Sunbelt Realty's web site says nothing about supplying "apostilles" to verify notarization of the medical and good conduct certificates required for residency applications. Are these really required of U.S. applicants? I fear I will not have what's required when I visit Bonaire to apply. Does anybody have current knowledge about this?

Also, is one copy of my birth certificate enough? Will each office which needs mine return it to me to take to the next office?

I've heard I will have three months or six months or one year from being granted residency to get my household goods to Bonaire. Which is correct????

Finally, does anybody know how I can obtain the book Emigrating to Bonaire? It must answer all these questions, right?

Happy Fourth of July to all you U.S. residents on Boanire!! It's hotter in the northeast today than on Bonaire, so that's one more reason to be glad you moved to paradise! Hope to join you soon!

Thanks so much!!
Tish

Tish - try a search on BT keyword search at bottom of this page for "Apostille". I got two hits, this thread and another one.

Tish,
An apostile is a verification of the notary seal used on any document. You get it from the Secretary of State of the state where the document originated. It is a separate paper with a seal. Once the process is complete all your orginals come back to you as they have made multiple copies. I suggest carrying them with you as they always seemed to need new copies.
You need:
birth certificate
letter of good health
letter proving you would be welcome back to the States (that you are not a felon, we got our from our Mayor)
Letter of proof concerning marital status (we had to have an affadavit drawn up proving we were single)
Also a financial statement proving you can live here unassisted.
I believe the time limit is one year. We actually had ours arrive on island before my papers came through. Caused a bit of a problem but worked out.
I think I have mentioned everything but will think some more. Feel free to contact me if I can be of help. Susan

You might want to try residency on the search engine here or the search Bonaire site Jake set up.

Fiona and Susan, Thanks a bunch! Anybody else have answers to my questions?
Tish

Make sure your birth & marriage certificate(s) are 'new,' or at least less than six months old. They always seem to want new ones, even if you have your originals.

Thanks, Ruth!

Does anybody know what forms of payment the government accepts for the residency application fee. I'm on my way down to apply and need to know what to bring. Personal check on U.S. bank? Credit cards? Traveler's checks? Cash? More than one of the above?

Thanks a bunch!!
Tish

Cash. Pretty sure they don't take checks from a U.S. bank (expensive fees to cash/deposit those here), or credit cards. If they don't take traveller's cheques you can cash them at a bank & pay with cash.

We have bank ATM's too that might honor your home bank--if your atm card has a Cirrus or Maestro logo, you can use it here (there might be more types of atm cards honored here, this is all I know right now). And be sure to know your pin by number, not by a word, because some atm machines do not have the alphabet on them like in the US.

Ruth, thanks a lot for your clear answer. But now I'm confused about something else. Do I pay the residency permit fee when I apply, or do I pay it when I receive the permit?
Thanks so much!
Tish

Tish Trust me...what I told you inmy e e mail to you was correct!

You pay your permit fee and 'deportation" deposit when you receive the permit. It is very important to keep the actual receipt so you can get the deposit refunded when you leave the island.

And another weird oddity is that you pay your fees to the tax office and not to immigration. It is all centralized in one place for payments. So you get the amount due from one place, pay at the tax office, and then go back to show the receipt to the place that you owed the money to. Taxes, car registration, dog tags, drivers license, business tax, building permits, income tax all gets paid at one place.

Thanks to you all for your help!! It's all coming together--thanks to you good Bonairetalkers!! I'm so grateful!!
Tish