Rib'e Lugá: calendar with every date
Rib'e Lugá has two kinds of dates. Some are fixed and apply to everyone: November 13, 2025, October 31, 2026 and January 1, 2027. Others are personal and start counting from your application or your letter: the 6 months for the decision and the 6 weeks if you are refused. Mixing them up is the most expensive mistake in the programme.
The fixed dates
| Date | What happens | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| November 13, 2025 | You must have been in Curaçao before this day, and still live here. The registration extension did not move this date. | Everyone: it decided who could register |
| April 24, 2026 | The government publishes the Rib'e Lugá policy. | It is the text cited as the source |
| May 1, 2026 | Registration opens, initially for 3 months (until around August 1). | — |
| September 7, 2026 | Kranshi, the population register, starts requiring an appointment to register. | Anyone who collects a permit and must then register |
| October 31, 2026 | Registration closes. It was extended to this date because part of the target group needed more time and guidance. It is the fixed deadline: the Rib'e Lugá team confirmed it to us in writing on October 26, 2026. When it closed, no further extension had been announced. | Anyone who did not register in time: from November 1 they can no longer do so |
| January 1, 2027 | The Minister of Justice guarantees not to issue a formal removal order to anyone who leaves voluntarily before this day. The policy speaks of undocumented people in general: it does not limit this guarantee to those who receive a refusal, but it does not say expressly that it covers those who never registered either. | Anyone who receives a refusal; for those who did not register, it has not been clarified |
The deadlines that run from your case
| Deadline | Starts counting | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 months | From when you filed the application | This is the decision period. If more time is needed, the Minister of Justice announces it. |
| 6 weeks | From the date of your refusal letter (the safe reading: the policy does not say) | To leave voluntarily or to object to the decision. It is personal: it does not start with the closing of registration. |
| 6 weeks | From when you apply for the refund of the leges, if the refusal becomes final (you do not object in time, or you lose the objection or the appeal) | The law says the leges are refunded, but not the retributie: for 1 year, XCG 600 of the 655 for work or family and XCG 580 of the 635 for own business (Eilandsverordening leges, Art. 32b). You apply with the refund form (we explain it on the fees, deposit and refunds page); after 6 weeks you can ask whether it is ready and book an appointment to collect the voucher. Still to be confirmed: whether the Toelatingsorganisatie applies this in the same way to Rib'e Lugá, and how to apply if you have already left Curaçao. |
| 6 months | From when you receive the permit, if your purpose is your own business | To submit the company's Chamber of Commerce registration, its CRIB number and the business licence (or its application). If you do not, your permit is withdrawn. |
The overlap nobody clarifies: a letter dated November 20 or later
The 6 weeks are personal; the January 1, 2027 guarantee is fixed. If your refusal letter is dated November 20, 2026 or later, your 6 weeks would end on or after January 1, 2027 (with a letter dated November 19, the last day is December 31), and the official text does not say which of the two deadlines prevails; we asked the Toelatingsorganisatie in writing on October 9, 2026, and the Rib'e Lugá team replied on October 26 without clarifying it. If that is your case, don't assume the longer one: ask the Toelatingsorganisatie in writing, keep the answer and plan around the shorter date. We explain it in more detail in if Rib'e Lugá is refused.
If you are approved: the order of the steps
- You pay the guarantee deposit, whose amount depends on your nationality.
- You take out local health insurance for at least 1 year, valid on the day of collection.
- You make an appointment to collect the permit and bring the originals: valid passport, apostilled birth certificate and certificate of good conduct.
- You make an appointment at Kranshi to register in the population register.
- If your purpose is work, your employer applies for the work permit at the Ministry (SOAW), following the normal procedure: the vacancy notice (vacaturemelding) is required when the application is submitted (the Vergunningenloket confirmed it in writing on October 8, 2026).
What to do now that registration has closed
- If you left your registration unfinished: it has not been announced whether it can be completed after the closing or whether the fees are refunded; who to ask is explained in registration closed: what is left to do.
- If you did not register: what changes for you is in Rib'e Lugá after October 31.
- If you have already registered: keep the proof and write down the date of every letter you receive.
Sources: Rib'e Lugá policy (Government of Curaçao, April 24, 2026), official FAQ on immigrationcur.org, announcement of the registration extension to October 31, 2026, Kranshi's notice on appointments (September 7, 2026), the Eilandsverordening leges (Art. 32b) and the official page on fees, deposits and refunds. If any date changes, we update it here and in Updates. General information, not legal advice. Corrected on October 9, 2026: we previously said the overlap began with letters from mid-December; it begins with letters dated November 20, 2026 or later.
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