Yellow fever vaccine: Is it mandatory?

Yellow fever vaccine:
Is it mandatory for travel to Curaçao?

Update: September 2023

As of September 2023, the island’s health authorities have indicated that a yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory if you come from a country considered high risk. The following countries have been reconfirmed:

Colombia, Argentina (Misiones and Corrientes), Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Panama and Venezuela.

Yellow fever is a severe infectious disease transmitted by mosquito bites. This disease can cause hemorrhages, jaundice and fever. For this reason, it has been called “yellow fever”. The virus can present itself either as a mild flu-like illness or as a severe and often fatal form of the disease. In this case, the liver and kidneys are affected with hemorrhages from all orifices of the body.

Because the mortality rate due to yellow fever is high, many countries have chosen to protect their population by requiring tourists from high-risk areas to present proof that they have been vaccinated. But how do you know if you need to have the yellow fever vaccine to travel to Curaçao?

Here is what you should know if you are traveling to Curaçao and do not know if you need this vaccine:

DATA n. 1: no yellow fever virus in curaçao

If you are traveling from Curaçao, you will probably not need to present this vaccine. However, if you are coming to Curaçao from an area with yellow fever, vaccination may be MANDATORY.

DATA n. 2: WHICH ARE THOSE HIGH RISK AREAS?

In general, all visitors coming from endemic areas or who have an air or sea connection of 12 hours or more need to show a yellow fever vaccination certificate.

These countries are:
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Panama, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon; Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda and Venezuela.

If you live, have traveled or have been in transit in any of these areas, you will probably be asked for proof of vaccination against yellow fever.

It is important to keep in mind that in many cases, before entering Curaçao, some travelers make a stopover in other countries, such as Colombia or Panama. Therefore, it is worthwhile to inquire about transit requirements in those countries as well. This should be checked with your travel agent or airline.