How to Get Aruba Citizenship: Naturalization, Option, and Descent

To get Aruba citizenship, you apply for Dutch nationality from Aruba, because Aruba is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and does not issue a separate citizenship of its own. Most foreign nationals qualify through naturalization after five years of continuous legal residence on the island. Spouses of Dutch citizens, long-term residents, and people born in the Kingdom can often use shorter or faster routes. Applications are filed with the Department of Integration, Management and Admissions (DIMAS) in Oranjestad, reviewed by the Cabinet of the Governor of Aruba, and decided by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) in the Netherlands.¹

What Aruban Citizenship Actually Is

There is no standalone Aruban passport or Aruban nationality. When you naturalize while living in Aruba, you receive Dutch nationality under the Kingdom Act on Netherlands Nationality (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap). You carry a Dutch passport and gain the right to live and work in Aruba, in the European Netherlands, and, as a Dutch national and therefore an EU citizen, throughout the European Union.

Three offices handle your file in sequence. DIMAS receives your application and examines it locally. The Cabinet of the Governor of Aruba reviews and forwards it. The IND in the Netherlands makes the final decision. Your total processing time depends on all three, not just the office where you submit.

Naturalization Requirements

Naturalization is the standard route for foreign nationals who have built a life in Aruba. Under Article 8 of the Kingdom Act on Netherlands Nationality, you must meet every one of the following conditions:

Be at least 18 years old.
Have lived legally in Aruba for at least five consecutive years immediately before applying, with your principal residence on the island the whole time.
Hold a valid residence permit throughout, with no objection from the authorities to your continued residence.
Have no serious criminal record. Authorities review your conduct in Aruba and in any previous countries of residence.
Show reasonable knowledge of Dutch and of Papiamento, along with knowledge of Aruba’s political system and society.
Be willing to make a formal declaration of solidarity when you receive Dutch nationality.

Only continuous residence counts toward the five years. Extended trips can break the chain, so if you travel often, confirm with DIMAS how much time abroad is permitted before your residency resets.²

Shorter Residency for Spouses, Partners, and Long-Term Residents

If you are married to a Dutch citizen and have lived together for at least three years, the five-year residency requirement is waived entirely. You still have to meet every other condition, including language and good conduct, but you do not need to prove five years of prior residence in Aruba. The same waiver applies to former Dutch nationals and to people adopted by Dutch parents after reaching adulthood.²

Unmarried partners of Dutch citizens get a reduced but not eliminated period. If you have been in a continuous, permanent relationship with a Dutch national for at least three years, the residency requirement drops from five years to three. Stateless applicants also qualify for the three-year threshold.

There is one more reduction to know about. If you have lived in Aruba or elsewhere in the Kingdom for a total of at least ten years, the consecutive residency required before applying drops to two years.

The Option Procedure: A Faster Track

The option procedure is a shorter alternative to naturalization for people who fit specific categories. Where naturalization can take up to 12 months to decide, an option declaration is decided within 13 weeks.¹ You may qualify if:

You were born in Aruba or elsewhere in the Kingdom, have always lived in the Kingdom, are at least 18, and hold a valid residence permit.
You have lived in the Kingdom since the day you turned four, have always held a valid residence permit, and are at least 18.
You have lived in the Kingdom for at least 15 consecutive years with a valid permit and have been married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen for at least three years.
You have lived in the Kingdom for at least 15 consecutive years with a valid residence permit and are now 65 or older.
You were born stateless in the Kingdom and have lived there for at least three consecutive years with a valid permit.
You were born before 1985 to a Dutch mother and a non-Dutch father. Before 1985, nationality passed only through fathers, and this option corrects that historical gap.

Further categories cover minors acknowledged by a Dutch citizen and children under joint authority of a Dutch and non-Dutch parent.³ If any of these might describe you, look at the option procedure before defaulting to naturalization.

Citizenship by Descent

Children of Dutch citizens often acquire Dutch nationality automatically at birth, with no application needed. For children born after December 31, 1984, nationality passes from either parent. A child is Dutch at birth if the mother held Dutch nationality at the time, or if the father held Dutch nationality and was married to or in a registered partnership with the mother, or acknowledged the child before birth. The place of birth, whether Aruba, the Netherlands, or abroad, does not change this.⁴ For children born before January 1, 1985, only the father’s nationality counted; a child of a Dutch mother alone can now acquire nationality through the option procedure.

