What they actually check when you enter Curaçao (and how not to get stuck at the airport)
What they really check on arrival
Immigration at Hato (or at the port) can ask you for, in any combination: a passport issued no more than 10 years ago and valid for your whole stay, a return ticket or a ticket to another country, proof of where you're staying, proof that you can support yourself, and medical insurance. They don't always ask for everything, but not having it ready is the most common way to end up in a side room losing hours, or to be refused entry. The official immigration page sums it up this way: on entry, a tourist must be able to show their purpose of travel, how long they're staying and what financial resources they have during their stay, which are exactly the 3 questions you'll be asked.
For your exact list based on your nationality and the country you're travelling from, including where to apply for the visa and where to get vaccinated, use the interactive guide to Curaçao entry requirements.
The Digital Immigration Card (DI Card): your first filter, before you land
A lot of people overlook this step and it isn't optional: every foreign visitor must fill in the Digital Immigration Card (DI Card) at dicardcuracao.com, within the 7 days before you leave. It only asks for your passport and an email address, and there you declare your trip and where you'll stay. The confirmation is checked at airline check-in and again at immigration, so have it printed or on your phone. Make sure the details match your passport and your booking exactly: anything that doesn't match what you say at the counter makes entry harder. If you made a mistake, the same site lets you edit it, and if your flight is cancelled you don't need to fill it in again. Only use the official site: its steps include no payment.
Do you need a visa? It depends on your nationality
Most of Latin America enters without a visa: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay, among others. Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti and Bolivia need a visa (so do China and India), unless they hold a valid multiple-entry visa for the United States or Canada; an ESTA doesn't count. Whatever your nationality, you also don't need one if you hold residence in the United States, Canada, a Schengen country, the United Kingdom or Ireland. Jamaica and Guyana enter Curaçao without a visa, although they need one for other islands.
The Caribbean visa is applied for in person in the country where you live, no earlier than 3 months before the trip, and the answer usually comes within 15 days. It costs €80 (€40 for ages 6 to 11; free under 6), plus the visa centre's fee if VFS Global handles it. From Venezuela you apply at VFS Global in Caracas; from Ecuador and Bolivia, at the Netherlands embassy in Lima. The full list is in Do you need a visa for Curaçao?, and where to apply from each country is in the interactive guide.
Yellow fever: only if you come from certain countries (or had a long layover in one)
If you're 9 months or older and you come from a country with yellow fever risk, or had a layover of more than 12 hours at an airport in one, you need the international yellow fever vaccination certificate. In the Americas those countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. What counts is the country you travel from, not your nationality: a Venezuelan flying from Miami doesn't need it; an American flying from Bogotá does. The certificate is valid from 10 days after the vaccination, for life. If you can't be vaccinated for medical reasons, you need an exemption certificate; carry it printed.
How many days you can stay, depending on your nationality
According to the Toelatingsorganisatie, Dutch and US citizens can stay up to 6 months a year as tourists, and citizens of the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan up to 90 days a year. All other nationalities, with or without a visa, get 30 days. To stay longer (up to 90 days in total) you apply for the tourist extension between 7 and 5 days before your stay expires; it costs XCG 525. If you'll work remotely for a foreign employer, see the short stay. Either way, your entry stamp is what counts.
Financial solvency: how much money you must be able to show
There are official figures: between US$150 and US$200 per person per day if you stay in a hotel, or US$100 per person per day if you stay with family or friends. The rule sets an amount, not how you carry it: you don't need to travel with it all in cash, and a card with a recent bank statement lets you show it. If someone who lives in Curaçao invites you, they can sign a guarantee declaration, legalised at the Toelatingsorganisatie; that person then answers for your expenses. Ask them ahead of time if that's your situation.
Medical insurance: at least US$15,000
The Dutch government includes it among the requirements for entering without a visa, and it's mandatory if you apply for the visa: medical or travel insurance in your name, valid for your whole stay, with at least US$15,000 of medical cover, including hospital, emergencies and repatriation (also in case of death). Curaçao's tourist board presents it as recommended. Since you can be asked for it and a hospital stay without insurance is very expensive, bring it. The interactive guide explains which insurance counts and how to check that your insurer is authorised.
Do I have to buy a return ticket already paid for?
Immigration wants to see that you have a way to leave the island, not necessarily that you've already spent money on a flight you might not use if your plan is to stay longer through another legal route. A common and legitimate practice: book an outbound flight (or one to another country) with free cancellation, show that booking on arrival, and decide later whether to use it or cancel it within the allowed time. For the visa application a paid ticket isn't needed either: the booking is enough.
Proof of accommodation: you don't need to pay in advance
They want a verifiable address and dates, not proof that you've already spent the money. On Booking.com or Hotels.com filter by free cancellation and, where available, "no credit card needed" or "pay at the property"; the tourist board has its own list on curacao.com. Book dates that match your ticket and keep the confirmation (a PDF with your name, the address and the dates). If you end up staying with family or friends, having that backup booking is no problem.
What you do have to get right is cancelling it in time. Every free booking has a deadline, usually 24 to 48 hours before arrival; if you don't show up without cancelling, you can be charged. And the booking only serves for entry: when a procedure (the residence permit, registering at Kranshi) asks for your address, it has to be the real one.
If you're going to extend your tourist stay
You apply between 7 and 5 days before your stay expires, and it costs XCG 525. You'll need, among other things, the original return ticket, your full passport and either a guarantee declaration signed by a Curaçao resident who answers for your expenses (medical ones included), or a copy of your debit or credit card with a statement. If there's no answer before your stay expires, it counts as refused. See the details on the procedure page.
A necessary clarification
Everything above applies to a genuine tourist trip. If your intention is to stay to live or work, entering "as a tourist" while declaring something else is exactly what closes doors later: giving false information to immigration is a crime (up to 1 year in prison, Art. 24 LTU) and the courts treat any deception severely. The right way to stay is in the list of procedures and, in most cases, you apply from your own country.
Sources: NetherlandsWorldwide, from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (who needs a visa, requirements for travelling without a visa, how to apply for the visa and fees); the Toelatingsorganisatie's tourist page (immigrationcur.org); the official DI Card site (dicardcuracao.com); curacao.com (Curaçao Tourist Board); and the CDC's Curaçao page for yellow fever (updated April 2025). Consulted on 24 September 2026. The flight and hotel booking practices are general travel advice, not a legal requirement of Curaçao.