POSTERN

Nicaragua

Pensionado residence. Nicaragua still admits retirees on a $1,000-a-month pension, but Law 1228 repealed the old Law 694 in November 2024: the status is now one-year temporary residence, renewed annually, without the duty-free import perks the older guides describe.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Pensionado residence

One-year temporary residence as a retiree, renewable each year.

Who qualifies

Whether you keep your U.S. citizenship depends on the route you take later.

1

Does it fit your family?

4 questions, from the program’s own rules.

How old are you?

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Income
Steady income each month, rising with each person who moves.
Just you$1,000
2 people$1,150
4 people$1,450
Age
45 or older.
Time
Filed in person at DGME in Managua; 6–8 months to a decision is a fair planning figure since the 2024 changes.
Cost
Low thousands of dollars including legal help; the residence card itself is about $200 a year.
The hard part
Almost every page about this visa describes the pre-2024 version. Budget for ordinary import taxes and an annual renewal, not permanent residence and a tax-free car.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

3

Citizens by 2035.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    1 year, renewable for 1 year at a time.

  2. 2028
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  3. 2029
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 1 year.

  4. 2030
    Permanent residence

    More than three years of temporary residence (permits of one to three years). Central Americans and nationals of countries with a dual-nationality treaty can apply directly. Since Law 1228 (2024), rentier and pensioner residence is temporary, not permanent.

  5. 2034
    Apply for citizenship
  6. 2035
    Citizenship
Time away
Four years counted from the date the permanent-residence card was issued. A temporary resident loses the permit after more than six months abroad; a permanent resident after more than a year.
Two passports
It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.
  • Since the 2024 reform this is yearly temporary residence: permanence after more than three years, then four more years to citizenship. Since January 2026 you must give up your old nationality unless you are Central American.
  • The clocks, absence rules and 30-day legal decision time were read today in Law 761's consolidated text (La Gaceta 9, 18 January 2024) on the National Assembly's legislation site. That site serves only plain http, so a law firm's summary is cited instead.
  • A constitutional reform passed in January 2026 (reports differ on the day) requires naturalising foreigners to renounce their old nationality. Central Americans of origin are exempt. Whether Spain's exemption in Law 761 survives is unclear; treat dual citizenship as unavailable unless you are Central American.
  • Law 1228's details come from secondary sources; the Gaceta text was not read.
  • The consolidated law sets no language or civics exam. No post-reform decision time was found.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
  • Whether you can keep your current citizenship depends on the rules at the time and your home country.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
Annual renewal; no published day-count since the reform.
Tax
Nicaragua taxes only Nicaraguan-source income, so a foreign pension is not taxed there.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. File the temporary-residence application in person at the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería in Managua.Open dgme.gob.ni ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of steady income: at least $1,000 a month
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
6

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

20 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
7
ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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