Including Children in Your Application

Children under 18 cannot apply on their own but can be included in a parent’s naturalization through co-naturalization. Children under 16 must live in the Kingdom and hold a valid residence permit, and those aged 12 and above must be present at submission to say whether they agree. Children aged 16 or 17 must have lived in the Kingdom for at least three consecutive years, hold a valid permit, consent to the application, attend the ceremony, and make the declaration of solidarity themselves. If only one parent applies, the other must be present to consent.⁵ Minors included in a parent’s application do not have to renounce any other nationality they hold.

Dual Citizenship and Renunciation

The Kingdom of the Netherlands generally does not allow dual nationality. If you naturalize as an adult, you are expected to renounce your original citizenship after receiving Dutch nationality.⁶ The exceptions are wider than most applicants realize. You may keep your original nationality if:

You are married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen on the date the Royal Decree granting your citizenship is signed.
You hold refugee status recognized in the Kingdom.
You were born in the Kingdom and currently live there.
Your country of origin does not allow renunciation or makes it unreasonably difficult.
Your country is not recognized by the Netherlands, such as Taiwan or the Palestinian Territories.

You can also request an exemption where renunciation would cause serious consequences, for example a large fee to be released from citizenship, loss of inheritance rights, or triggering mandatory military service.⁷ The spouse exemption alone covers a large share of applicants in Aruba, so check that before working out renunciation logistics.

Documents You Will Need

Gathering documents is the slowest part of the process, especially if you have lived in several countries. Expect to collect:

A current, unexpired passport from your country of nationality.
An original or certified birth certificate, often requiring apostille or legalization for use in the Kingdom.
A marriage certificate if applying through the spousal pathway or if your marital status is otherwise relevant.
Copies of all residence permits covering your time in Aruba, showing continuous legal presence.
Police clearance certificates from Aruba and from every country where you have lived.
Proof of financial stability, such as employment contracts, pay slips, or bank statements.
Certificates showing proficiency in Dutch and Papiamento and knowledge of Aruban society.

DIMAS publishes the application form and a checklist for your specific situation. Download and complete both before your appointment.⁸ Apostille and legalization of foreign documents can take weeks, so start early.

Submitting Your Application

Applications are submitted in person at the DIMAS office in Oranjestad by appointment only. Bring all originals plus copies, the completed form, the relevant checklist, and payment for the application fee. Exact fees are set by DIMAS and can change, so confirm the current amount when you schedule.⁸ At the appointment, a DIMAS officer reviews your documents and may ask about your background and integration. Missing or incomplete items can send your file back, so verify every checklist entry before you arrive.

Processing Timeline and the Ceremony

After DIMAS accepts your application, the file goes to the Cabinet of the Governor of Aruba, then to the IND for the final decision. The IND must decide within 12 months of receiving the file. That clock starts when the IND receives the forwarded file, not when you hand papers to DIMAS, so the total wait from submission to decision is often longer than 12 months. Option procedure applications are decided within 13 weeks.

Approval alone does not make you a citizen. You must attend a naturalization ceremony and recite the citizenship pledge in Dutch, promising to abide by the laws of the Kingdom. You have exactly one year from the date of approval to attend. Miss that deadline and your approval expires; you would then need to submit an entirely new application from scratch.⁹ After the ceremony, you receive a Certificate of Naturalization, your official proof of Dutch nationality, and you can apply for a Dutch passport.

1
Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Becoming a Dutch National in the Caribbean Part of the Kingdom
2
Global Citizenship Observatory. Netherlands Nationality Act Consolidated English
3
Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Becoming a Dutch National Through Option
4
Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Dutch Citizen by Birth, Acknowledgment or Adoption
5
Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Becoming a Dutch National Through Naturalisation
6
Government of the Netherlands. Dual Citizenship
7
Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Renouncing Your Nationality
8
DIMAS. Downloads
9
NetherlandsWorldwide. What Is the Naturalisation Ceremony