Buying Property in Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire: The Dutch Caribbean Explained

Published on: August 25, 2026

Last verified: 25 August 2026. Aruba, Curaçao and the Caribbean Netherlands each legislate independently, and several of the rates and thresholds described here have been revised in recent years.

Quick answer:

• Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire is a special municipality (public body) of the Netherlands itself.
• None of the three is EU territory. All are Overseas Countries and Territories. EU treaties do not apply directly and EU free movement rules are not in effect.
• None of the three restricts foreign ownership. No licence, no nationality test, no local partner.
• Transfer costs are moderate: Curaçao 4%, Bonaire 5% on existing property (with a consumption tax alternative on new construction), Aruba on a tiered scale.
• Leasehold land (erfpacht) is extremely common in prime areas of Aruba and Curaçao, and it is not a defect, but it changes the annual cost and the resale analysis.
• The immigration rules are where the three diverge most sharply, and they are far more restrictive than the property rules.

The ABC islands sit off the coast of Venezuela, below the main Atlantic hurricane track, with Dutch civil law, notarial conveyancing and no restriction on foreign ownership. For a certain kind of buyer, that combination is close to ideal.

It is also one of the most consistently misdescribed corners of the international property market, because the three islands look similar and are constitutionally very different. One is part of the Netherlands. Two are not. None of them are part of the European Union, including the one that is part of the Netherlands.

That last sentence is not a technicality. It determines who can live there, who needs a permit, which tax system applies, and which currency you will be paying in.

The constitutional map, in one table

Why "part of the Netherlands but not part of the EU" matters

Bonaire is the case that trips people up. It became a public body of the Netherlands when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved in October 2010, and it is administratively part of the Dutch state. It is also an Overseas Country and Territory in relation to the European Union, which means EU treaties do not apply directly, EU free movement rules are not in effect, and the island runs its own customs and tax regime.

The practical consequences:

• An EU citizen who is not a Dutch national has no automatic right to live in Bonaire. The rights that would apply in Amsterdam do not travel to Kralendijk.
• A Dutch national does not have unlimited free settlement either. Dutch nationals, including those from Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba, have free entry to Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba for a maximum of 180 days in any 365, reduced to 90 days if they work or undertake a traineeship during the stay. Beyond that, a Declaration of Admittance by Law is required.
• Certain categories of Dutch nationals can settle freely, broadly those born on the islands, those with a parent born there, and those with long-established prior residence, through a Non-Applicability Declaration.
• A Dutch passport still confers EU citizenship, so a Bonaire resident who naturalises as a Dutch national gains EU rights in Europe. The relationship runs one way.
• The euro is not used. Bonaire uses the US dollar, and its tax system, the BES system introduced in 2011, is entirely separate from the Dutch mainland code.

Aruba and Curaçao are constitutionally further from the Netherlands still: they are countries in their own right within the Kingdom, with their own parliaments, their own tax law and their own admission legislation.

Foreign ownership: genuinely open

This is the simple part. None of the three islands restricts foreign purchase of residential property. There is no landholding licence of the kind required in the British Overseas Territories, no nationality test, no requirement to be resident, and no requirement to involve a local partner or company.

A non-resident foreign buyer acquires with the same rights as a local buyer, through a civil-law notary, with registration at the land registry (Kadaster). Purchase can generally be completed remotely under a notarised and apostilled power of attorney.

Freehold versus erfpacht: the single most important distinction

In Aruba and Curaçao, a substantial share of desirable property, including much of the best coastal land, sits on erfpacht: long-term leasehold over land owned by the government.

How it works in practice:

• Term. Typically 60 years, with extension at the end of the term. Extension is the norm rather than the exception, and leaseholder rights are strongly protected in law.
• Canon. An annual ground rent, calculated by reference to the land value.
• Rights. The erfpacht holder can occupy, build, sell, mortgage and bequeath essentially as an owner. Local banks lend against erfpacht property routinely.
• Cost profile. No annual real estate tax on the land element in Curaçao where erfpacht applies, but an annual canon instead.

In Aruba, many of the most sought-after neighbourhoods, including Malmok, Arashi, Palm Beach, Tierra del Sol and the coloured-stone districts, sit substantially on lease land.

What to check before buying erfpacht:

1. The remaining term. A property with 12 years left is a different asset from one with 48, both for financing and resale.
2. The current canon and the revision mechanism. The canon can be adjusted, typically at renewal and sometimes at fixed intervals. Ask how and when.
3. The lease conditions. Erfpacht deeds carry conditions on use, building obligations and sometimes on letting. Read the deed rather than the brochure.
4. Whether the lender you plan to use lends on that lease term. Some banks apply a minimum remaining term.
5. What happened at the last renewal on comparable plots, which is the only real evidence of how the canon behaves in practice.

Freehold (eigendom) is scarcer in prime coastal areas, carries no canon, and generally commands a premium and a stronger resale position.

