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Working legally in Curaçao

To work in Curaçao as a foreign employee you usually need two permits: the work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning), which the employer applies for, and the work-based residence permit, which you apply for. There are exceptions: Dutch and US nationals go through Van Rechtswege and do not need the work permit, anyone opening their own sole proprietorship applies for the residence permit for their own business, and the work permit page says who else is exempt. Here are the procedures, the occupations that are closed, how to change employer and your rights as a worker.

Procedures

• Residence Permit for Work (Employee of a Company) from XCG 655
• Employer's work permit (Tewerkstellingsvergunning): how to hire a foreign worker
• Residence permit for your own business (sole proprietorship) from XCG 635

Articles

• Which professions can apply for a work permit in Curaçao?There's no official list of approved professions — the system works the other way around. And the restriction list changed in June 2025: this is what's in force today.
• How to get legal work in Curaçao and avoid having your permit denied (even without formal education)Where to look for vacancies, who applies for the permit, why the first application must be awaited outside Curaçao, and the points that actually decide approval. It…
• Changing jobs on a Curaçao permit: what has to happen before you start with the new employerYour work-based permit is tied to the employer who applied for your work permit. If you switch, the new one has to get their own before you start, and you have 6 weeks…
• Your rights as a worker in Curaçao: minimum wage, holidays, overtime and dismissalYour permit depends on your employer, but labour law protects you exactly like a local worker. The 2026 minimum wage by age, holidays, overtime pay, when a dismissal is…
• Informal work in Curaçao: what you actually earn, and how to protect yourself if you're already in itThe real legal minimum wage, why informal work almost never comes out ahead even when the hourly number looks similar, and your rights even if you're undocumented.
• Working remotely from Curaçao: the short-stay permit for digital nomadsThe tourist limit for most Latin Americans is 30 days. To stay up to 6 months working for an employer or clients abroad there is the short stay as a remote worker: XCG…
• Banks and remittances in Curaçao: opening an account and sending money home safelyWhat Curaçao's banks usually ask for to open an account when you arrive, how to compare remittance options and why crypto and P2P are not a safe way to send money home.

Also useful

• Permit cost calculator
• Example case: undocumented, with a boss who wants to help (in Spanish)
• What changed on April 1, 2026 (in Spanish)

General information, not legal advice. Every procedure page cites its official source and says when it was reviewed.