How to Get Residency in Nicaragua

We go through everything involved with getting residency in Nicaragua from start to finish. 

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You are thinking about investing in Nicaragua for getting residency, but you need to consider that residency depends on your goals and a number of other factors. So let's start with the basic questions. 

Do I need to be a resident of Nicaragua to invest in the country? 

No, you do not need to be a citizen or resident for buying property in Nicaragua. Foreigners can purchase property using own corporations. Use your corporations to own properties all with the same rights as Nicaragua nationals. 

Are you planning on living down here for more than 90 days at a stretch. 

Now the Nicaraguan tourist Visa is good for 90 days for citizens of most countries. If you're only coming down for a few months at a time, you might not need it. 

You can also pop down into Costa Rica for a quick in and out of the border and get a new 90 days. Now a lot of people choose just to come here and then go down. Do that if you're here for 180 days. You only need to go out once. This only works for Costa Rica though. 

Nicaragua is part of the CA-4 group countries with Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. As a result, leaving to any of these countries does not get you a new stamp. 

However, Costa Rica is not part of that CA-4 group countries. Even an hour spend down there and coming back is fine. 

This works better in San Juan Del Sur town where we're about half an hour from the border. 

Some people become permanent tourists by doing this for years prior to the political issues in  2018 when the government had started to crack down a little bit on this question: people on the border why they were in and out so often? But now immigration authorities are back to stamping people in and out with a smile. The government is happy to have the foreigners in Nicaraguan spending money.  

You don't need residency in Nicaragua to own property, but it does have its advantages. 

For example, do you want to own a vehicle in Nicaragua? Now with a residency you can register and ensure that vehicle in your name, although it should be noted that if you purchase property with a corporation, you can also use that Corporation to register the vehicles. 

Are you planning on operating a business? 

A lot of people in Nicaragua will start operating business corporation without residency. Whether or not you need a residency to do so, it depends on the type of corporation, where it is, and what you want to do. 

If you're looking at doing business in Nicaragua, and you can always check consulting services that might be able to save your thousands by avoiding some common mistakes and help you increase your ROI. 

Overall applying for residency is generally advantageous if you're planning for permanently living in Nicaragua

Can you apply for this on your own? 

Yes, you can do but consulting services, lawyers, immigration agent make it easy for you. Some people with patience and good Spanish skills are able to navigate the government process, but the vast majority of successful applicants for residency use the services of a lawyer agent. There are a number of good ones lawyer, agents & consulting services in the major cities.  

Which is the category of residency?

Now the categories that can you apply are:

-foreign investor 

-pensioner 

-rentista 

-employee

- spouse 

Foreign Investor

You can apply with a minimum of $30,000 invested by the corporation. You need to invest into a business or buy property in Nicaragua. Both of which works well.  However, there are certain restrictions and it's important that you structure the corporation in the correct way.

If you're applying on your own, the visa fee as an investor is 213 dollars. The organization for the government does not charge for some of the stuff, but you have to pay to bring their inspector if you've got an investment that you're using for the visa application.

Pensioner 

You must be 45 or older and demonstrate stable future pension.  Income must be at least $800 per month. 

Rentista

Rentista is similar to pensioner, but it comes from investments. This category is a little more difficult because nature of Investments, for example, equity and dividends can provide very well income, as opposed to pensions, which are usually fixed. 

Employee

You are a skilled person. Companies may hire you as a employee. This type of visa is generally valid for one year, then, it can be expanded for up to five years. 

The NGO and missionary can create an NGO organization. They can bring workers on visa usually granted for a year.

You have to pay visa fee of $197 for pension, spouse and other categories.

Apostille stamped documents

If you're from one of the 114 countries of the Hague convention, you can get an apostille stamp, which is similar to International notarization story. To receive an apostille stamp, documents must be from the applicants home country authenticated by the nearest Nicaraguan consulate. 

Length of the process

Average wait time is three to six months once the application has been submitted. 

Another important thing to note is how these applications are processed. If you submit your application and that are missing a document, the Nicaraguan immigration department will notify you and request that new item. 

When you resubmit the new document, your application goes to the bottom of the pile of applications. This means potentially extra months of wait times, so important to ensure that you submit all the required documents with the apostille stamp or notary certifications. This is the point where an agent or your lawyer really earns. 

Police and Health Certifications

You should also note that the police and health certifications are time sensitive. They are only valid for six months from the time of issue. You need to ensure that all your other documents are in order and then you apply for the police record check and the health certificate. As long as these certificates are valid at the time of submission, the stay balancing the whole process. 

Residency Expiry Period 

Most of these residencies are good for five years of investor, pensioner, rentista and spousal categories. 

You should get one year residency for the employees, NGO volunteers the missionaries and your residency does come with some obligations. With the exception of investors, you have to spend half the year in the country. Investors don't have to spend any time. 

You have to respect the law & can't get arrested. 

You will need to renew this every five years when it expires. 

You cannot be involved in political activities. 

You will have to provide some ongoing proof of investment, pension, income. 

Fees

Visa fees are under $200, but most lawyers, immigration agents and consulting services will charge from 700 to 1200 dollars total. If a document is missing or Visa is rejected due to incomplete or faulty documents on your part, then they can charge more fees. So it is better to hire from beginning. On rejection of your application for residency or citizenship, they can suggest you a plan B. 

Now you can buy a coffee for me. 

Good luck!!!!!