move5 min
The container to Curaçao: what the crossing costs, and how the exemption works
Your household contents cross the ocean by sea container — count on weeks of sailing time and thousands of euros. Customs grants an exemption from import taxes for used household goods, but only whoever knows the conditions (six months of ownership, an inventory list with values, declaration within six months) benefits from it.
Updated 26 September 2026
- CuraçaoThe move5 min
Renting on Curaçao: the rent commission, the notice period and what Kranshi wants from your contract
Renting on Curaçao is a free market with a legal floor: the National Ordinance on Rent of 2011. Notice takes at least a month, a landlord cannot put you out of your home without the rent commission's consent, and that commission costs you nothing. And the tenancy agreement is more than a roof: Kranshi wants to see it before you can register.
Updated 26 September 2026
- CuraçaoThe move5 min
Your pet along to Curaçao: chip, rabies, a fourteen-day certificate and the deposit at customs
A dog or cat can come along to Curaçao, but not on the EU pet passport alone: customs wants a health certificate at most fourteen days old and proof of rabies vaccination, the veterinary service wants an import permit in advance, and whoever has no household-goods exemption yet on arrival pays a deposit. Without a certificate, quarantine awaits.
Updated 26 September 2026