Look inside
The plan for Curaçao, from the inside
These are all 26 steps of the Curaçao journey, exactly as they appear in your personal plan — with the lead time and the costs next to them. Not a brochure: this is the file that feeds the platform. Pick another country below if you're heading elsewhere.
For which country?
Every country has its own steps, its own order and its own clocks. Switch as often as you like.
- Steps
- 26
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 37
- Only for your situation
- 9
Phase 1
6 steps
Orientation
The same passport, a different country. Whoever treats Curaçao as a domestic move discovers at every counter that it isn't one.
- 1.1
Within the Kingdom, but with rules of its own
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 1.2
Know how income and healthcare work there
- Lead time
- an evening of research
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 1.3
Explore the island before you decide
- Lead time
- weeks, preferably with a stay outside the high season
- Costs
- a scouting trip is a serious cost item here
- 1.4
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.5
The family conversation
- Lead time
- weeks, not hours
- Costs
- none
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
8 steps
Closing the Netherlands
A move within the Kingdom is an ordinary emigration for the Dutch authorities: everything stops, and your proof of deregistration you literally need on Curaçao.
- 2.1
Collect the documents for the declaration and Kranshi
- Lead time
- 2-4 weeks — and the certificate of conduct you apply for last
- Costs
- fees per document; the declaration itself costs XCG 615 (± € 300)
2 official sources
- 2.2
Arrange the healthcare transition
- Lead time
- 1-3 weeks
- Costs
- bridging cover for the first period
2 official sources
- 2.3
Know where you'll pay tax
- Lead time
- one good conversation with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours — depending on your situation
2 official sources
- 2.4
Deregister and close
- Lead time
- deregistering is possible from 5 days before departure; the whole takes 4-8 weeks
- Costs
- limited — cancellation costs per contract
2 official sources
- 2.5
Partner comes along without a job of their own
- Lead time
- an evening together, then a few things to arrange
- Costs
- none — the consequences are in the article
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.6
Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month rule
- Lead time
- one decision, before you commit to anything else
- Costs
- none
4 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.7
The house in the Netherlands: sell, rent out or keep
- Lead time
- one conversation with the mortgage lender and one with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours; when renting out possibly an interest surcharge from the bank
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.8
Children staying in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the house
- Lead time
- an evening, and after that one report a year
- Costs
- none
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
Phase 3
5 steps
The move
Here Curaçao resembles Australia, not Spain: the household contents go by sea container, and the sailing time plus customs set your planning.
- 3.1
Choose your form of move: container, part-load or buying there
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none — the consequences of your choice are in the calculator
- 3.2
Request quotes and arrange the customs exemption
- Lead time
- quotes 2-3 weeks; the crossing itself weeks
- Costs
- according to your moving choices; the exemption itself is free
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.3
Pet along to Curaçao
- Lead time
- start at least a month before departure
- Costs
- per animal — examinations, crate and air freight run into hundreds of euros
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.4
Bring the car or buy there
- Lead time
- decision moment — and the ownership requirement has a say
- Costs
- if you bring it — freight and inspection; levies only outside the exemption
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 3.5
Book the crossing and your first accommodation
- Lead time
- book before departure
- Costs
- falls under "the first months" in your budget
Phase 4
4 steps
Registration on Curaçao
The chain is fixed: declaration by operation of law → registration at Kranshi → sédula → health insurance. Every link wants to see the previous one.
- 4.1
Apply for the declaration of admission by operation of law
- Lead time
- legally at most four months — and you may await it on the island
- Costs
- XCG 615 (± € 300) per application
1 official source
- 4.2
Register at Kranshi
- Lead time
- within five days of settling — the appointment is the real work
- Costs
- the registration is free
1 official source
- 4.3
Collect your sédula
- Lead time
- from three working days after registration; issued on the spot
- Costs
- XCG 15 for adults
1 official source
- 4.4
Arrange your health insurance and banking
- Lead time
- 1-3 weeks
- Costs
- the bvz contribution runs via tax (13.6%; pensioners 6.5%)
2 official sources
Phase 5
3 steps
Arrival
From settled to island rhythm — driving licence, school, and the pace of an island that has its own clock.
- 5.1
Driving licence and transport
- Lead time
- registering can be done right away and is quickly done
- Costs
- registering free; exchanging XCG 175 plus a doctor's statement
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 5.2
School for the children
- Lead time
- enrolling in spring; joining is possible all year via the school
- Costs
- varies enormously — from free foundation education to tens of thousands of guilders privately
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 5.3
Landed
- Lead time
- it's done
- Costs
- none
9 of these steps aren't always there. They appear only when your answers call them up — a pet, a car, children staying behind. That's the difference between a plan and a checklist in which you have to work out yourself what applies.
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 Curaçao journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 4.1 of your plan
Apply for the declaration of admission by operation of law
- Lead time
- legally at most four months — and you may await it on the island
- Costs
- XCG 615 (± € 300) per application
The opening move of the chain, preferably already made from the Netherlands: the application runs online, with the documents from phase 2 and your fresh certificate of conduct. The Admissions Organisation legally has four months for the decision, and here your passport pays off: as a Dutch citizen you may await that decision on Curaçao — so you don't have to wait for the declaration to leave.
The rest of the chain does wait for it: Kranshi wants to see a residence title that's still valid for at least four months. The earlier this application runs, the shorter the row of links after it.
Where you arrange it
What this step rests on
This is step 4.1 of 26. The other 25 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
And what you don't see here
This page shows the content. What a page can't show is the work the platform does for you afterwards:
- The clocks that start running the moment you begin, and a nudge at the moment something is asked of you — not earlier.
- Your documents in one place, with their expiry dates watched, so nothing lapses while you wait for something else.
- The ticking off, together with your partner on the same journey.
- The steps that drop out or appear based on your answers, so your plan holds only what really applies to you.
Ready to start on Curaçao?
All 26 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 299 once, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Curaçao: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Curaçao really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
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.