The tax and cost structure, island by island

Aruba

• Transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting) applies on transfer at a tiered rate, commonly cited as 3% below a threshold in the region of AWG 250,000 and 6% above it. The threshold and rates are set by Aruban law and have been revised, so confirm the current figures.
• Notary fees typically add a further percentage of the purchase price, covering the deed and registration.
• Land tax (grondbelasting) is the recurring charge, based on the property value, with an exempt portion and a modest rate applied above it. By international standards it is low.
• Non-resident homeowners have a right of stay on the island that is commonly described as up to 180 days per year, which is a genuine practical benefit for a second-home owner but is not residence.

Curaçao

• Transfer tax of 4% on transfer, paid at the notary.
• Property tax (onroerendezaakbelasting, OZB) is the annual charge on freehold property. Erfpacht land does not attract OZB on the land element; the canon applies instead.
• No capital gains tax for individuals on the sale of a private property.
• Rental income is taxed on actual earnings rather than on a notional yield.
• Currency note: Curaçao and Sint Maarten moved from the Netherlands Antillean guilder to the Caribbean guilder (XCG). The peg to the US dollar was maintained through the transition. Prices are frequently quoted in USD in the international market regardless.

Bonaire

Bonaire's system is the most distinctive of the three, and it is worth understanding in full because it looks unfamiliar to almost everyone.

• Transfer tax of 5% on the transfer of existing property, calculated on fair market value, which must be at least the purchase price. Exemptions exist, notably for newly constructed buildings.
• ABB (algemene bestedingsbelasting) instead of VAT. For new construction, the general consumption tax applies, commonly at 8%, rather than the 5% transfer tax.
• Vastgoedbelasting: a tax on notional yield, not on rent. This is the key structural difference. Bonaire does not tax actual rental profit through a conventional income tax. Instead, the benefit from immovable property is fixed by law at 4% of the property's value, and the tax is charged on that deemed benefit. The base rate produces an effective rate of about 0.7% of value, and Bonaire applies an island surcharge that brings the effective rate to approximately 0.91% of value for second homes and non-resident-owned property. Hotels owned by companies are taxed at a lower effective rate.
• An exemption applies to the first USD 70,000 of value for second homes. Owner-occupied primary residences are outside the vastgoedbelasting and instead attract grondbelasting at a lower effective rate.
• Valuation is fixed by decision of the tax authority and, in principle, holds for a five-year period, with a right of objection.
• Investment exemption for improvements. A relief period has applied to value added by improvements, and the period was shortened in a recent reform, so check the current rules before budgeting a renovation.

For an owner, the practical effect of the vastgoedbelasting is that your annual Bonaire tax bill does not fall if your property sits empty. It is a tax on the asset, not on the income. That is favourable for a high-occupancy rental villa and unfavourable for a lightly used holiday home.

Owners resident in the European Netherlands should note that the Dutch box 3 system and the BES vastgoedbelasting both reach the same property, and that a provision exists to prevent double taxation. How it applies to a specific holding is a question for a Dutch tax adviser, not a general article.

Immigration: the part that is genuinely restrictive

Buying is easy. Living there is not, and the two are unrelated. Property ownership does not confer a right of residence on any of the three islands.

Bonaire and the wider Caribbean Netherlands operate under the WTU BES. Admission comes through one of three routes: admission by right, a residence permit, or short stay as a tourist. The regime applies to foreign nationals and, importantly, also to Dutch nationals who were not born on the BES islands and did not acquire Dutch nationality there, subject to the exempt categories described earlier.

For foreign nationals requiring a residence permit, an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV) is generally needed before the permit application can be filed. Nationals of EU and EEA member states, Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, the United States, South Korea, Switzerland and Vatican City are exempted from the MVV requirement, which shortens the process but does not remove the permit requirement. Sufficient means of support is a prerequisite for a permit, and the decision period is measured in months.

Tourist stays for most nationalities are short, commonly cited as up to 30 days without a permit, and Bonaire is not in the Schengen area, so border formalities apply even on a flight routed through Amsterdam.

Aruba and Curaçao each operate their own admission legislation, with permit categories covering employment, self-employment, investment, family reunification and retirement or "person of independent means" routes. The requirements differ between the two islands and are set locally. If residence rather than a holiday home is the objective, this needs professional advice on the specific island before, not after, a purchase.

Practical realities that shape value

Position relative to the hurricane belt

The ABC islands sit south of the main Atlantic hurricane track and are struck far less frequently than the northeastern Caribbean. This is a genuine and often decisive advantage: it affects insurance cost, construction requirements, financing and the reliability of a rental season.

It is not immunity. Tropical systems do pass close enough to cause damage, and insurance is still essential. What it means is that the wind-deductible arithmetic that dominates ownership economics in Anguilla, the BVI or Turks and Caicos is much less severe here.

