February 2014. Aruba enacts new aircraft registration legislation.

The Aruba Registry has recently enacted some new legislation to increase the flexibility of the aircraft registration program in Aruba and to meet demands from the industry. The changes were implemented in the aircraft registration regulation. This memorandum will give you an overview of the key elements that have been implemented.

Qualifying countries/companies for registration in Aruba.

Prior to these changes only natural persons that are resident of Aruba or Aruba legal entities qualified for registration. The new regime expands the definition of qualifying companies to include:

Members of the European Union states
Members of the European Economic Zone states
Members of the British Commonwealth
The United States of America
United Arab Emirates

Companies which are member of (one of) these states can qualify for registration, provided these companies have and maintain a qualifying local representatives established in Aruba.

U.S. Owner Trustees.

U.S. Owner Trustees also qualify for registration in Aruba under this new regime.

Qualifying holders.

The old regime limited registration by either Aruba owners or Aruban lessees (“houders”). The new regulation also allows for aircraft manager or operators to qualify for registration. In all these instances the Registry has to verify the underlying documentation that the manager or operator has operational control of the aircraft, which is a safety oversight requirement.

Other qualifying countries/companies.

The regulation also contains a list of countries that do not fall under any of the earlier mentioned categories but whose companies are commonly used, as part of international financial structures or for which there is demand from the industry. The qualifying countries are listed in annex 1 to this.

Companies which are member of (one of) these states can qualify for registration, provided these companies have and maintain a qualifying local representatives established in Aruba.

Qualifying local representatives.

Qualifying local representatives are limited to: lawyers, accountants and trust-offices that are directly or indirectly under regulatory supervision in Aruba. Having a qualifying local representative will, in principle, not create a taxable presence for the foreign company registering an aircraft in Aruba.

IDERA domestic registry.

The new regulation creates the possibility for the Registry to maintain a separate registry for IDERA’s filed with the Registry. While the Cape Town Convention does not require domestic legislation for the creation of such registry, it was deemed desirable by the Registry to provide for this to create an extra level of comfort for financiers.

Pledge domestic registry.

The regulation also allows for a separate registry to be created to file any other legal acts and/or notifications that in any way is relevant for the legal status of an aircraft. These include the filling of security interest rights in the form on an Aruba right of first pledge or an Aruban right of first mortgage.

Other rights.

Other rights or notices that that can be filed with the registry include: fractional ownership, engine ownerships or rights allocated to a U.S.-(owner) Trustee. The latter was included to facilitate the recordal of the rights of U.S. (owner) Trustees in Aruba.

More info.

For more information of aircraft registration in Aruba or on the possibilities of structuring under this new regime or for domiciliation service contact:

ANNEX 1