VisaCuraçao requires child travel-consent records separately from family residence permission
Current guidance explains documents for foreign minors, custody evidence, family-residence applications and the appointment needed to collect an approved permit.
Official source date: 2025-09-25
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Foreign minors need evidence of authority for the journey
Curaçao's Immigration Service tells families travelling with foreign minors to carry records showing lawful parenthood or permission for the journey and any designated accompanying adult. This current guide explains the existing child-travel and family-residence procedures. It is separate from the Rib'e Luga registration deadline and does not announce a new November requirement or a further opening of that programme.
The official Minor Foreigner page lists the child's birth certificate, identity and travel documents, the identities of the parents or guardian authorised to consent, the accompanying adult's identity and evidence of legal representation. It also requires a completed consent form from non-travelling parents identifying the responsible adult during the trip and stay. Special circumstances must be supported by official legal documents, with apostille or legalisation where required. A foreign minor travelling alone must be reported to the border-control unit with the consent form and supporting evidence. Without the necessary records, admission may be refused or the child temporarily placed under authority supervision while enquiries are made. An airline booking does not establish the accompanying person's legal authority.
Allow time for civil and parental-authority records
The Immigration Service's General Information page explains local document preparation under the travel-with-minors circular effective from 1 July 2023. It advises requesting a Common Court of Justice parental-authority extract at least seven working days in advance, supported by a long civil-register extract issued within three months. That is relevant when local parental-authority evidence is needed; foreign families should establish the equivalent applicable records from their own jurisdiction rather than assume everyone must obtain a Curaçao court extract.
The guide quotes NAF50 for the court request, NAF20 for a birth certificate and NAF10 for the long extract, using its historical currency wording. Confirm current charges with the issuing office before payment. It also requires an appointment for the civil records. Its one-month transition allowing a family book to replace certain documents belonged to the July 2023 introduction and should not be treated as a continuing exemption in 2026. For emergency or special cases, including medical travel, the guide publishes border-control contact +5999 674 0143.
Moving to live with family involves a separate residence file
The Residence Permit with Family page says a sponsor requesting admission for children, a spouse or partner, or parents must demonstrate sufficient financial resources for each family member. The child's first-application checklist identifies the signed form, payment evidence, passport, a birth certificate no older than one year and a current-school-year registration letter. For family members aged eighteen or over it requires an original criminal-background check issued within three months.
If one parent will remain outside Curaçao, that checklist calls for the parent's passport copy and notarised no-objection declaration. Where only one parent holds parental authority, it calls for the court ruling. A family should therefore distinguish permission for this journey from the evidence supporting long-term residence. The same official page allows renewal applications from four months before expiry and says changes of circumstances require a change request within six weeks. Use its appropriate first, renewal or change section; the document list for another category may not match the child's case.
An approved family permit still needs a collection appointment
The Admission Office's appointment notice, effective from 25 September 2025 until further notice, directs approved applicants to book collection by telephone or email rather than through the website. It lists 733-2080, 733-2081 and 733-2083 on weekdays between 8 a.m. and noon, or [email protected]. An email request should identify the person, application number and telephone contact. Confirm current booking arrangements through those official channels before making travel plans around collection.
A separate collection appointment is required for each family member. Bring the original documents specified in the decision; where a first-permit deposit is required, bring the Tax Office payment evidence. Children aged twelve or older must also attend. The notice warns that without the required documents the passport stamp cannot be placed and another appointment will be necessary. Collection is therefore a practical final step, distinct from application submission or a positive decision appearing in an online account. Check both the child's travel-document file and the residence decision's collection instructions before departure.
