To maintain the safety and well-being of visitors and locals, new requirements are in place for visitors to be permitted to enter Aruba. There are also government-mandated procedures for visitors while staying in Aruba. While full procedural details will be updated on a regular basis, the following are some of the most important.
The online embarkation/disembarkation process
All visitors will be required to complete the online Embarkation/Disembarkation card process and be approved in order to be permitted entry to Aruba. The new ED card process will be available online as of June 26, 2020, and the requirements of the ED card will include five components. Do take note carefully, as there are important steps, and visitors will not be granted access to Aruba without completing the process. Note: You will need a valid passport and a valid email address that you have access to.
COMPONENT 1:Â BASIC TRAVELER INFORMATION
This will require travelers to provide basic personal and travel details such as: date of birth, passport information, length of stay, etc. Timing: Visitors are encouraged to start and complete this part of the process any time after booking their trip to Aruba.
COMPONENT 2:Â PERSONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT
This will require visitors to provide truthful, accurate answers to questions regarding their health. These questions will likely include:
- Have you (or the person for whom you completed this form) been suspected of or diagnosed with pneumonia or the COVID-19 infection within the past 14 days?
- Did you (or the person for whom you completed this form) have any of the following symptoms in the past 24 hours: fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell/taste?
- Have you been in quarantine within the past 14 days?
- Have you had any close contact (less than two meters) for more than 15 minutes with a probable or confirmed COVID-19-infected person within the past 14 days, including persons in quarantine or isolation?
Timing: This must be completed within 72 hours and 4Â hours prior to travel to Aruba.
COMPONENT 3:Â NEGATIVE PCR TEST REQUIRED
It is important that we have testing to confirm that travelers are negative for coronavirus. For this reason, we have a protocol in place that allows the following two options for testing:
Option 1:Â PCR testing prior to travel to Aruba
The government of Aruba strongly encourages visitors to show documentation indicating negative PCR test results prior to travel to Aruba.
- The test needs to be a COVID-19 test, obtained from a nasal/oral specimen through PCR testing performed by a certified lab, and the results need to be uploaded as part of the ED card process.
- Any other COVID-19 test (serological testing/antibody testing, antigen testing or any other blood test) will not be accepted. Upon arrival, these passengers will still be screened with a short health status interview and a temperature check.
- The cost of PCR tests in home countries is the responsibility of travelers.
Timing: At 72 hours prior to departure, visitors can take action to get their test/swab. Note: The latest the testing/swab results can be uploaded is 12 hours prior to departure. Any tests and results executed before 72 hours prior to departure will not be valid.
Option 2:Â PCR testing at the airport in Aruba
Travelers can wait to arrive in Aruba and receive a PCR test at the airport. The costs for the test will be the responsibility of the traveler and must be paid for in advance as part of the online Embarkation/Disembarkation card process.
- In this case, a PCR test will be conducted immediately after arrival, and visitors will be required to be in mandatory quarantine at their hotel or booked place of stay.
- The quarantine will be up to 24 hours, and the Aruba Department of Health will make every effort to have results in 6-8 hours, in order to minimize the visitors’ time in quarantine.
- For details on the procedures for guests showing a positive COVID-19 test result while in Aruba, please reference the “Regulations when showing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 while in Aruba” section below.
Timing: Payment for the PCR testing in Aruba must be completed within 72 hours and 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba.
COMPONENT 4:Â REQUISITE INSURANCE COVERAGE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Aruba must ensure that all visitors are properly insured. The Aruba Visitors Insurance is a mandatory insurance that helps protect visitors against incurred medical and non-medical expenses if testing positive for COVID-19 during their stay in Aruba.
- Visitors must purchase the Aruba Visitors Insurance in order to complete the ED card process.
- Visitors can buy or use their own travel or health insurance to supplement the Aruba Visitors Insurance, but not to replace it.
- Other insurances may cover you for some of the COVID-19-related expenses, but few plans offer comprehensive COVID-19 coverage in Aruba and also cover isolation costs outside of a hospital.
