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 decides whether you can enter the programme |
| 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. No further extension has been announced. | Anyone who has not registered yet |
| January 1, 2027 | Until this day, the Minister of Justice guarantees not to issue a formal expulsion order to anyone who leaves voluntarily after a refusal. | Anyone who receives a refusal |
The deadlines that run from your case
| Deadline | Starts counting | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 months | From when you file 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 | To leave voluntarily or to object to the decision. It is personal: it does not start with the closing of registration. |
| 6 months | From when you receive the permit, if your purpose is your own business | To register the company with the Chamber of Commerce, obtain its CRIB number and apply for the business licence. |
The overlap nobody clarifies: a letter in December
The 6 weeks are personal; the January 1, 2027 guarantee is fixed. If your refusal letter arrives in mid-December 2026 or later, your 6 weeks would end in January, and the official text does not say which of the two deadlines prevails. 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).
What to do today, depending on the date
- Before October 31, 2026, if you qualify and haven't registered: read the last weeks to register and, if a document is missing, ask IOM for free help (+5999 665-8644).
- After October 31: what changes in each situation 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, and Kranshi's notice on appointments (September 7, 2026). If any date changes, we update it here and in Updates. General information, not legal advice.