Curaçao without showing your passport? Your guide to the Express Pass and free DI Card
You still need to pack your passport. But at Curaçao’s dedicated Express Pass eGate, eligible travellers who have completed the preparation can keep it in their bag while a camera checks their identity.
You have landed in Curaçao. Outside, palm trees, warm Caribbean air and your first sea-view lunch are waiting. Perhaps you have a few property viewings lined up. Or you are simply here to discover whether this could be your island. Either way, a smoother arrival is a welcome start.
Two things are worth knowing before you fly: the Digital Immigration Card, also known as the DI Card or ED Card, is free, and the Curaçao Express Pass can speed up immigration for eligible passport holders. Here is how to prepare, wherever you are travelling from.
What is the Curaçao DI Card or ED Card?
The Digital Immigration Card is Curaçao’s online visitor arrival form. You may also see it called an immigration card, entry card or ED Card, short for Embarkation and Disembarkation Card. The digital form replaced the old paper card.
International visitors must complete it within seven days before departure. Curaçao residents are exempt. Your citizenship and your residency status are different things: having a Dutch passport, owning a home on the island or being born in Curaçao does not by itself make you a resident. The official portal describes a resident as someone registered in Curaçao with valid proof of residency.
Start with the official Curaçao entry portal, which explains the process and links to the application.
The immigration card is free. Avoid unnecessary service fees.
You do not need to pay to complete the official DI Card. The Curaçao Tourist Board explicitly confirms that the form is free of charge. Commercial websites may offer to submit it for a fee, but you can complete it yourself.
Go directly to the official free Curaçao DI Card form. Check the website address before entering personal details. A sponsored search result is not necessarily the official service. If a website asks you to pay for submitting the DI Card, check where you have landed before continuing.
Save those service fees for something more enjoyable on the island.
A DI Card is not a visa
For international travellers, this distinction matters. Completing your DI Card does not replace a visa if your nationality or circumstances require one, and it does not guarantee admission.
Check the requirements for the passport you will actually use. The Curaçao Tourist Board explains that travellers need a valid passport or recognised travel document; passports must remain valid throughout the stay. Immigration may also request return or onward travel details.
Check the Curaçao Tourist Board’s passport and visa guidance well before departure. Visa requirements depend on nationality and may also be affected by qualifying visas or residence permits you already hold.
Complete the form and keep your confirmation
Have your passport, travel details, accommodation information and an accessible email address ready. Enter the information exactly as it appears in the passport you are travelling with. If you hold more than one passport, the passport on the DI Card must match the one used for the trip.
Each visitor needs their own card, including children. After submission, download the PDF or save the emailed confirmation. Keep an offline copy on your phone or bring a printout for airline check-in and arrival.
Made a mistake? Use the option to edit an existing immigration card on the official website. For another trip, update your previous registration with your new travel information. The official DI Card FAQ explains these steps.
What is the Curaçao Express Pass?
The Express Pass lets eligible travellers prepare their immigration identity check before arrival. Through the free Airside Digital Identity app, you verify your passport and share the required information with Curaçao immigration.
At the airport, eligible travellers can follow the signs to the dedicated Express Pass lane and use facial recognition at the contactless eGates. That is the part where your passport can stay in your bag. You must still carry your physical passport for the journey and present it whenever requested.
The Curaçao Tourist Board’s Express Pass explanation describes the process. The service can make immigration quicker, but queues, additional checks, baggage collection and customs may still take time.
Can non-Dutch travellers use the Express Pass?
Yes. Eligibility is not limited to Dutch passport holders. According to the Curaçao Tourist Board, eligible travellers must be at least 16, have a suitable iOS or Android smartphone and hold an e-passport from a participating country.
The published list includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama and many European countries. Check the complete list for your passport’s issuing country; do not assume that living in an eligible country is enough.
See the official Express Pass eligibility and country list. If your passport is not eligible, complete the DI Card as required and use the regular immigration process. For families with minors, check the airport’s current guidance before choosing a lane: travellers accompanying minors are directed to staffed immigration desks.
How to prepare your Express Pass
- Complete your DI Card if you are travelling as a visitor.
- Download the Airside Digital Identity app through the official route offered after your DI Card submission.
- Add and verify the passport you will use for your trip.
- Select Curaçao Express Pass, confirm your arrival details and consent to sharing the required passport and biometric information.
- Check that submission is confirmed, then follow the Express Pass signs on arrival.
The Tourist Board says to verify and share your information within seven days before arrival. Adding a passport to the app alone does not complete the travel submission. Follow the official step-by-step Airside instructions and finish the process before your flight.
Curaçao residents do not need a DI Card, but can use the Express Pass when eligible. See the Tourist Board’s guidance for residents.
A little preparation, more time to enjoy Curaçao
Complete the free DI Card through the official website, check the entry requirements for your passport and prepare the Express Pass if you qualify. Then you can focus on the reason for your visit: beaches, neighbourhoods, family, or imagining a future here.
If that last idea starts to feel like a plan, International Fine Living Curaçao can help you explore the neighbourhoods and homes that suit you.
Information checked on 30 October 2026. Check the linked official sources before each trip. The DI Card, Express Pass and any visa requirements are separate parts of your preparation.