Retiring in Curaçao: Residence Permit, Taxation of the Pension and Access to Care

Curaçao offers a residence permit specific to the annuitant or retiree. For a European Union citizen, the tourist stay is limited to 90 days a year; beyond that, a residence permit is needed (Toelatingsorganisatie). The annuitant permit application includes the signed form, the passport, a birth certificate extract less than a year old, a certificate of good conduct from the last place of residence less than three months old and an original bank statement confirming sufficient resources for the applicant and their family. The website publishes no minimum pension or capital amount for the annuitant; only gross monthly amounts are given for family members: Cg 1,500 for a spouse when the sponsor is Dutch, Cg 3,000 when they are a foreigner, and Cg 250, 350 or 500 per child depending on age (0-5, 6-11, 12 and over).

The fees are Cg 635 for a first application and Cg 615 for a renewal or a change. The Toelatingsorganisatie has four months to rule, and a first application filed from abroad waits for the decision outside the island. Since 1 April 2026, a permit can be requested for three years at most, with fees due for each year requested, and a permit of indefinite duration can be issued after ten years of uninterrupted legal stay or to people admitted to the penshonado regime. A retiree who does not wish to reside all year can, according to the same sources, request a short-stay permit of six months at most (Cg 535), notably as an investor or “snowbird”, with Cg 36,000 in funds, a home in Curaçao or a boat of at least ten metres. The website also specifies that a negative decision may be objected to within six weeks.

The Belastingdienst (tax administration) describes the penshonado regime for foreigners aged 50 and over who settle in Curaçao with income from abroad. The conditions are as follows: having lived at least 60 consecutive months outside Curaçao before settling; requesting the status from the tax inspector within two months of registration in the population register; owning, within 18 months, an owner-occupied, non-rented home worth at least NAf 450,000 (or a protected monument of the same value, rented four months a year at most); and not carrying out an activity on the island, the same applying to the spouse, with exceptions.

Two options are offered at the time of application: actual foreign income taxed at 10%, or a flat-rate foreign income of NAf 500,000 taxed at the normal rate, with no double taxation relief under the arrangement between the Netherlands and Curaçao; switching from the first option to the second is only possible after three years. Other income is taxed at the normal progressive rate. The regime ends in particular in case of local earned income two years in a row, incomplete or late returns two years in a row, or loss of the home for more than six months. The penshonado nonetheless pays BVZ and AVBZ premiums and, depending on age, AOV and AWW. Membership of this regime gives entitlement, under the 1 April 2026 policy, to the residence permit of indefinite duration; the Toelatingsorganisatie refers questions about the penshonado to the Ministry of Finance.

The impots.gouv.fr list of tax treaties has no entry for Curaçao. France and Curaçao signed on 10 September 2010 a tax information exchange agreement, in force since 1 August 2012 (BOFiP). In the absence of a listed treaty, a French pension paid to a resident of Curaçao is subject to French domestic rules for non-residents: withholding tax on French-source pensions with a 10% allowance then rates of 0%, 12% and 20% by brackets (scale revised each year), the 0% and 12% brackets being final (impots.gouv.fr). The Belastingdienst, for its part, taxes the resident on their worldwide income: double taxation is therefore possible, unless the penshonado regime applies. This point should be checked with the non-resident individuals tax office before departure.

Without a social security agreement, the French pension is not calculated in coordination with the foreign scheme: each country examines rights separately, and foreign periods do not count towards the rate of the French pension (CLEISS, the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison). The pension is requested about six months before the legal age from the fund of last affiliation in France. It can be paid worldwide, provided you report your new address and bank details and send back each year a certificate of life authenticated by a local authority.

On the Curaçao side, AOV old-age insurance insures all residents under 65, whatever their nationality, and the pension is granted on request from age 65. It builds up between ages 15 and 65 according to the number of years of insurance, with a reduction of 2% per calendar year not insured and 3% per year in which the premium was not paid; the SVB table, revised each year, gives the pension amount for residents (ingezetene), with a maximum supplement for a spouse under 65. A retiree who settles late in life therefore accumulates few years of local insurance, and the AOV pension complements income rather than replacing it. A pensioner who no longer lives in Curaçao sees their pension reduced by 10%.

The S1 form, which attaches a European Union retiree to the health insurance of their country of residence, does not apply to Curaçao. The resident retiree falls under the BVZ, at the rate of 6.5% of income up to Cg 150,000, and under the AVBZ (long-term care), whose 1% contribution is withheld only from pensioners living in Curaçao. Dental care is open to retirees with no income condition, and the general practitioner’s referral letter, valid for six months, gives access to specialists and the hospital; the page Curaçao’s healthcare system details the pathway.

The CFE offers retirees an offer reserved for holders of a French basic scheme pension, with no medical questionnaire, covering care received abroad; the waiting period is three to six months depending on age in case of late membership. The detail appears in the page healthcare reimbursement in Curaçao and in the guide health insurance for retirees abroad. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) considers it essential to hold insurance covering medical costs and medical repatriation.

The CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) publishes the price index, including inflation and the housing item. Economic indicators appear in the “Economic indicators” block of this page. The CBS publishes no average rents on the pages consulted, and its housing market table describes a tight market (few vacant dwellings, shortage estimated), which encourages preparing the purchase or rental in advance; buying a home is, moreover, a condition of the penshonado regime.

The official sources consulted do not rank the island’s localities by residential appeal; Willemstad, the capital, concentrates the central hospital and the services of the SVB, immigration and the tax administration. The meteorological service describes a semi-arid climate with trade winds, a dry season from February to May, a rainy season from October to January and a hurricane season from 1 June to 30 November. For all the settling-in procedures, see the page living in Curaçao.

Before departure, the retiree requests their French pension, tells the funds of their change of residence, chooses between the BVZ, the CFE and international insurance, and checks their French tax regime. On returning to France, a CFE member can, under conditions, keep the benefits of the expatriate scheme for three months; for a retiree, the opening of rights depends on the social security agreement between France and the former country of residence, and, if it opens no rights, on universal health protection requested from the CPAM with form S1106 (service-public.gouv.fr). The page retiring abroad and the page health insurance in Curaçao complete these benchmarks; Expavy helps you compare cover.