Aruba Welcomes Canadian Travelers

THE ONLINE EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION PROCESS

All visitors (including children) 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 includes 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 & 2: BASIC TRAVELER INFORMATION & PERSONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

This will require travelers to provide basic personal and travel details such as: date of birth, passport information, length of stay, etc and 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 3 days hours and 4  hours prior to travel to Aruba.

COMPONENT 3: NEGATIVE MOLECULAR COVID-19 TEST

To create a safe environment for you — our guest — and residents alike, it is important that we have testing to confirm that all travelers are negative for coronavirus.

All visitors, 12 years and older, traveling to Aruba must take one Molecular COVID-19 test within 3 days to 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba.

The Aruba Health App offers passengers the opportunity to upload their test during the ED Card online registration process, and have it verified prior to departure to Aruba. Once approved, this will be registered on the Aruba Health App. Passengers with a pre-departure approved will be guided to the faster Pre-Approved Health Lane.
 

COMPONENT 4: REQUISITE INSURANCE COVERAGE

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Aruba must ensure that all visitors (including children) 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.

Some important highlights are listed below.

• 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 premium is a reasonably priced, one-time flat fee, not a daily rate based on length of stay. Note, this premium reflects a reduction in the cost of insurance from prior months. 
• 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 3 days hours, and 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba.

COMPONENT 5: 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 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 Molecular PCR COVID-19 testing, they shall await their Molecular PCR COVID-19 test results in quarantine 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 3 days hours and 4 hours prior to travel to Aruba.

EMAIL NOTIFICATION

• 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 health procedures as mandated by the Aruba Airport Authority and the Government of Aruba. The mandatory requirements will include:

• For all inbound visitors age 12 and above, the Aruban government requires a mask be worn in flight to Aruba, at the airport in Aruba and until you enter your room at your booked place of stay.
• All travelers not showing documentation indicating a negative Molecular COVID-19 test result prior to travel to Aruba as a part of the ED card process will receive a Molecular PCR COVID-19 test at the Airport when arriving in Aruba.
• The Molecular PCR COVID-19 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 as quickly as possible in order to minimize the visitor’s time in quarantine.
• Children 11 and under will not be required to take the mandatory Molecular PCR COVID-19 test upon arrival at the Aruba Airport.
• Prior to travel, visitors should download the Aruba Department of Public Health’s Aruba Health App. A mobile resource for information on COVID-19 health procedures in Aruba, and faster results for Molecular PCR COVID-19 tests taken in Aruba.

WHILE IN ARUBA – MASK WEARING REQUIREMENTS & ADDITIONAL SAFETY PROTOCOLS

For health and safety, wearing a mask is mandatory at specific places in Aruba. Visitors and locals are expected to have a mask with them at all times to use in the mandated places listed below, as well as any other instance where social distancing is not possible. As with all of Aruba’s procedures and protocols, this will be monitored and is subject to change as the situation develops.

WHERE MASKS ARE MANDATORY:



• The government of Aruba requires that all inbound visitors ages 12 and older wear a mask in flight to Aruba. Note: Please also check with your respective airline for their in-flight requirements and procedures for travel.
• The government of Aruba requires that all inbound visitors ages 12 and older wear a mask in the airport in Aruba.
• The government of Aruba requires all visitors and locals to wear a mask in any indoor public space. This includes, but is not limited to, retail shops, supermarkets, museums, casinos, etc. Note: Please also check with your respective hotel or accommodations for their specific mask wearing protocols.

WHERE MASKS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED:

• In places not listed above as mandatory, the government of Aruba strongly encourages visitors and locals to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible and where there are no physical barriers, such as plexiglass shields, to compensate for social distancing.
• This includes, but is not limited to, food and beverage establishments, outdoor retail shops, outdoor attractions, parks, bike paths and walkways, etc.

PROPER MASK USAGE:



Visitors and locals should follow CDC and/or WHO guidelines for effective types of masks, as well as proper mask usage, which includes wearing it over the nose and mouth, securing it under the chin, and fitting it snugly against the sides of the face.

 ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT SAFETY MEASURES & UPDATES

The government of Aruba has also implemented additional island-wide measures to further maintain the health and safety of visitors. As with all of Aruba’s procedures and protocols, this will be monitored and is subject to change as the situation develops.


• On October 2, 2021, until further notice:

  • The curfew is eliminated. 

  • All establishments are currently required to close by 12:00 am at the latest. This is not applicable for establishments at hotel properties, Closing times per hotel may differ, please check with your hotel for more information. Casinos must close at 1:00 am at the latest.

  • An alcohol ban is temporarily in effect in certain public places in Aruba. There are still plenty of places to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on the island. Hotel guests can order alcoholic beverages on the beach as long as they stay on the hotel property, and can bring their beverages to their palapa or beach chair as long as they order from the hotel bar. Alcoholic beverages can still be enjoyed at beach bars or restaurants not affiliated with a hotel, as long as patrons stay within the grounds of the establishment.  It is currently prohibited to consume alcohol on any other beaches, parking lots, parks, or in any public place unless it is a licensed establishment.

  • There are “restricted zones” that are off-limits between the hours of 7:00 pm and 5:00 am. Restricted zones include all beaches and public parking lots.

  • No groups over eight people are allowed to form in public spaces unless the group consists of a family from the same household. This includes gatherings on the beach.

  • Dancing in restaurants and nightlife establishments is prohibited.

  • Seating at restaurants is at a maximum of eight per table (excluding children under the age of 12), both indoors and outdoors. Tables must be at least 1.5 m apart.

  • All bars, rum shops, nightclubs and restaurants can serve at tables only.

TESTING BEFORE YOUR RETURN FLIGHT

As part of their pandemic travel protocols, some countries/states/cities now require travelers show a negative COVID-19 test result to be granted re-entry to their country of origin. Aruba has all necessary testing facilities and procedures are in place for visitors. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR U.S. VISITORS:
Effective January 26th, 2021, as announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. government will require all international airline passengers to show proof of a negative, PCR or Antigen, Covid-19 test before boarding flights to the United States. In addition, the results of the test must be from no more than 3 days prior to departure.

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