Living in Aruba as a U.S. or Canadian citizen: the under-55 and 55+ routes

The age of 55 sets the route

Aruba offers two residence permits for people who settle on the island without taking up employment, and which one applies depends first on age. Applicants who have not yet turned 55 — any adult aged 18 to 54 — use the rentenier (person of independent means) permit, which turns on the assets you can demonstrate. From the age of 55 you may instead qualify as a pensioner (gepensioneerde), a route built on guaranteed pension income. Someone over 55 without a sufficient pension can still apply as a rentenier, provided they meet the higher asset test.

Aged 18 to 54: the rentenier permit

The heart of this permit is an original bank statement (bank letter) showing an average annual bank balance of at least AWG 100,000 (roughly USD 55,000–56,000). That balance or income must come from one of two sources:

• rental income from real estate in Aruba, elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or in an OECD, UNASUR or CARICOM country; or
• assets held with a recognised financial institution — a bank in the EU, the United States or Canada — or with a pension, investment or mutual fund.

DIMAS expects a genuine bank letter stating the average annual balance; loose statements or account screenshots are usually not enough. The policy also recognises a guaranteed-income variant — an annuity or an investment locked in for at least two years — yielding at least AWG 50,000 per year.

Aged 55 and over: the pensioner permit

From 55, you can qualify on a (joint) pension income of at least AWG 50,000 gross per year (roughly USD 27,500–28,000). The income must be guaranteed pension income or an annuity, which for U.S. and Canadian applicants can be evidenced by a Social Security or CPP/OAS award, a company pension (401(k)/RRSP distribution) or an annuity statement.

Conditions that apply to both

Whichever route applies, DIMAS asks for the same supporting documents:

• a valid passport (still valid for at least three months) and a recent passport photo;
• apostilled police clearance, no older than six months — for Americans the federal FBI Identity History Summary (a local sheriff's letter is generally insufficient), for Canadians the RCMP certificate;
• on grant of the permit, an apostilled birth certificate (no older than six months) for civil-registry (Censo) registration;
• a medical examination — a tuberculosis screening — completed within 30 days of arrival.

Costs

An initial application costs AWG 65 in charges plus AWG 2,000 in fees, together AWG 2,065. A deposit may apply depending on nationality: AWG 1,000 for Canadians, while for U.S. nationals no deposit is levied in practice.

Staying while your permit is pending

First applications are normally awaited abroad, but renteniers and pensioners are an exception: they may await the decision in Aruba, provided they are on the island on the application date and admitted as tourists (article 8 LTU). Americans may stay up to 90 days without a separate extension; Canadians are admitted for 30 days, extendable to a maximum of 180 days per year. Once the file is positively pre-assessed, DIMAS issues a VTA (Voorlopige Toelating tot Aruba), valid for three months, and the authority reckons on roughly ten weeks of processing.

This article is general information based on the DIMAS admission policy and requirement lists (version 31 July 2025) and is current as of August 2026. Policy and amounts can change and no rights can be derived from it. For a specific situation, individual legal advice is recommended.