Tourist entry visas are not required by Canadian, USA or EU nationals who can stay for up to 90 days upon production of a passport, a return or onward ticket and (if requested) proof of sufficient funds to support their stay. The corresponding visa free-entry period for citizens of the Netherlands or Dutch Antilles is 180 days.

Citizens of countries who require visas prior to entry are only allowed to remain in Aruba for 14 days. They must produce a passport and a valid visa at point of entry together with a return or onward ticket and (if requested) proof of sufficient funds to support their stay. Among the nations whose citizens require visas are Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Syria and Vietnam.

Anyone wishing to stay longer than the period normally permitted must apply for a temporary residence permit, which does not allow the applicant to work.

A non-citizen who wishes to work in Aruba must obtain a work permit from the Minister of Justice, which will only be granted if no suitable local applicant is available. Applications must be filed by the potential employer who will bear the costs. The principal documents to be attached to the application include an official certificate from the police authorities in the country of origin certifying that the applicant has no serious criminal convictions, a medical certificate certifying that the applicant carries no contagious disease and has no mental illness, copies of job advertisements placed in local newspapers to which no suitable local applicants replied, certificates verifying the employee's qualifications and the contract of employment which must be in accordance with Aruba labor laws.

An application for a residence permit will normally be submitted at the same time as an application for a work permit and includes many of the same requirements. However where the applicant wants a residence permit without a work permit the chief requirement will be to prove that he will not become a burden to the state and that he has sufficient funds to support his stay. In order to satisfy these criteria the applicant will be required to provide satisfactory bank references.

There are no restrictions on the purchase of real estate by foreigners in Aruba.