Water

All three islands are arid, and drinking water is largely desalinated. Water is reliable and safe, and it is not cheap. Confirm the supply arrangement and typical monthly consumption cost for the specific property, particularly where a pool or garden is involved.

Electricity and utilities

Generation is island-based, tariffs are high by mainland standards, and solar is common and often worth pricing into a purchase. Ask for twelve months of actual utility bills rather than an estimate.

Condominium and letting rules

Where a property sits within a condominium or resort development, the internal rules may restrict or channel short-term letting, and a rental operation may require a business licence and registration with the local authority. Confirm both the private rules and the public licensing requirement before underwriting rental income.

Succession

Dutch-derived civil law applies, with a notarial system and concepts of protected heirship that differ substantially from common-law testamentary freedom. A will drafted in a common-law country may not achieve the intended outcome for a property held in the Dutch Caribbean. Take local notarial advice, and be aware that Bonaire's position as part of the Netherlands does not automatically mean the EU Succession Regulation applies, since the OCTs sit outside EU territory.

Buying process, step by step

1. Engage a local real estate agent and, ideally, a local lawyer. All transactions run through a civil-law notary, and the notary is neutral rather than acting for either side.
2. Offer and purchase agreement. A deposit, commonly 10%, is held by the notary in escrow.
3. Due diligence. Kadaster search, boundary check, confirmation of freehold or erfpacht status, review of the erfpacht deed and conditions, zoning and building permit check, condominium documents and accounts.
4. Financing, if applicable. Local banks lend to non-residents on more conservative terms than to residents; expect a lower loan-to-value and a valuation requirement.
5. Notarial deed and registration. The notary prepares the deed, withholds and remits the transfer tax, and registers the transfer.
6. Timeline. Commonly six to ten weeks from signed agreement to completion, driven by due diligence, financing and notary scheduling.
7. Post-completion. Utilities transfer, insurance from completion, registration for the applicable annual tax, and any rental licensing.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners buy property in Aruba, Curaçao or Bonaire?
Yes, on all three, with the same rights as local buyers, no licence and no residency requirement. Purchase runs through a civil-law notary and can be completed remotely under power of attorney.

Is Bonaire part of the European Union?
No. Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands but has Overseas Country and Territory status in relation to the EU. EU treaties do not apply directly, EU free movement rules are not in effect, and Bonaire uses the US dollar and its own BES tax system.

Can an EU citizen live in Bonaire freely?
No. EU free movement does not apply. EU nationals other than Dutch nationals need to go through the WTU BES admission process, although several nationalities including EU and EEA nationals are exempt from the MVV requirement.

What is erfpacht and should I avoid it?
Erfpacht is long-term leasehold over government-owned land, typically 60 years, with an annual canon. It is standard in prime areas of Aruba and Curaçao, is mortgageable and transferable, and is not a defect. Check the remaining term, the canon and its revision mechanism, and the lease conditions before buying.

How much is annual property tax in the Dutch Caribbean?
Curaçao levies OZB on freehold property. Aruba levies a low land tax based on property value with an exempt portion. Bonaire levies vastgoedbelasting at an effective rate of about 0.91% of value on second homes and non-resident-owned property, after a USD 70,000 exemption, with a lower effective rate of grondbelasting on owner-occupied primary residences.

Does Bonaire tax my rental income?
Not as income in the usual sense. Bonaire taxes a deemed yield fixed at 4% of the property's value, regardless of what the property actually earns. Your own country of tax residence may still tax the actual rental profit.

Are the ABC islands in the hurricane belt?
They sit south of the main Atlantic hurricane track and are affected far less often than the northeastern Caribbean, which is a real advantage for insurance and rental reliability. They are not immune, and insurance remains essential.

Does buying property give me residency?
No. Ownership and residence are separate on all three islands. Aruba grants non-resident homeowners a generous annual stay allowance, but that is not residence.

Keep reading on JanusHermes

The single question that decides a Dutch Caribbean purchase is whether the property sits on freehold or on erfpacht, because that determines the annual cost, the financing and the resale position, and it is rarely the first thing a listing tells you. JanusHermes lists property from local agencies in 11 languages, with the local agency's own contact details on every listing.

Related reading: Where Dutch Buyers Buy Property Abroad, Buying Property in Cayman, Turks & Caicos, BVI and Anguilla, Foreign Property Ownership Restrictions by Country, The Civil-Law Notary System for Foreign Property Buyers and Residency Visa Minimum Stay Requirements by Country.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Aruba, Curaçao and the Caribbean Netherlands each legislate independently, and transfer tax rates, thresholds, property tax rates, exemptions, currency arrangements and admission rules change. Several of the figures described here have been revised in recent years. Confirm every rate, threshold and requirement with a civil-law notary and a tax adviser on the relevant island, and with an adviser in your own country of tax residence, before you act.