Entry Requirements and Visas

Requirements for entry into Aruba as a tourist

For persons who want to visit Aruba as a tourist, the following applies. Persons who are considered a tourist are those who travel to Aruba for one of the following purposes: vacation and relaxation, sport, health reasons, family matters, study, religious purposes or a business visit.
During their stay in Aruba tourists are not allowed to work.

Upon arrival in Aruba a tourist must have:

• a passport that is valid upon entry and for the duration of stay in Aruba. If the tourist holds a passport from a visa required country (list A), he must have a valid visa sticker in his passport;
• a completely filled-in and signed Embarkation and Disembarkation card (ED-card);
• a valid return- or onward ticket;
• the necessary documents for returning to the country of origin or to a country that he has the right to enter, for example a valid residence permit (temporary or permanent), a re-entry permit or a (entry) visa;
• if so requested, the tourist has to be able to prove to the satisfaction of the migration officer that he has a valid reservation for an accommodation in Aruba (e.g. hotel or apartment) or that he owns property in Aruba (a residence, condominium, apartment, timeshare apartment or a pleasure yacht moored in Aruba with a length of at least 14 meters measured on the water line);
• if so requested, the tourist has to be able to prove to the satisfaction of the migration officer to dispose of adequate financial means to provide for hotel expenses (if applicable) and living expenses during his stay or that he has a declaration of guarantee from a legal resident of Aruba.

The final authorization for admission to Aruba remains with migration officer at the border-crossing/port of entry. The migration authorities at the border-crossing/port of entry have the authority to grant or refuse admission.
Admission can be refused if not all admission requirements are fulfilled by the time of entering Aruba or if the tourist has been blacklisted.

Duration of admission

The maximum period of time that a person can be admitted to Aruba as a tourist is in principle 30 days. The total amount of days a person can stay in Aruba as a tourist cannot exceed 180 days per year.

Extension of stay upon entry

Upon entry in Aruba, the following persons can apply for an extension of their stay for more than 30 days but not exceeding 180 days:

• nationals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands can request an extension of their stay for up to 180 consecutive days;
• nationals from the countries mentioned in list A and visa required persons who are exempt from the visa requirement, can request an extension of their stay for up to 180 consecutive days, if:
  • they have property in Aruba, i.e. a house, condominium, apartment, time-share, apartment or a pleasure yacht moored in Aruba with a length of at least 14 meters measured from the water line. They must show proof of ownership of the property.
    For a stay of up to 180 days.
  • If they don’t have property in Aruba, they must have a declaration of guarantee from a resident of Aruba who will act as guarantor for and be liable for any costs incurred during their stay. The guarantor in Aruba can download the declaration of guarantee from our website, following the procedures to have it legalized and sent it to the visitor abroad; the tourist can request for a stay of up to 90 days.
  • The migration officer is satisfied that the visitor has sufficient funds to cover his extended stay.

All tourists who apply for an extension of their stay beyond 30 days are required to have travel insurance (medical and liability) valid for the duration of the extended stay.

If a tourist wants to stay longer then the number of days granted by the immigration officer on the ED-card upon admission, he or she can apply at the office of Dimas for an extension for up to 180 days if applicable. The form for tourist stay extension is available at the office of the DIMAS, and can also be downloaded. An application for an extension of stay can be filed at the DIMAS from Monday to Thursday, from 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM. There is no filing fee for a tourist extension application.

The following documents have to be presented:

• original application form for extension of tourist stay;
• copy of the profile page and all the written and stamped pages of the petitioner’s passport, valid for at least another 3 months when the extension is applied for;
• copy Embarkation-Disembarkation card (ED-card);
• copy valid return ticket;
• copy of travel insurance (medical and liability) valid for the duration of the extended stay;
• if the petitioner is not staying at his own private residence or at a hotel/resort, he needs to present a declaration of guarantee from a resident of Aruba who will act as guarantor for their stay.

Anyone wanting to stay longer than 180 days in Aruba will need a residence permit and will not be considered a tourist.

