courtesy of: The Morning News
People arrive in Aruba daily from different countries. They come here to enjoy a vacation at a hotel, condominium or to enjoy the home they bought here to get away from the winter.
There are also those who come to stay with friends on Aruba. Sometimes friends invite them to come and spend time with them for their vacation. So, they stay at a friend’s residence during their time on the island.
The number of vacation days that visitors get to stay on the island depends on various factors. In general, however, the Immigration Department allows for a 30 day tourism stay. In the event the person is of Dutch nationality, or is here to enjoy their own residence on the island (a home, timeshare or condominium) and assuming they can prove this, the Immigration Department is authorized to give them a maximum of 180 days per year providing of course they comply with all the requirements.
On average tourists stay for one week. Persons who have received a stayover period for 30 days, but who desire to stay longer, must go to DIMAS and file a formal application for an extension.
Most of the petitions for visitor extensions are for those staying with family or friends. In this case, it is the family member who is responsible for the person. The family is the guarantor for any eventual expenses that may occur during the visitor’s stay on the island.
The family member is required to submit a letter of guarantee, legalized by DWJZ, along with other requirements.
Soon DIMAS will be issuing a communique concerning the changes in the procedures regarding guarantees when requesting an extension for longer visitor stays on the island and for applying for a visa to travel to Aruba.
To submit a petition for the visitor extension, there is no need for an appointment. The request for a visitor extension is a free service at DIMAS and a “same day service” as well. This can be requested at the DIMAS’ Fast Desk. DIMAS is open Monday to Friday for the prolongation of visitor’s stays.
The person requesting must be present with all the required documents for the extension request. These include the Visitor’s Extension Request Form and the letter of guarantee. These forms are available for download at www.dimasaruba.com.
No visitor is allowed to work during their stay on the island as a visitor.
As for Visas, only the Embassy of the Dutch Kingdom is authorized to issue visas which may be valid for 6 months for multiple entries or for 4 years with multiple entries.
Other services of the DIMAS’ Fast desk are: petitions for the restitution of monies deposited, making appointments for those without internet connections, submitting petitions for re-entry permits and for requests for duplicate documents. DIMAS will disseminate more information about their services in forthcoming communiques.
