The Ahop app is in pre-production, not currently available in the App store and must be downloaded as a test app. Please follow the directions below to download the AHOP app.
This workflow will show the steps a traveler takes to obtain a Digital Travel Credential (DTC) and use it for travel to Aruba.
A video demonstration of this process can be found here.
Fill in the sign-in form registering for the AHOP app download, please note there is a limited number of daily participants as we are still in testing phase.
You will receive an email to download AHOP test version, set up the AHOP App.
1) Install the AHOP app on your mobile device using the instructions, video available above.
2) Read and accept the privacy policy.
3) Create a 6-digit passcode to securely access the application.
Please note: Email with App download info will originate from Indicio, please keep an eye out for this.
1) Go to the “notifications” tab and follow the instructions for scanning your passport and taking images of your face to collect your DTC and store it in your AHOP app wallet.
1) Using a second device (laptop, computer, tablet, smartphone) open the AHOP Trial Page on the Aruba ED card website https://edcardaruba.aw/home/ahopinvitation
Please Note: You must use this webpage for the AHOP trial. If you have already claimed your ED card through the standard Aruba ED card website, you must replicate the process again using this AHOP trial page.
2) With your AHOP app open, point your mobile device to the AHOP trial webpage and using the “Scan” button that looks like a QR code at the bottom of your AHOP App, scan the QR code displayed.
3) A notification will appear in the application asking to share your DTC.
4) Accept the request to send your DTC credential to the website.
5) Once your DTC is verified, the website will present the rest of the ED Card application. Your passport data will be pre-populated.
6) Input any missing information, including the flight information for the final leg of your journey that is touching down in Aruba, review your application, and click “Next.” You will now receive a Trusted Traveler in your AHOP application and an ED card in your browser and email. Please print this email for your records
Upon your arrival in Aruba, follow the AHOP signs for the AHOP dedicated lane, exclusively set up for AHOP users in the Arrival Hall of Aruba Immigration. This dedicated path leads you to our advanced facepod technology at the immigration booth, designed to identify you through biometric verification swiftly.
Upon verification and the necessary checks, the system will facilitate your entry by either granting immediate border crossing authorization or redirecting you to an immigration officer for any additional checks that may be required. This streamlined process ensures a faster, more secure entry, allowing you to start your Aruba adventure with ease.
To travel to Aruba, every traveler is still required to have their physical passport with them. An Immigration officer can, at any time during the journey, request to see your physical passport.
AHOP is a mobile application and software combined with biometrics that allows visitors to Aruba to autocomplete government immigration requirements before traveling and board their flight with their ‘ready-to-fly’ status being confirmed invisibly in the background.
AHOP will be available to:
1. Non- Aruba residents.
2. Guests must be at least 18 years old.
3. Guests must reside in the United States of America, Canada, or E.U. Countries.
4. Participants must have a valid passport
Pre-Arrival: AHOP implements seamless travel to Aruba through the use of verifiable digital credential technology. Passengers can easily apply for their authorization for travel (ED Card) using a simplified process that eliminates the need to manually enter information from your paper travel documents when traveling.
Upon Arrival: AHOP enables the traveler to biometrically cross the border in and soon out of Aruba.
As part of the process that allows admission to Aruba, the Aruba Embarkation-Disembarkation Card (ED-Card) helps verify that all the necessary steps were taken in order to board an inbound plane to Aruba.
This mandatory step for every passenger traveling to the island of Aruba, including kids and babies, needs to be completed and approved.
Once your Aruba ED-Card application is approved, it is a smooth ride to your Aruba vacation!
A Digital Travel Credential (DTC) follows the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) standards to facilitate a direct, trusted relationship between the passenger and the government of the country they are planning to visit. The technology enables a government to verify the identity of a passenger and to securely create a digital credential from the passenger’s physical passport that is held in their mobile wallet. This technology is built to ensure authenticity, integrity, and ownership can be automatically and repeatedly verified, thereby mitigating the risk of fraud.