List A: Nationals who needs a visa to travel to Aruba

Nationals of one of the following countries need a visa to travel to Aruba:

Afghanistan	Egypt	Maldives	Saudi Arabia
Albania	Equatorial Guinea	Mali	Senegal
Algeria	Eritrea	Marshall Islands	Serbia
Angola	Ethiopia	Mauritania	Sierra Leone
Armenia	Fiji	Mauritius	Solomon Islands
Azerbaijan	Gabon	Micronesia	Somalia
Bahrain	Gambia	Moldova (Rep. of)	South Africa
Bangladesh	Georgia	Mongolia	Sri Lanka
Belarus	Ghana	Montenegro	Sudan
Benin	Guinea Republic	Morocco	Swaziland
Bhutan	Guinee-Bissau	Mozambique	Syria
Bolivia	Haiti	Myanmar	Taiwan (SAR China)
Bosnia-Herzegovina	India	Namibia	Tajikistan
Botswana	Indonesia	Nauru	Tanzania
Burkina Faso	Iran	Nepal	Thailand
Burundi	Iraq	Niger	Togo
Cambodia	Jamaica	Nigeria	Tonga
Cameroon	Jordan	North Korea	Turkmenistan
Cape Verde Islands	Kazakhstan	Northern Mariana Isl.	Tunisia
Central Africa Rep.	Kenya	Oman	Turkey
Chad	Kiribati	Pakistan	Tuvalu
China (People's Rep.)	Kuwait	Palau	Uganda
Colombia	Kyrgyzstan	Palestinian National Authority	Ukraine
Comoros Isl.	Laos	Papua New Guinea	United Arab Emirates
Congo (Brazzaville)	Lebanon	Peru	Uzbekistan
Congo (Kinshasa)	Lesotho	Philippines	Vanuatu
Cote d'Ivoire	Liberia	Qatar	Vietnam
Cuba	Libya	Rwanda	Yemen
Djibouti	Macedonia	Russian Federation	Zambia
Dominican Republic	Madagascar	Samoa	Zimbabwe
East Timor	Malawi	Sao Tomé and Principe

Visa required persons exempted from the visa requirement

The following persons, who normally require a visa, are exempt from this requirement:

• holders of a valid residence permit (temporary or permanent) from:
  • another part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • the United States of America
  • Canada
  • The Schengen Territory
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
• Holders of a valid used (entry) visa for either the United States of America, Canada, The Schengen Territory (Schengen Visa), United Kingdom, Ireland, and who are nationals of Colombia;
• those who are continuing (in transit) to a third country within 24 hours or within the same day by aircraft, and holding tickets with reserved seats and all documents required for onward journey;
• those who arrive by aircraft to board a cruiseship or vice versa (in transit), for a period of maximum 24hours;
• cruiseship passengers if they disembark in Aruba as part of their cruise, for a period of maximum 24 hours;
• children younger than 12 years old, don’t need a visa if they are traveling with a parent or guardian;
• holders of a diplomatic passport, being nationals of Albania, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chad, Indonesia, Jamaica, Macedonia, Malawi, Morocco, Moldova, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, Thailand, Ukraine, Tunisia, Turkey or the United Arab Emirates;
• holders of a service passport, being nationals of Bolivia,Indonesia, Jamaica, Malawi, Morocco, Peru, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates;
• holders of passports or laissez passer issued by the IMF, the World Bank, the United Nations or one of its agencies;
• the crew members of vessels or aircrafts mooring or landing in Aruba for commercial purposes, and who don’t pose a threat for the public order and safety of the island or the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
  This category is exempt from the visa requirement for a period of admission of up to 48 hours.

Where and how to apply for a visa?

Visa-required tourists need to apply for and have a visitor visa before coming to Aruba. In principle the visa must be applied for in person at an embassy or consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (diplomatic mission). In some countries certain approved travel agencies can apply for a visa on behalf of their customers.

For information about the visa requirements, to apply for a visa for Aruba, and for information on appointments/opening hours, the tourist can contact a consulate or embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in his country of residence or visit the websites of the Embassy or consulates concerned. For address information and websites of Dutch diplomatic missions abroad, visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.minbuza.nl/en.

When do you need an invitation/declaration of guarantee?

A visa-required tourist needs a declaration of guarantee/invitation to apply for a visa if he has been invited to participate in a sports event by an organization on Aruba or if he’ll be staying at the home of a relative or an acquaintance. The person or organization in Aruba who will act as guarantor for the tourist’s stay has to declare that they’ll guarantee all costs than can arise from the short stay of the tourist in Aruba. The guarantor is responsible for sending the declaration of guarantee/invitation to the visa-required tourist. Please note that having the declaration doesn’t mean that the visa will be issued. It is only one of the requirements that the visa applicant has to submit.

The declaration of guarantee/invitation form is available at the office of the DIMAS and can also be downloaded from www.dimasaruba.com, as well as the instructions about the relevant procedure.

Living and Working in Aruba

Persons who want to live and work on Aruba must have a Valid residence permit from the Directorate of Alien Integration, Policy and Admission (DIMAS).

For more information contact:

DIMAS
Wilhelminastraat 31-33
Oranjestad, Aruba
Tel: +(297) 522 1500
Fax: +(297) 522 1505
E-mail: dimas@aruba.gov.aw
Website: www.dimasaruba.com

 

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