Promote:
Invest in Aruba
A short guide for companies expanding into Aruba: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. Aruba at a glance
PopulationEstimate
108,785
The World Bank reports a population of 108,785 in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Aruba population (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP
US$4.17 billion
The World Bank reports GDP of US$4,167,588,070 in 2024, in current dollars.
Source: World Bank WDI, Aruba GDP, current dollars (opens in a new tab) · as of 2024
GDP per person
US$38,591
The World Bank reports GDP per person of US$38,590.57 in 2024, in current dollars.
Source: World Bank WDI, Aruba GDP per person, current dollars (opens in a new tab) · as of 2024
Real GDP growth
6.8%
The World Bank reports real GDP growth of 6.8 percent in 2024.
Source: World Bank WDI, Aruba real GDP growth (opens in a new tab) · as of 2024
Inflation
3.0%
Twelve-month inflation was 3.0 percent for September 2026, the latest month in the Centrale Bank van Aruba tables, which use the Central Bureau of Statistics index.
Source: Centrale Bank van Aruba, Monthly Tables, September 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of September 2026
Foreign direct investment inflows
US$71.1 million
Aruba received US$71.081 million of inward foreign direct investment in 2025, UNCTADstat reports.
Source: UNCTADstat, inward foreign direct investment in Aruba (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
The currency is the Aruban florin.
Source: Centrale Bank van Aruba, Operational Report 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
Arina is the official investment promotion unit of the Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce and Industry.
Source: Government of Aruba, ARINA public warning, July 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of July 29, 2025
Arina gives investors one main point of contact and priority handling of permits and licenses, free of charge.
Source: Government of Aruba, Arina investment agency page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
No list of sectors reserved for nationals was found; license rules depend on birth and nationality instead.
Source: Government of Aruba, business license page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Free Zone Aruba lists two free zone locations, Bushiri and Barcadera.
Source: Free Zone Aruba, services page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in Aruba
- Choose a legal form and register the business in the trade registry.Aruba Chamber of Commerce and IndustryOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, steps for registering a business (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Apply for a business license; the Chamber of Commerce is heard before the Minister decides.Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce and IndustryOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, business license page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Register the business with the Tax Department to receive a personal number.Departamento di ImpuestoOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Departamento di Impuesto (Tax Department), business number page (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- For a free zone company, apply for an admission license; notary fees for incorporation are the main startup cost.Free Zone Aruba N.V.Admission services are free; notary fees about Afl 3,000Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Free Zone Aruba, services page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 5 more set-up steps
- Get any sector license your activity needs, such as an import license for goods on the Government Decree Import License of Goods list.Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce and IndustryOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, import licenses page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Obtain work and residence permits for foreign owners and staff: labor department advice first, then the immigration department.Department for the Integration Management and Admission of Foreign NationalsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, work and residence permit page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Record a property purchase or lease at the land registry.Dienst Landmeetkunde en VastgoedregistratieOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, land registry department page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Open a business bank account with one of the commercial banks.Aruban commercial banksOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Government of Aruba, commercial banks list (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Check foreign exchange licenses for capital transactions, and profit and dividend declarations.Centrale Bank van ArubaOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Centrale Bank van Aruba, foreign exchange transactions page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with ARINA and Customs. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
- Aruba has 108,785 people, so this guide lists every national body found with evidence dated 2025 or later. Source (opens in a new tab)
Investment and business setup
- Get advice
Investment promotion agency
ARINA
Aruba Investment Agency
Guides foreign investors on licenses, land and rules and acts as their main contact, free of charge.
Visit ARINA (opens in a new tab)Source: Government of Aruba, ARINA public warning, July 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of July 29, 2025
- Get advice
Free zone authority
FZA
Free Zone Aruba N.V.
Issues free zone admission licenses and leases warehouses, offices and land at the Bushiri and Barcadera free zones.
Visit FZA (opens in a new tab)Source: Free Zone Aruba, services page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 3 more organizations
- Meet requirements
Immigration and admission department
DIMAS
Department for the Integration, Management and Admission of Foreign Nationals
Grants work permits to foreign nationals once their medical examination results are recorded in its system.
Visit DIMAS (opens in a new tab)Source: Government of Aruba, DIMAS work permit notice, February 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of February 12, 2026
- Meet requirements
Labor department
DAO
Directie Arbeid en Onderzoek
Takes employers' annual employee register and workforce requirements through the LABORA portal, as the Labor Ordinance 2013 requires.
- Meet requirements
Land survey and property registry
DLV
Dienst Landmeetkunde en Vastgoedregistratie
Runs the land survey and the property registration service, the cadaster.
Visit DLV (opens in a new tab)Source: Government of Aruba, 2024 annual report release, March 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of March 14, 2025
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs authority
Customs
Departamento di Aduana
Takes export declarations in ASYCUDA World and applications for overseas territory origin status for goods sold to the European Union.
- Meet requirements
Tax authority
Tax Department
Departamento di Impuesto
Registers businesses for a tax number and runs the online portal where returns, including turnover tax, are filed.
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Chamber of commerce
Chamber
Aruba Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Keeps the trade registry, gives free business consultations and advises the Minister on business licenses.
Visit Chamber (opens in a new tab)Source: Aruba Chamber of Commerce and Industry, services page (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Get advice
Employers business association
ATIA
Aruba Trade & Industry Association
Speaks for Aruban employers and businesses and runs training and events for members.
Visit ATIA (opens in a new tab)Source: Aruba Trade & Industry Association, home page (secure address) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
5. Worth knowing
Dependence on travel
Travel receipts were 87.8 percent of services exports in 2023, on the UNCTADstat values.
What to do: Check which services besides travel you can sell abroad before you rely on them.
Source: UNCTADstat, services exports of Aruba by category (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Business license
The Business Establishment Ordinance requires a Minister's license, and people born in Aruba with Dutch nationality are exempt for some business forms.
What to do: Apply to the Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce and Industry first, and confirm other permits separately.
Sources: Government of Aruba, business license page (opens in a new tab); Government of Aruba, Business Establishment Ordinance, 2021 text (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Free zone services decree
A national decree in force from January 1, 2026 lets free zone companies provide services in eight core sectors.
What to do: Read the decree's annex before you set up a services company in a free zone.
Sources: Government of Aruba, free zone services decree 2025 (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab); Free Zone Aruba, new service activities decree, January 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Currency and settlement
The florin is pegged at 1.79 to the United States dollar, and the central bank sets foreign exchange licenses for capital transactions.
What to do: Ask your bank whether a general or special foreign exchange license covers your transfers.
Sources: Centrale Bank van Aruba, foreign exchange transactions page (opens in a new tab); Centrale Bank van Aruba, Operational Report 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 2 more
New tax incentives
Two incentives began on January 1, 2026: the Start-Up Scheme for promising sectors and a ten-year exemption for downtown building projects.
What to do: Check the eligibility rules in the ordinances before you rely on either.
Sources: Government of Aruba, downtown tax incentives, January 2026 (opens in a new tab); Government of Aruba, Start-Up Scheme session, January 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Rising prices
Twelve-month inflation reached 3.0 percent in September 2026, after a 2025 average of 0.1 percent.
What to do: Price multi-year contracts with the current rate in mind.
Source: Centrale Bank van Aruba, Monthly Tables, September 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare Aruba with other countriesSet Aruba beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
Turn this guide into your Aruba project.
Use Promote:Global to explore markets, understand requirements and organize your next steps.
Promote:Aruba is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 1, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.