Anyone who is legally residing or working on Bonaire, St. Eustatius or Saba is insured for healthcare on these islands. To be eligible for the health insurance BES, you must register with Care and Youth Caribbean Netherlands (ZJCN).

Certain rules and conditions are applicable to registration. Only when you meet these requirements can we include you in the health insurance database of ZJCN.

If you are moving to Bonaire, Saba or St. Eustatius, it is therefore important that you take out your own health insurance as a bridging solution. This is to prevent you from being without medical insurance until you are (legally / officially) registered in the population register of the Caribbean Netherlands. If you are staying in the country as a tourist, you are not entitled to the health insurance BES.

Register for the health insurance with your ZJCN office?

You can only register for health insurance with ZJCN after you have been registered in the population register of Bonaire, Saba or St. Eustatius. You then go to the ZJCN desk with all the documents listed below:

  • Sedula / ID card.
  • Declaration of legal status, or residence permit, or proof of application for renewal of one of these documents. If you are an island child, a sedula is sufficient.
  • Employer's statement (if you work for a Caribbean Dutch employer).
  • If you are from the Netherlands: proof of the termination date of your Dutch health insurance.

You do NOT qualify for registration if:

  • Your employer is a Dutch public-law organisation.
  • You are subject to compulsory insurance in the Netherlands.
  • Your income from work is subject to income tax in another country.
  • As a tourist, you are staying on the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands.

Please note! You are required to register with the Civil Affairs Department. Once you have registered, the Civil Affairs Department prepares an identity document (sedula / ID card) for you. As an insured person, you must always carry this sedula / ID card with you so that the healthcare provider can check whether you are registered in the insurance records.