An American who wants to live and do business in Aruba deals with two sets of rules. The first is Aruba's immigration law, officially the Landsverordening toelating en uitzetting (LTU for short). It determines who may be on the island without a permit, who needs one, and when someone has to leave. The second is a 1956 treaty between the Netherlands and the United States: the Friendship Treaty, known in America as the DAFT.
A 1956 treaty gives Americans in Aruba the same position as a Dutch national from the Netherlands. What does that mean in practice?
Most people know that treaty as the arrangement that lets Americans start a business in the Netherlands with little difficulty. Less well known is that it also applies in Aruba, and that the courts confirmed this in 2014. In this article we explain in plain language how the two sets of rules work together: what the treaty makes easier, and what simply continues to apply.
The LTU divides everyone into three groups.
The first group needs no admission at all: Arubans, people who became Dutch nationals in Aruba, and Dutch nationals from outside Aruba who have lived here for ten years or more.
The second group is admitted "by operation of law". That means automatically, without a permit and without conditions. This group includes Dutch nationals who have been admitted to Aruba for more than five uninterrupted years. They can obtain a declaration to that effect from the government.
The third group is everyone else. They need a residence permit from DIMAS. Such a permit usually runs for one year, is tied to a purpose (work for a specific employer, director of a company, investor, family reunification) and has to be renewed each time. Anyone who has lived in Aruba lawfully for ten years can obtain a permit for an indefinite period.
The law also recognises tourists: visitors who stay briefly and do not work here for pay. The standard period is thirty days, but for Dutch and American nationals it has been extended to 180 days.
The LTU also sets requirements that apply to everyone. A permit can be refused for insufficient income, a previous overstay, incorrect information or a criminal record. Anyone who breaches the conditions can lose the permit and be expelled. And employers may not hire anyone without a valid residence title, on pain of fines of up to Afl. 25,000 and, in serious cases, imprisonment.
The treaty gives Americans the right to come to the Netherlands to trade or to run a business in which they have invested a substantial amount. It also gives them the right to set up and manage companies on the same footing as Dutch nationals.
For Aruba one sentence in the accompanying Protocol is decisive. It says that Americans in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom receive the same treatment as Dutch nationals who were not born there. In other words: in Aruba an American is treated like a Dutch national from the Netherlands who moves to the island.
For a long time the governments in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom took the view that this sentence was only about trade and had nothing to do with residence permits. The Joint Court of Justice, the highest court for Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the BES islands, put an end to that on 15 December 2014 in a case from Sint Maarten. The Court held that the provision is so clear that Americans can rely on it directly, that it covers all purposes of residence (not only business), and that an American's application must be assessed under the rules that apply to Dutch nationals. As early as 2010 the court of first instance had taken the same approach in a case about a director's licence for an American.
The government now applies this. The official website of the Government of Aruba states, under the declaration of admission by operation of law, that it is issued to Dutch nationals admitted to Aruba for more than five years "and, on the basis of case law, also to persons of American nationality under the same conditions". The 2023 DIMAS Admission Handbook likewise places Dutch and American nationals side by side in several places, for instance where it concerns filing an application while you are in Aruba as a tourist.
| Topic | Dutch national from the Netherlands | American relying on the treaty |
|---|---|---|
| As a tourist in Aruba | 180 days | 180 days |
| First five years | Residence permit required, under the lighter regime for Dutch nationals | The same |
| Security deposit | Not owed | Not owed |
| Filing an application from within Aruba (as a tourist) | Possible | Possible |
| After more than five uninterrupted years of admission | Admitted automatically, without conditions | The same, confirmed by the government |
| Exemption for Arubans (born or naturalised) | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Grounds for refusal, revocation, expulsion | Apply | Apply |
| Rules for employers | Apply | Apply |
Four things stand out.
The treaty does not make an American an Aruban. The comparison is with a Dutch national who comes from outside, not with someone born here.
The treaty does not abolish the permit. During the first five years an American entrepreneur also needs a residence permit from DIMAS, for instance as an investor or director. The difference lies in the assessment: it follows the more lenient rules for Dutch nationals, without a security deposit, and the application can be filed from within Aruba.
After five years the position tips. The American, like the Dutch national, is then admitted automatically. No more annual renewals, no link to an employer or position.
The obligations remain. Sufficient income, no criminal record, honest information, no staff without a residence title: these apply to Americans exactly as to everyone else. The treaty itself says it grants no exemption from generally applicable legal requirements.
The LTU is about residence, not about the business itself. Anyone who wants to run a business in Aruba also needs a business licence and, for a company, a director's licence. The company has to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce, and taxes and social premiums (AZV, AOV/AWW) apply as usual. The treaty guarantees that an American is treated no worse than an Aruban entrepreneur in all this, not that these steps can be skipped.
There is a limit on the tax side too. On 19 June 2026 the Supreme Court of the Netherlands held that an American parent company which itself does nothing in Aruba cannot rely on the treaty against Aruban dividend tax. The treaty protects those who actually do business here.
Regulated professions, such as physician, lawyer or accountant, fall outside the treaty. The ordinary Aruban professional requirements apply.
The treaty also works in the other direction. Because Arubans hold Dutch nationality, they can apply for a U.S. E-2 investor visa. That requires a substantial, actually committed and at-risk investment in a real business that the applicant runs personally. There is no minimum amount; the smaller the business, the larger the share of its cost that must have been invested. The visa can be renewed indefinitely but does not lead to a green card.
Aruban law sets the rules; the treaty sets the yardstick by which those rules are applied to an American. Anyone who knows the treaty and invokes it in time will find that Aruba is one of the most accessible places in the region for Americans to live and do business. Anyone who assumes the treaty sets all the rules aside will be disappointed.
Do you want to settle in Aruba as an American or acquire a business here, or are you an Aruban entrepreneur considering the move to the United States? Glas & Glas Attorneys and Legal Consultancy will be glad to help, in English, Dutch, Papiamento or Spanish.
This article is general information, not advice. It is based on the Landsverordening toelating en uitzetting, the treaty and the Protocol, published case law up to and including 2026, and official information from the Government of Aruba and the U.S. Department of State. Policy and amounts may change. No rights can be derived from this article.
Yes, during the first five years. The Friendship Treaty does not abolish the permit, but it ensures that the application is assessed under the more lenient rules for Dutch nationals: no security deposit, and the application can be filed from within Aruba. After more than five uninterrupted years of admission an American, like a Dutch national, is admitted by operation of law.
Yes. The treaty has applied to Aruba since 1 January 1986 and the U.S. Department of State confirms this in its list of treaty countries. The Joint Court of Justice held on 15 December 2014 that Americans can rely on it directly and are treated like Dutch nationals not born in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
Yes. Because Arubans hold Dutch nationality, they qualify under the same treaty for the E-2 investor visa. It requires a substantial, actually committed investment in a real business that the applicant runs personally. The visa is renewable but does not lead to a green card.
We handle residence applications invoking the Friendship Treaty, business licences and the E-2 route, in English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento.
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