What does emigrating to Sint Maarten cost?
Answer four questions and you have an honest range for your situation. Every item shows whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. The paperwork here is the cheapest in the Kingdom, and the free port levies no import duties. The money is in the sea container, the first months in a rental market that counts in dollars, and for pensioners the private health policy.
Looking for the whole route to Sint Maarten, 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
€ 4.000 – € 9.200
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 3.500 – € 8.000
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 150 – € 300
- De verhuizing
- € 350 – € 900
- De eerste maanden
- € 3.500 – € 8.000
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Declaration by Operation of Law€ 95 – € 150
- Fresh certificates, apostilles and the registration(estimate)€ 60 – € 150
De verhuizing
- Travel(estimate)€ 350 – € 900
The price depends above all on the season: booking outside the high season saves hundreds of euros per seat. The range assumes a one-way flight, Amsterdam to Sint Maarten. KLM is the only airline flying direct, in around nine hours.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 3.500 – € 8.000
On Sint Maarten rents are in practice in US dollars. A one-bedroom flat starts around US$ 900-1,400 in the ordinary neighbourhoods. In the expat segment around Simpson Bay it runs to US$ 1,500-3,000. This item covers the deposit (usually one month), rent in advance, temporary housing until the container arrives, and living on an import island. Groceries and electricity come out higher than you are used to. And the buildings or contents insurance comes with a hurricane module.
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 7% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 12.500 to € 17.500.
The lion's share is transfer tax: 4% of the purchase price. On top of that come the notary's fee (in practice 1 to 2%) and land registry and registration costs. Together that is 5 to 7%. Unlike in the Netherlands, an annual property tax is in practice not levied there. A land tax law does exist (0.3% of the value), but the tax has never been collected. In February 2026 the government proposed abolishing it.
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 30 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 with your real situation: who's coming, household contents along or not, car and pet along or not. It also watches the deadlines: the certificates no more than three years old, the certificate of conduct last, the thirty days of the animal permit and the application at IBP right after arrival. 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 Sint Maarten: 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 Sint Maarten 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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