- The cost of the Aruba Visitors Insurance starts at $15 per day per visitor and decreases depending on the length of stay. Children up to and including age 14 are insured for free, but a flat administration fee of $10 is applicable. For visitors older than age 76, the coverage starts at $21 per day and also decreases depending on the length of stay.
- Subject to an overall limit of US$75,000, a visitor who tests positive for COVID-19 in Aruba, will have very few, if any, out-of-pocket expenses with the Aruba Visitors Insurance, as the medical and non-medical providers are paid directly by the locally licensed insurers.
- If you purchase the Aruba Visitors Insurance and do not take your trip, you may request a full refund by email.
- As soon as you’ve completed the ED-Card form and payment, you will receive an email with your Aruba Visitors Insurance policy documents attached.
Timing: Purchase of the Aruba Visitors Insurance must be completed within 72 hours, and 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba. For more information on costs and conditions: https://www.arubavisitorsinsurance.com/.
COMPONENT 5:Â CONSENT TO ARUBA GOVERNMENT MANDATES
This will require visitors to consent to comply with the rules and procedures as mandated by the Aruban government. This will include:
- Acknowledgment and consent that upon arrival and during their stay in Aruba visitors shall cooperate with any type of COVID-19 health screening and testing as indicated by the public health authorities of Aruba, including isolation and/or quarantine.
- Acknowledgment and consent that in case the visitor undergoes diagnostic PCR testing, they shall await their PCR test results in isolation as instructed by the public health authorities.
- Acknowledgment and consent to follow any and all instructions imposed by the public health authorities of Aruba; this includes, but is not limited to, instructions to be isolated or quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19.
- For details on the procedures for guests showing a positive COVID-19 test result while in Aruba, please reference the “Regulations when showing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 while in Aruba” section below.
Timing: Consent to Aruba Government mandates must be completed within 72 hours and 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba.
EMAIL NOTIFICATION & REMINDERS:
Visitors are encouraged to begin filling out the ED card as soon as they book their trip to Aruba. Once the visitor’s date of travel is submitted, the visitor will be registered to receive email reminder notifications.
- Email notification will be sent 72 hours prior as a reminder to begin completion of all components of the online ED card process. A reminder email will also be sent 24 hours prior to departure.
- Upon successful completion of the ED card process, travelers will receive an email confirmation of approval for travel, which must be shown either digitally or in printed form at check in or upon boarding.
Arrival health procedures in Aruba
All visitors will be required to comply with arrival, screening and health procedures as mandated by the Aruba Airport Authority and the Government of Aruba. The mandatory requirements will include:
- All travelers will wear masks while in flight to Aruba as well as in the Aruba airport.
- While masks will not be required in Aruba, we strongly encourage visitors to have their masks handy for situations where social distancing proves difficult.
- All travelers not showing documentation indicating a negative PCR test result prior to travel to Aruba as a part of the ED card process will receive a PCR test at the Airport when arriving in Aruba.
- The PCR testing will be followed by a mandatory quarantine at the traveler’s booked accommodations while test results are assessed.
- The mandatory quarantine while test results are assessed will be up to 24 hours. The health department will make every effort to have results in 6-8 hours in order to
minimize the visitor’s time in quarantine. - All travelers showing documentation indicating a negative PCR test result as
part of the ED card process will receive a temperature check and health interview
by a medical professional upon arrival. - If the temperature check and health assessment are clear, no further testing or subsequent 24-hour quarantine is needed.
- If the visitor shows COVID-19-related symptoms during the airport health screening, the visitor will be taken to a designated isolation location to await test results. Travel companions will proceed to host hotel or accommodations and will quarantine pending test results.
- If test results are negative, the guest can go to their host hotel or accommodations. If test results are positive, the guest will remain in isolation and their travel companions will be relocated to a designated quarantine location.
- Children 14 and under will not be required to take the mandatory PCR test upon arrival at the Aruba Airport or have a health screening assessment.
Regulations when showing symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test are available on the website aruba.com.