Verifiable credentials (VCs) are a type of digital credential that can be held on a mobile device in a digital wallet and used independently from a third party controller. They represent information found in physical credentials, such as a passport, and have numerous advantages over physical credentials, most notably their ability to be tamper-resistant and instantaneously verifiable.
Your information is not being collected outside of the typical Aruba ED Card information that is stored in accordance with the policies of the government of Aruba and complies with EU data privacy standards.
You may find the full text of the privacy policy and terms and conditions here.
We highly suggest creating a PIN that is easy to remember. Once your PIN number is set, you will not have the ability to reset it. If you cannot remember your PIN, you will simply delete the app, then set it up from new with your passport.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips use technology that allows for the storing and communication of data using radio waves.
Near Field Communication technology, better known as NFC, is a proximity-based wireless communication standard and can be used to read an RFID chip. Unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, NFC interaction is limited to an extremely short range.
Aruba HOP uses NFC technology for you to use your phone to read the information from your passport to create a Digital Traven Credential.
Passports with this icon will have NFC capability:
All United States passports issued after 2006 have NFC technology. Because US passports expire after at most ten years, this means today, every valid US passport has NFC. You can also contact your passport issuing authority to determine the specifics for your passport.
NFC has been a staple feature on smartphones for several years. Please check the device manual for specific details for your device.
Android
There is a wide range of Android phones that are enabled for NFC. Commonly used phones that operate with Android software in the U.S. include Asus, Blackberry, Google, and Samsung. Some phones will be NFC-enabled but may not have the capability turned on. If you have a Samsung Android phone, check under settings > connections > tap NFC and contactless payments > tap the switch to turn NFC on.
Apple
The iPhone models released since 2018 come with a Background Tag Reading feature to work with the NFC tags. With this feature, you do not have to tap the NFC Tag Reader option before your iPhone starts searching for data. Instead, you only need to keep the iPhone screen on, and it automatically searches for NFC tag data.
You must use a mobile device with an NFC reader to use AHOP. If not, you may continue to use the manual, paper based ED process to enter Aruba.
You must have a passport with an NFC chip to use AHOP. If not, you may continue to use the manual, paper based ED process to enter Aruba.
If you having trouble scanning your passport with your NFC-enabled device, try the following troubleshooting steps:
Remove any covers or cases from your passport and mobile device.
Try scanning the other side of the passport. Your passport has an RFID chip embedded in one of the covers.
Try opening your passport and placing your phone on the information page moving it very slowly up and down/left to right.
Make sure the mobile device touches the passport, with no gap between the two items. Hold your phone against your passport until the scan is complete.
Once you have scanned your passport, accepted your Digital Travel Credential, and see it in your wallet, you can apply for your Aruba ED Card.
Next, go to https://edcardaruba.aw/, select the “Non-Resident” option, and choose to complete your application using a DTC.
The website will then display a QR code that you will scan using the QR code reader in your Aruba HOP. The app will then prompt you to share your credential with Aruba. If you consent to share your data, click “Accept” at the bottom of the request dialog.
Your credential will be securely transferred to Aruba’s servers and used to make the rest of the application process easier and more secure.
You will then receive an offer for a ‘Trusted Traveler Credential’ in your AHOP at the end of the application process. Once you tap ‘accept’ you will be ready to enter Aruba.
Your DTC, created in the AHOP app, is currently used during the ED Card application process and to be able to biometrically cross the border into and soon out of Aruba.
In the future, hotels, rental car companies, excursions and tours, and others will be able to use your DTC when your identity information is required to improve your experience while protecting your privacy and data.
No one collects your information without your choice and consent.
During this trial, only the government of Aruba is collecting your information. They are collecting the same information they would collect if you chose to travel there using paper documents.
In the future, other companies or organizations will be able to process your data. You will be asked if you consent to share your data with them.
The SITA DTC issuer system does not store your personal data.
To delete the DTC, simply uninstall the AHOP App.
Aruba only retains your information for a period of time as mandated by law and then removes your information from its systems.
Please contact [email protected] if you have further questions.