By BrightPath Caribbean
Need to renew or extend your residency permit for St. Maarten?
Here is some important information to consider.
It is safe to assume that if you are reading this article, you or someone that is important to you, currently has legal residency on the island. If the end date of that residency permit is approaching, you may want to take the following into consideration if it applies to you:
First, if you obtained your residency permit as a company director, it is extremely important that your business is compliant and fully operational. What does this mean? Well, because your residency request was granted by the immigration authorities based on the good standing of the company of which you are a managing director, the business must have its Chamber of Commerce, Business and Director licenses, Labour registration, and SZV overview reports all up to date for the current year (in this case, 2020).
Also, you must be operating your business in a physical location and in some cases, you must be able to show that you are declaring and paying your monthly taxes. The department of economic licenses will send an inspector(s) to your place of business – this address must match with the address listed on your company documents – to ensure that you have made the investment and that you are truly operating in St. Maarten.
All these steps must be undertaken prior to submitting your request to the Immigration Department for your residency permit renewal.
Second, if you obtained your residency permit as a pensioner, you more than likely have a permit with a validity date of one year from issuance. During that one year, you must purchase property on the island for a minimum amount of NAf. 450,000 (USD equivalent 255,000) in order to qualify for renewal.
It is likely that you may not only need to support your request with evidence of purchase with a notarial deed of transfer, but also with a recent appraisal report confirming the market value of the property.
If your nationality is other than from USA or The Netherlands, once granted, your residency permit should be valid for a consecutive three-year period after which a subsequent renewal would be due.
Third, if the circumstances under which you were granted your initial permit have changed, then you should in fact consider filing a “change request”. Based on the changes that have taken place, you may need to consider filing your request under a different programme, or you may need to consider relinquishing your residency permit altogether if you no longer fit into the criteria.
Also, worth asking yourself is: How long have you been a legal resident of the island? If you have been a legal resident for a consecutive, uninterrupted period of five years or more, you may want to change your legal status from temporary to indefinite residency which is commonly referred to as “permanent” resident status.
Disclaimer: Our newspaper articles are not intended as (legal) advice and do not take your personal circumstances into consideration. BrightPath does not accept any liability for damages resulting from using the provided information. Before you act or fail to act because of the content of our newspaper articles, we highly recommend you to seek personalized advice from us. BrightPath is a privately-owned consulting firm that assists clients with filing applications for residence permits and/or business licenses at the relevant government departments. None of our directors, employees or agents hold or have held any position with the government of Sint Maarten and our service does not provide for any preferential treatment with regard to any application. All information provided and statements made only serve to provide you with a general understanding of immigration, residence and business incorporation procedures on Sint Maarten.
For more information on how to obtain legal residency on St. Maarten, or how to proceed with a renewal or change request, contact us to schedule your appointment at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
