In search of an old Cunucu house

[Arawak]

That doesn't sound very motivating. Why did they allow you only to stay for 30 days?

The entire process is intentionally painful and bureaucratic. Aruba is one of the most densely populated islands in the world and can't keep taking in none-Arubans forever. The "carrying capacity" was already reached years ago. It's basic supply and demand; the more that houses get bought up, the less space and more expensive it becomes for locals to live here. It's no surprise why there are so many real estate agents nowadays that speak a lot of nonsense to potential buyers so they can prop up certain neighborhoods and charge more. That way they can rake in more of that sweet commission.

Its to be expected that in the not so distant future, it will become even harder to "live" on Aruba.

Side note, please be careful when dealing with "intermediaries" that promise you a faster process. A lot of people come here and do not invest the time to learn about the ins and outs themselves and go on to rely on these intermediaries. These, many times don't have any special knowledge or skill and just act as if it is so. Many stories out there on how people paid money and never heard back from the person they hired or they got scammed and the dues weren't actually being paid for properly which can get you into legal trouble later. Double, triple, quadruple check if the intermediary you are dealing with is an actual professional and do not under any circumstance sign anything without having a lawyer looking over it first.

Good luck!

[Andrea J.]

thanks Arawak!
words to live by.

The entire process is intentionally painful and bureaucratic. Aruba is one of the most densely populated islands in the world and can't keep taking in none-Arubans forever. The "carrying capacity" was already reached years ago. It's basic supply and demand; the more that houses get bought up, the less space and more expensive it becomes for locals to live here. It's no surprise why there are so many real estate agents nowadays that speak a lot of nonsense to potential buyers so they can prop up certain neighborhoods and charge more. That way they can rake in more of that sweet commission.

Its to be expected that in the not so distant future, it will become even harder to "live" on Aruba.

Side note, please be careful when dealing with "intermediaries" that promise you a faster process. A lot of people come here and do not invest the time to learn about the ins and outs themselves and go on to rely on these intermediaries. These, many times don't have any special knowledge or skill and just act as if it is so. Many stories out there on how people paid money and never heard back from the person they hired or they got scammed and the dues weren't actually being paid for properly which can get you into legal trouble later. Double, triple, quadruple check if the intermediary you are dealing with is an actual professional and do not under any circumstance sign anything without having a lawyer looking over it first.

Good luck!

[ConchKarin]

Oh,cthe Dutch Embassy does that? I didn't know that. So maybe it's easier for us then, since the Netherlands and Germany both belong to the EU....

That's what we did (migrated as retirees from Canada). I would advise using an immigration consultant as dealing with the government directly can be challenging at the best of times. The consultant we used knew the ins and outs of getting it done (including the renewals). The biggest challenge was getting all the documentation together in Canada and getting it signed off by the Dutch embassy (who do the document approvals for Aruba). Good luck!

[act1966]

Oh,cthe Dutch Embassy does that? I didn't know that. So maybe it's easier for us then, since the Netherlands and Germany both belong to the EU....

The Dutch embassy just does the document authentication (in Canada) but the rest of the process and approval is all Aruba. Aruba isn’t part of the EU so I believe the process would still be the same. Our Dutch friends went through the same process we did.