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BUYING PROCESS

Buying Property in Aruba as a Canadian: The 2026 Guide

Canadians can buy on Aruba freely: no restrictions, no residency needed. Here's the whole thing for a Canadian buyer: costs in guilders, the CRA side, financing when no Canadian bank will touch it, and the traps to sidestep.

By Jakob Jakubov, every winter on Aruba since 2021 · Updated August 2026 · 13 min read

Can Canadians buy property in Aruba?

Yes, and there's genuinely nothing standing in your way. Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, welcomes foreign owners regardless of nationality. No residency requirement, no local co-owner, no special permit. You buy in your own name, you can rent it out, and you can sell whenever you please.

We meet a lot of Canadians on the island each winter: snowbirds who've done the Florida thing for years and want something a little further south, a little less crowded, and a lot warmer in January. The good news is that the legal path for a Canadian is essentially identical to anyone else's. The things that are genuinely Canadian about your purchase are the money side: currency, financing, and the CRA. That's where this guide earns its keep.

What buying actually costs (in AWG)

First, a currency note. Prices on Aruba are often quoted in US dollars, but the local currency is the Aruban florin (AWG), pegged to the US dollar. As a Canadian, you're really looking at two conversions (CAD to USD, and the pegged AWG) so build a little FX buffer into every figure. A shift in the loonie can move your all-in cost more than any single line item below.

On top of the agreed price, plan for closing costs:

Cost ranges follow the official notary scale; we verify them each winter. Full breakdown in taxes & closing costs.

Freehold vs. land lease

This one has no Canadian equivalent, so read it twice. In Aruba, land comes two ways.

Freehold (eigendom) is ownership the way you know it at home: the land is yours, permanently. Land lease (erfpacht) means the government owns the underlying land and grants you a long, renewable lease, often 60 years, while you fully own the house on it and pay a small annual ground fee (canon).

Land lease is completely ordinary here; it's not a discount-bin category. But when you buy a land-lease property you're buying the building and the remaining years on the lease, so the remaining term and the annual fee are as important as the address. A long term and a modest fee? A non-issue. A short term with fuzzy renewal terms? That belongs in the price, and in your resale thinking. Full explanation, including how renewal actually works, in freehold vs. land lease.

Land lease isn't a red flag. An expiring land lease is.

Taxes: Aruba and the CRA

Two systems, kept separate in your head.

In Aruba. The transfer tax at purchase (above) is the big upfront one. Then a modest annual property tax (grondbelasting) on value over a threshold, and, if you rent, Aruban income tax on the rental earnings. Rates are gentle by Canadian standards, but they're part of the yield picture. Detail in taxes & closing costs.

Back in Canada. As a Canadian resident, you're taxed on worldwide income, so rental income from your Aruba place is reportable to the CRA, and the Aruban tax you've already paid can generally be claimed as a foreign tax credit, so you're not taxed twice on the same income. Two things Canadians specifically need on the radar:

• Form T1135 (Foreign Income Verification Statement). If the total cost of your foreign property crosses the reporting threshold (historically CAD $100,000 ), you must file T1135 each year. A personal-use vacation home you don't rent is generally excluded, but the moment it earns income, the exclusion gets murky, check with your accountant.
• Capital gains on sale. A gain when you sell is reportable in Canada, with foreign-tax relief for what Aruba takes. Keep every closing document from day one.

This isn't tax advice: cross-border tax is exactly where a Canadian accountant who handles foreign property saves you real money and real stress. Line one up before you close.

Financing without a Canadian mortgage

Here's the reality every Canadian buyer runs into: no Canadian bank will mortgage a property in Aruba. RBC, TD, Scotia: none of them will secure a lien on Aruban land. And to clear up a common hope: you cannot hold foreign real estate inside an RRSP, so an RRSP isn't a path to buying here (an RRSP holds qualified investments, not a condo in Noord). So the practical routes are:

1. Cash. Cleanest offer, no financing contingency, no cross-border lending mess. If the liquidity is there, it's the smoothest path.

2. Home equity in Canada (HELOC or refinance). The Canadian favorite. Draw on the equity in your Canadian home via a HELOC or a refinance, then buy in Aruba as a cash buyer: Canadian rates, a lender you already deal with, and a simple Aruba-side closing. The trade-off is that your Canadian home is the security, so size it sensibly.

3. A local Aruban mortgage. Some Aruban banks lend to non-residents, at lower loan-to-value and with more documentation than you'd expect at home, priced to the local market. Slower and more conservative, but a real option if you'd rather not touch your Canadian equity.

We compare all three, with typical LTVs and what local banks ask of foreigners, in financing as a foreigner. The mechanics overlap heavily with the US buyer's route, if you want a second angle.

The buying process, step by step

The legal side runs through a single government-appointed notary who acts for the transaction, not for either party, which Canadians often find refreshingly clean. The sequence:

1. Make an offer, usually via an agent, with price and any conditions in writing.
2. Sign the purchase agreement; a deposit (often ~10%) goes into the notary's escrow.
3. Due diligence, the notary confirms clean title, the land type and remaining lease term, and that there are no liens or arrears.
4. Deed of transfer (akte van levering) is prepared.
5. Sign the deed at the notary, in person, or via power of attorney if you're back in Canada for the winter's end.
6. Registration with the land registry (Kadaster).
7. Keys, funds release and the place is yours.

Plan on 2–3 months start to finish. The step-by-step with time estimates lives in the notary process guide.

Mistakes Canadian buyers make

1. Ignoring FX. The exchange rate can move your all-in cost more than any fee on this page. Budget in CAD, not USD, and cushion it.
2. Assuming an RRSP or a Canadian mortgage can fund it. Neither works. Sort financing before you offer.
3. Skipping the land-type question until the notary stage. Ask "freehold or land lease, how many years left?" on viewing day.
4. Forgetting T1135. If you cross the foreign-property threshold, that annual filing is not optional, get your accountant on it early.
5. Buying purely for rental without doing the math. If the plan is income near Eagle Beach or Palm Beach, use real occupancy and real taxes. Start with renting out your property.