Look inside
The plan for Suriname, from the inside
These are all 30 steps of the Suriname 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
- 30
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 37
- Only for your situation
- 8
Phase 1
6 steps
Orientation
Suriname has two gates — the PSA document and the MKV — and one misunderstanding that touches both: a travel document isn't a residence status. Living there only begins with the registration as a resident.
- 1.1
Two gates, one misunderstanding
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.2
Know how income and healthcare work there
- Lead time
- an evening of research
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.3
Explore the country before you decide
- Lead time
- weeks, preferably in the rainy season
- Costs
- a scouting trip is a serious cost item; the entry fee is US$/€ 58 or 83
2 official sources
- 1.4
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.5
The family conversation
- Lead time
- weeks, not hours
- Costs
- none
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
4 steps
Your right of residence
The gate sets the clock: the PSA document is arranged digitally in weeks, the MKV asks three months ahead — and converting on the spot from a tourist status isn't possible.
- 2.1
Determine your gate: PSA, Surinamese origin or MKV
- Lead time
- decision moment after reading
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 2.2
PSA route: apply for the document digitally
- Lead time
- 2-4 weeks
- Costs
- US$ 130 or € 120 per adult; minors US$ 80 or € 70
1 official source
- 2.3
MKV route: apply for the authorisation three months ahead
- Lead time
- apply 3 months before the planned departure date
- Costs
- fees at the post; the residence permit itself follows after arrival
1 official source
- 2.4
Collect the documents for the chain after arrival
- Lead time
- 2-4 weeks
- Costs
- fees per document
1 official source
Phase 3
8 steps
Closing the Netherlands
Fiscally this corridor turns around: you apply for the exemption from wage withholding, because AOW and pension are taxed in Suriname — and the AOW travels with you at one hundred per cent thanks to the enforcement treaty.
- 3.1
Arrange the healthcare transition
- Lead time
- 3-6 weeks
- Costs
- the premium of your international policy; bridging cover for the first period
1 official source
- 3.2
Know where you'll pay tax — and apply for the exemption
- Lead time
- one good conversation with a tax adviser, plus the exemption application
- Costs
- advisory hours — depending on your situation
1 official source
- 3.3
Deregister — and ask for the international proof
- 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
- 3.4
Arrange your money lines
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- none
- 3.5
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
- 3.6
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
- 3.7
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
- 3.8
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 4
5 steps
The move
The household goods go by sea freight and can come in fully exempt — but the exemption hangs on papers, does not apply to the car, and cars older than eight years aren't even allowed into the country.
- 4.1
Choose your form of move and request quotes
- Lead time
- quotes 2-3 weeks; the crossing itself weeks
- Costs
- according to your moving choices
Only if this applies to you
- 4.2
Secure the household goods exemption
- Lead time
- runs along with your residence title; start in time
- Costs
- the exemption itself is free — without papers you pay 35-40%
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 4.3
The car: the eight-year rule, and the permit before shipping
- Lead time
- decision moment — and the permit you apply for before you book
- Costs
- when taking it along — freight plus a levy in the order of 40-52% of the CIF value
3 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 4.4
Pet coming along to Suriname
- Lead time
- 4-6 weeks of preparation
- Costs
- per animal — certificate, permit and air freight run into the hundreds of euros
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 4.5
Book the crossing and your first accommodation
- Lead time
- book before departure
- Costs
- falls under "the first months" in your budget
Phase 5
7 steps
Arrival in Suriname
The chain after landing: reporting, permit, registration as a resident — and then the lesson this corridor carries: know the difference between freehold and land lease before you ever touch land.
- 5.1
Report to the Vreemdelingendienst and start your permit
- Lead time
- report within 8 days; lodge within 14 days
- Costs
- US$ 150 deposit; settlement for an indefinite period US$ 200
1 official source
- 5.2
Register as a resident at the CBB
- Lead time
- 2-4 weeks
- Costs
- small fees; the ID card at the counter
1 official source
- 5.3
Activate your healthcare
- Lead time
- 1-3 weeks — plus the examination, which you schedule in advance
- Costs
- SZF premium of SRD 270 to 1,650 per month, plus your international policy
3 official sources
- 5.4
Bank and money: three currencies side by side
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks; approval 3-5 working days
- Costs
- small monthly costs per account; first deposit required
1 official source
- 5.5
Driving: the driving authorisation
- Lead time
- arrange it in your first weeks
- Costs
- fees at the counter
1 official source
- 5.6
Land and housing: know the difference before you sign
- Lead time
- reading step now — and the title check with every home, always
- Costs
- none — the notary and the title check belong with every purchase
1 official source
- 5.7
Landed
- Lead time
- it's done
- Costs
- none
8 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 Suriname journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 5.6 of your plan
Land and housing: know the difference before you sign
- Lead time
- reading step now — and the title check with every home, always
- Costs
- none — the notary and the title check belong with every purchase
The property lesson this corridor carries: in Suriname it's not the price but the title that's the question. Full freehold and the old allodial ownership you can simply buy as a Dutch citizen. But the vast majority of plots are land lease on state land — and that is only issued to resident Surinamese citizens and Surinamese legal entities, hence the widespread foundation construction, with risks of its own.
Land lease also carries obligations: a building obligation with a risk of revocation, and the notorious 18-month rule — on death the heirs must designate one new land lessee within eighteen months, otherwise the right lapses to the State by operation of law. So never buy without a notary and title check, and read the article before every deposit.
What this step rests on
This is step 5.6 of 30. The other 29 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 Suriname?
All 30 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 399 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 Suriname: 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 Suriname 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.