Living in Curaçao as a French National: Settling In, Cost of Living and Formalities

Curaçao lies in the south of the Caribbean Sea, about 65 km from the Venezuelan coast, over 444 km², with a highest point at 372 m. Since 2010, the island has been an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with a status close to that of Aruba; previously, it was part of the Netherlands Antilles (CBS Curaçao). The capital is Willemstad. Papiamentu, Dutch and English are the three official languages, and the time zone is UTC-4 (Atlantic Standard Time).

France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) deals with Curaçao in its Netherlands page and specifies that the island is not part of the Schengen area: a passport is compulsory to enter. The French Embassy in the Netherlands, in The Hague, is the point of contact for French nationals, and a consular agency, run by an honorary consul, is based in Curaçao; it is also competent for the island of Bonaire and receives visitors by appointment Monday to Friday. The CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) records more immigrant arrivals than departures, which illustrates the island’s appeal to new residents.

The first asset is the living environment: a warm climate all year, steady trade winds and a sea whose average temperature is around 27 °C, according to the Curaçao Meteorological Service. The dry season runs from February to May and the rainy season from October to January, with showers that are often brief. The climate is described as semi-arid, which gives the island a drier landscape than other Caribbean destinations.

The second asset lies in languages and the institutional environment: Dutch and English make administrative and professional procedures easier, and belonging to the Kingdom of the Netherlands structures the institutions (justice, administration, social protection). The third is the legibility of the social protection system: all residents are covered by the BVZ, and the central hospital, the Curaçao Medical Center, is located in Willemstad. Finally, the island offers regimes dedicated to retirees, with the annuitant permit and the “penshonado” tax regime, described in the page retiring in Curaçao.

The European Health Insurance Card does not cover Curaçao, and France has no social security agreement with the island: France Diplomatie considers it essential to take out insurance covering all medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and medical repatriation, as the embassy can in no case cover them. The detail by situation appears in the page healthcare reimbursement in Curaçao.

On health, France Diplomatie points to dengue and chikungunya in the Dutch overseas territories: protection against mosquito bites is the first prevention measure. On climate, the hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with a peak from August to October. According to the meteorological service, at least 37 tropical cyclones passed within 100 nautical miles of the island since 1605, or about one every 11 years on average; home insurance and preparing the home are part of the usual prevention in the area.

Willemstad concentrates the main public services that a resident uses. The Curaçao Medical Center, the central hospital since 2019, is in the Otrobanda district, on Breedestraat. The Toelatingsorganisatie, which issues residence permits, is at Prinsenstraat 90. The Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) receives visitors at Pater Euwensweg 9 Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The tax administration (Belastingdienst) is based at the WTC Curaçao, Piscaderaweg, and receives visitors Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The official sources consulted do not rank the island’s districts or regions by residential appeal; the choice of where to live is therefore made on site, taking into account proximity to the hospital, the general practitioner to whom you will be attached under the BVZ, the school and the workplace. The French consular agency can point new arrivals to the useful procedures.

The currency is the Caribbean guilder (code XCG, written Cg), successor to the Netherlands Antillean guilder, which some official texts still call NAf. Amounts on this page are given in Caribbean guilders; they should be converted at the day’s rate. The CBS publishes the consumer price index: price rises are measured each month, with the breakdown of the housing item. The inflation indicator also appears in the “Economic indicators” block of this page.

On housing, the CBS publishes no average rents on the pages consulted; the latest snapshot of the market that it details describes a tight market, with a low vacancy rate and an estimated housing shortage, and the search for a property is therefore prepared in advance, notably when the family accompanies. The legal minimum wage, indexed each year, gives a benchmark for the pay level of the least qualified jobs; salaries by sector are covered in the page working in Curaçao.

Entry: every international visitor completes the Digital Immigration Card (DI Card) online, no earlier than seven days before departure, with their passport and an email address; the confirmation is presented at flight check-in and at immigration. For European Union citizens, the Toelatingsorganisatie allows up to 90 days a year; beyond that, a short-stay application is needed.

The short stay is granted for six months at most (Cg 535 for a first application). It is for the investor or “snowbird” (at least Cg 36,000 in funds, a home in Curaçao or a boat of at least 10 metres), the remote worker whose employer is abroad, the employee of a local employer holding a work permit and ship crew.

The residence permit exists by purpose: work, annuitant or retiree, investor, study or internship, family. The first-application fees indicated by the Toelatingsorganisatie are Cg 635 for the annuitant (renewal Cg 615) and Cg 655 for a spouse, child or parent joining a resident; for the spouse, a gross income of at least Cg 1,500 a month is required if the sponsor is Dutch and Cg 3,000 if they are a foreigner. The office has four months to rule, and a first application made 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; a residence permit of indefinite duration can be issued in particular after ten years of uninterrupted legal stay, to people admitted to the penshonado regime or to investors who have committed more than Cg 1,500,000.

Identifiers: the CRIB number, the tax identification number, is requested online from the Belastingdienst with an identity document (passport, driving licence or sédula), or at the counter without a valid sédula. Residents join the BVZ through their employer or with the SVB.

The France Diplomatie and French Embassy in the Netherlands pages consulted do not detail French schooling in Curaçao; families find out from the consular agency and Curaçao’s Ministry of Education about institutions, languages of instruction and enrolment. The CBS notes that Curaçao aligned, since 1 January 2020, its education levels with the international ISCED 2011 classification with the Ministry of Education.

On safety, the corresponding section of France Diplomatie’s Netherlands page covers the European Netherlands; travellers consult the current alerts on the France Diplomatie website before departure, register on the roll of French nationals living abroad and keep the contact details of the consular agency (address: Dr Martin Luther King Boulevard 24, Curaçao). The health emergency numbers are 910 (life-threatening danger) and 912 (ambulance), according to the Curaçao Medical Center.

Health cover is chosen before departure, according to status. A tourist takes travel insurance with repatriation; a seconded employee in principle keeps the French scheme for three years renewable once (CLEISS, the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison); a local employee, retiree or resident freelancer falls under the BVZ and can top it up with the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE, the French overseas nationals’ health fund) or with international insurance. The page Curaçao’s healthcare system describes how care is organised, and the page health insurance in Curaçao sums up the obligations. Expavy helps you test these options against your situation.