I always think of Aruba as an immigrant-friendly country. The numbers speak for themselves. When I arrived here, the island had just 64.000 residents. Meanwhile, according to CBS, Central Bureau of Statistics, we have a total population of 110.882 living here — as of June 2017. So the population almost doubled in a few decades, hence, this must be an immigrant-friendly country.
In principle, yes. In reality the system challenges the immigrants’ resolve to live here, but if they persist they end up having a dushi bida in spite of the many crazy hiccups along the way.
Recently CBS interviewed 1,092 immigrants and this is what they had to say:
It took them 5 to 6 months to obtain a work permit.
It took them 6 to 7 months to register at the Censo and obtain a resident’s permit.
It cost on average Awg 3,563 to process the paperwork.
72% of our immigrants had family members or friends already living on the island.
74% expected to get help from them.
76% actually received help.
34% of those interviewed by CBS reported that their financial resources before coming here were barely enough to cover their expenses.
For many, things improved in Aruba. Just 14% report that their financial resources here are barely enough to cover their expenses.
52% received some financial help so they could relocate, and get here.
33% do not have to pay back any of those loans
Not surprising: Immigrants arriving here from Europe make more money than immigrants hailing from Asia.
Do immigrants mingle? 32% of immigrants report MOST of their friends are their own countrymen.
Some immigrant groups keep to themselves: 69% of Chinese only have Chinese friends; 55% of Haitians only have Haitian friends and 45% Dutch only have Dutch friends.
Do immigrants intend to stay here? 74.6% of immigrants report they are here to stay and have no desire to go back to their country of origin or try another spot.
82.7% of South Americans intend to stay, only 13.6% of them declared their will to head back. A minority of 3.7% would perhaps like to try another place to live.
56.3% of Europeans intent to stay, 38.4% of them will head back to the mother-country, and 5.3% might try their luck elsewhere.
69% of Asians intend to stay here while 23.8% plans to eventually go back to where they came from, 6.3% might try another destination.
54.8% of North Americans intend to stay, the rest plans to head back to North America.
As for those who came here from other Caribbean islands, 79% of them want to stay, 7% would like to try their luck at another destination and 14% opt to head back to their country of origin.
Overall, Aruba gets good reviews as an immigrant-friendly country.
