Working in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) as a French National: Permit, Pay, Tax and Social Protection

The IND-CN, the immigration service of the three islands, lists nationals of the European Union among the nationalities that can enter Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba directly. As soon as it is a question of working, or of staying more than three months, a residence permit is required, applied for after arrival. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) also reminds us that a passport is compulsory for these islands, which are not part of the Schengen area. For a stay of less than three months, foreigners benefit from free access for 90 days in 180, which the border may shorten depending on the purpose of travel.

The temporary permit is generally valid for one year, then extended for five years; after five years of continuous stay in the Caribbean Netherlands, an indefinite-duration permit can be requested. For salaried employment, the IND-CN requires income to reach at least the gross minimum wage, according to standards set by law; only complete files are accepted, an incomplete file possibly extending the wait by five to six months. File fees are indexed every 1 January according to the trend in the European Netherlands, weighted by a coefficient of 66%; the table of amounts can be read directly on the IND-CN website.

According to the Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland, an employer who wishes to have an employee from abroad work must first apply for an employment authorisation (tewerkstellingsvergunning) from the social affairs and employment unit. They must prove that they tried to recruit locally; if the search fails, they may hire a foreigner on a temporary basis, under strict conditions. The page consulted details neither any exemptions, nor the length of the authorisation, nor the fees: the employer checks them with the competent unit, which publishes an application form and a list of documents to attach.

From 1 November 2026, new requirements apply. For a work permit, salaried or self-employed, the file includes a certificate of no debt and, for an extension, a payroll summary; for family reunification, an income certificate; for an indefinite-duration permit, the documents depend on the purpose of the previous stay. Applicants themselves provide all the documents, which the local tax administration issues at the counter or by email (verklaringen@belastingdienst-cn.nl). An employer and their employee preparing a file at that time therefore have an interest in ordering these certificates well in advance.

The legal minimum wage is set by island and indexed every year. The Ministry of Social Affairs indexation brochure indicates, for those aged 21 and over, an hourly amount specific to each island and revised each year; young people receive 90% of this amount at 20, 85% at 19, 75% at 18 and 65% at 16 and 17, as detailed in the table below. According to the Rijksdienst, employers who pay less than the legal minimum risk a fine, and the employee can seek advice or mediation from the Arbeidszaken unit and then go to the labour inspectorate. The daily wage ceiling taken into account for cash sickness insurance and accident insurance is US$285.43 in Bonaire, US$283.21 in Sint Eustatius and US$284.59 in Saba for a five-day week.

No official source consulted publishes a pay scale by occupation. The CBS does publish, however, the inflation of the three islands every quarter and tracks the change in residents’ average purchasing power. The cost of living is thus better read from prices than from an average wage: see the page living in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The Rijksdienst specifies that the employee is entitled to the legal minimum wage provided for by the Caribbean Netherlands minimum wage law, as well as to a safe and healthy working environment. Working and rest times are set by the 2000 working time law applicable to the islands and its decrees; the page consulted does not reproduce the hourly ceilings, leave or the thirteenth month, which can be read in the information brochure for employees. In case of dispute, the Arbeidszaken unit offers neutral mediation (telephone 715-8888 in Bonaire, email arbeidszaken@rijksdienstcn.com), and the labour inspectorate investigates complaints and can enforce the law.

An employee cannot be dismissed without a reason: the employer must follow the procedure provided by the law on the termination of employment contracts, and a resigning employee complies with the rules of their contract. Notice periods and severance pay do not appear on the page consulted and should be checked in the texts or with Arbeidszaken. On unemployment, the Rijksdienst announces that, from 1 January 2027, employees of the three islands who lose their job through no fault of their own will be able to claim the benefit of the transitional unemployment protection scheme; the regulation was published in the Dutch official gazette on 8 July 2026.

The Caribbean Netherlands tax administration publishes a scale revised each year, with two rates depending on the part of taxable income, with a tax-free allowance and a supplement for older people. Mortgage interest on housing and premiums for a decreasing life insurance linked to that housing are only deductible at the lowest rate. People who live on the islands and, for their local income, those who do not live there are liable to tax. A newcomer who knows or supposes they owe tax requests their return form by 15 July of the calendar year following their arrival at the latest; before leaving, they file the return for the current year and those still owed.

Social premiums are calculated on a capped base, revised each year: the tax administration cites the old-age premium (AOV) at 25%, the widows and orphans premium (AWW) at 1.3% and the employee share of health insurance at 0.5%. The ministry’s indexation brochure also lists cash sickness insurance (0.7%), accident insurance (0.2%) and cessantia (0.1%) premiums, without specifying who bears them; the employer-employee split should be confirmed with the tax administration.

On the French side, the France-Netherlands tax treaty of 16 March 1973 defines the Netherlands as the part of the Kingdom located in Europe, and the list of tax treaties of the French administration mentions no Dutch Caribbean island. Tax residence is then determined by domestic law: article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) takes the home or main place of stay, the main professional activity carried out in France unless ancillary, and the centre of economic interests, any one of these three criteria being enough. Each taxpayer’s situation (family who stayed in France, property, French-source income) should be confirmed with the tax administration.

The self-employed person falls under a permit for non-salaried activity: income must at least equal the island’s gross monthly minimum wage, and a first application is accompanied by a bank statement showing the corresponding gross annual amount. The IND-CN then assesses income from tax administration data, which means filing returns on time. No permit category dedicated to remote work for a foreign employer appears on the pages consulted: a project of this type should be checked with the IND-CN before departure.

The economy is driven by Bonaire. According to the CBS, its growth is driven by construction, energy, water and waste, financial services and hotels and catering, while activity is more modest in Sint Eustatius and in Saba. Bonaire receives more than 150,000 tourists by air and hundreds of thousands of cruise passengers a year, and Flamingo airport welcomes more than 400,000 passengers. About 17,500 people are in employment on the three islands, nearly 15,000 in Bonaire, and nearly half of them are born outside the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles; construction and hotels and catering employ many people from outside. The currency in circulation is the US dollar.

No social security agreement exists between France and the Caribbean Netherlands in the CLEISS list (the French centre for European and international social security liaison), and France Diplomatie indicates that the European Health Insurance Card does not cover these islands. The local-contract employee contributes to the local scheme and, once registered in the population register, joins ZJCN health insurance; Assurance Maladie (French health insurance) reminds us that an expatriate then falls compulsorily under the scheme of the country of work, that they hand back their carte Vitale and European card before departure, and that they can join the CFE to remain insured in France and avoid waiting periods on return. See the guide CFE and the glossary entry on the local contract.

The seconded employee remains, according to Assurance Maladie, affiliated both to the French scheme and to that of the country of secondment; their care is reimbursed on paid invoices, according to French tariffs and within the limit of the expenses incurred. Secondment cannot exceed 24 months except in exceptional cases, and the durations applicable outside an agreement should be checked with Urssaf and CLEISS. See seconded or expatriate. The pages healthcare system and healthcare reimbursement detail the care covered; Expavy helps compare local insurance, the CFE and an expat health insurance.