WILLEMSTAD – The Ministry of Economic Development (MEO) is introducing a new policy to improve the processing of hospitality permits under the Vergunningslandsverordening (P.B. 2024, no. 78 (GT)).
Currently, the issuance of these permits requires input from several agencies:
Fire Department (Brandweer) for fire safety conditions,
Ministry of Public Health, Environment, and Nature (GMN) for hygiene and facility standards, and
Police (KPC) for public order and background checks.
While the police have a legal deadline of three weeks to provide their advice, GMN and the Fire Department do not, leading to unnecessary delays. MEO acknowledges the challenges these agencies face but notes that delays have negatively impacted businesses and government revenue for years.
New Measures to Reduce Delays
To address these delays, starting February 15, 2025, GMN and the Fire Department will also have a three-week deadline to provide their input—matching the police deadline. This structural change aims to speed up the hospitality permit approval process.
Under the new system, if MEO does not receive input within three weeks, it will issue the permit based on available information and investigations. However, all agencies retain their independent authority to conduct inspections and ensure compliance with fire safety, hygiene, and public order regulations.
MEO expects full cooperation from GMN, the Fire Department, and the police to meet this new deadline.
Stricter Enforcement from April 2025
In addition to these changes, starting in mid-April 2025, the Economic Inspection Department will no longer allow hospitality establishments to operate without a permit. MEO is making every effort to clear existing backlogs and ensure all businesses receive their permits within a maximum of 11 weeks after newspaper publication.
New Hospitality Permit Timeline
The revised approval process follows these steps:
Permit application submitted and deemed complete → Published in the newspaper.
Two-week public review period → Interested parties may submit objections.
One-week review period → Applicants and others can review objections.
If objections are submitted → A community investigation is conducted, interviewing at least six nearby residents.
Findings submitted to MEO within two weeks → Minister of Economic Development decides on the permit within three weeks.
If no objections are raised, the permit can be granted within nine weeks. If further investigations are needed, the maximum processing time is 11 weeks.
MEO aims to improve efficiency while ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance in the hospitality sector.
