Tourists & visas

A tourist is legally defined  as any person residing in Aruba for no longer than three months for purposes of relaxation, sports, health reasons, family matters, family visit, study, religious purposes or business purposes and provided that no work is being performed during the stay for which payment is being received.

Tourists do not have to apply for a temporary residence permit or for admission by right in order to reside in Aruba. In principle, all tourists are not allowed to stay in Aruba for a period not exceeding 30 days per entry, irrespective of the frequency that a tourist enters Aruba. Do note that the allowed maximum length of all stays may not exceed 180 days per 12 months, reckoned  form the date of first entry.

In certain cases, tourists may request for extension of the tourist stay. The allowed maximum length of the tourist stay upon request is as follows:

• Tourists having Dutch nationality may enter Aruba for 180 days per calendar year. According to case law of the Court of First Instance of Aruba, based on a Friendship Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States, this also applies to US citizens;
• Tourists originating from other countries may also request for a stay exceeding 30 days continuously (with maximum 180 days) in case they are able to demonstrate that they own real estate or a timeshare apartment  in Aruba, or that they are in the possession of a pleasure craft moored in Aruba with a minimum length of 14 meters;
• Tourists not having Dutch or US citizenship and not having any possessions (real estate, time share apartment or pleasure craft) in Aruba, may request extension  for a tourist stay of 90 days continuously. This extension can be requested upon entry by stating the amount days the tourist wishes to stay on the immigration card or after entry at the concerned governmental department. if;
• Tourists requesting an extension of their stay exceeding 30 days must inter alia have a valid travel insurance during the requested length of stay as a tourist.

Please note that certain nationalities require a visa, in which case the length of the tourist stay depends on the validity period of the visa.