The first weeks in Bermuda: your papers at the border, your belongings duty-free, your number and your health care
In your first weeks in Bermuda everything revolves around your document from Immigration. If you come to work, you show the original work permit document on arrival. At the airport you ask customs for a Transfer of Residence Certificate, so that your belongings come in without import duty. Then come your social insurance number, a bank account, a rented home and, only after 30 days, the driving test.
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In your first weeks in Bermuda everything revolves around your document from Immigration. If you come to work, you show the original work permit document on arrival. At the airport you ask customs straight away for a Transfer of Residence Certificate, so that your belongings come in without import duty. After that you arrange your number for the pension contribution, a bank account and a rented home.
| What | Deadline | More |
|---|---|---|
| Original work permit document or entry permit | on arrival; without it: a fine of $265 or refusal | residence routes |
| Customs Traveller Declaration | on arrival; new form since 1 October 2026 | |
| Transfer of Residence Certificate | on arrival, ask customs; free | belongings |
| Baggage sent ahead or after | up to 90 days before or after your arrival, without import duty | belongings |
| Social insurance number | when you start working; online | registration and numbers |
| Bank account | once you have an address or a letter from your employer | banking and payments |
| Registering a dog | right after arrival | pets |
| Driving test | after at least 30 days in Bermuda | car and driving licence |
| Registration for a public school | in November, for the following school year | school |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within one year after you stop being insured | SVB |
What do you arrange on arrival?
With a Dutch passport you do not need a visa. As a visitor you have a return or onward ticket. If you come to work or live, other rules apply. Bermuda only lets you in to work with the original document of your work permit. Family members show their original entry/re-entry permit. Without these papers you get a fine of $265 (about €237), or you are refused. If you are married to a Bermudian, bring the government letter that confirms it.
If you come as a visitor first to look for work, that is not allowed. Anyone who says at the border they are a tourist but comes to work is referred on and probably refused. Only travel once your permit is in.
At the airport you fill in the Customs Traveller Declaration, the customs form. Since 1 October 2026 there is a new form. If you carry more than BD$10,000 in cash, you declare it.
How do your belongings come in duty-free?
If you come to live in Bermuda for the first time, you may bring your own belongings without import duty. They must have been yours for more than six months, and you show that you may live in Bermuda, for example with your work permit. Belongings you carry with you are ticked on the customs form.
If you ship your belongings, you ask a customs officer at the airport on arrival for a Transfer of Residence Certificate. It is free and you get it straight away. You need it later when your container arrives. Without the exemption you pay 25 percent import duty on most items. More in your belongings to Bermuda.
What follows in the first weeks?
- Your social insurance number. If you work, you apply online through socialinsurance.gov.bm, with your passport and your work permit.
- A bank account. With your passport, proof of address and your work permit or a letter from your employer.
- A home. Renting is allowed without a licence, as long as the lease runs for at most five years. See renting in Bermuda.
- Your health care. If you work, your employer insures you. If you do not work, your own policy has been running since you left. See health care in Bermuda.
- Your AOW. You no longer build up AOW; you apply for voluntary insurance with the SVB within one year.
How do you get around at first?
The TCD does not mention exchanging a licence: expect a theory and a practical test, and check with the TCD. You take the test at the Transport Control Department (TCD), and for that you must have lived in Bermuda for at least 30 days. You drive on the left, and outside St. George's the speed limit is 35 kilometres per hour. Until your test you travel by bus, ferry or taxi.
Only one car may be registered per household. More in car and driving licence.
Whom do you call if something happens?
For the ambulance, the fire service, the police and help at sea you call 911. Bermuda uses the country code +1 441.
The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November. If you arrive in those months, find out in your first week how your home deals with storms. During a hurricane the government provides information through the emergency station FM 100.1.
There is no Dutch embassy in Bermuda. The honorary consul in Hamilton helps in emergencies. For a passport you go to the embassy in London. See registration and numbers.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Bermuda or go straight to step 5.1 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.
- Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, section 28 — six months as a visitor and a return ticket — bermudalaws.bm
- Department of Immigration — Work Permit Policy, version 1 May 2026, Appendix IV on arrival — gov.bm
- Government of Bermuda — exemption from duty when moving to Bermuda — gov.bm
- Bermuda Customs — the new Customs Traveller Declaration since 1 October 2026 — gov.bm
- Department of Social Insurance — the online application for a social insurance number — gov.bm
- Transport Control Department — how to get a Bermudian driving licence — gov.bm
- Government of Bermuda — what to do in an emergency, with 911 and FM 100.1 — gov.bm
- Bermuda Weather Service — the hurricane season from 1 June to 30 November — weather.bm
- SVB — voluntary AOW insurance, to be applied for within one year — svb.nl
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Updated 26 October 2026