Retiring in nicaragua

I don't live in Nicaragua, but I can provide a little bit of insight.  The advantage to leaving every 180 days is that you force yourself to do a little traveling, if that's what you enjoy.  However, eventually the authorities could deny re-entry if they see you are coming and going too often (not very likely). [Moderated]

Hi There!

Nicaragua has  recently passed into law a very liberal residency requirement program.

Briefly, the objective of this Law is to promote Special Tourism, and gives many the opportunity to relocate to Nicaragua  to live as a Resident ( renewable every five years). For those who can prove a minimum income, it gives additional tax exemptions.

To take advantage of this law and get its benefits, you must prove a monthly income of at least US($ 600.00) for Retirees (on pension) and US( $ 750.00) for people with private incomes; i.e. benefits or incomes from  employment,Investments, Stocks, Rents, Retirement Plans, etc.

This law includes dependents  who could even be parents of the applicant, spouse (husband or wife), children under 21 years old;   The applicant must have an income of at least US($150.00) for each dependent.

If you meet these requirements and have a reputable attorney to assist with the documentation (all in Spanish) you should have no problems.

And if you decide you would rather just leave the country every six months, you can always hop over to Costa Rica or Honduras for a nice weekend visit. And I agree with the comments from ergibbs; The likelihood of the authorities denying you re-entry back into Nicaragua, is probably slim to none.

Hope this helps!

Hello coolcaroline!

Thank you for this sharing.

I hope that you will keep it .

Harmonie.

Dear Readers,

The 12th of August 2009 there was published in LA GACETA, Number 151, the Law 694 named: “LEY DE PROMOCION DE INGRESO DE RESIDENTES PENSIONADOS Y RESIDENTES RENTISTAS” which was approved by the National Assembly (Nicaraguan Congress), on June 18th.

This commentary is to explain the most important parts, the gist of the law, and not to describe the structure or explain one by one the 27 articles of the Law.

The objective of this Law is the promotion of the Special Tourism, and gives many people the opportunity to come to Nicaragua to live for a long period of time as a Resident (five years). To people who can prove a minimum income, it gives a special fiscal treatment with tax exemptions.

To take advantage of this law and get its benefits, people who are going to apply must prove a monthly income of Six hundred US dollars ($600.00) for Retiree (on pension) and Seven hundred fifty US dollars ($ 750.00) for people with privates incomes – Rentier - i.e. benefits or incomes from Investments, Certificate of Deposits for five years, Bonus, Revenues, Stocks, Rents, Retirement Plans, etc. Dependents could be parents of the applicant, spouse (husband or wife), children under 21 years old; or any other relative in the four grades who are dependents of the applicant. The applicant must have an income of One hundred fifty US dollars ($150.00) for each dependent.

Nicaraguans who have been living more than ten years abroad and have an income coming from abroad, according to the Law, also can get the benefits of this Law.

The Benefits are:

Right to Residency for five years.
Exemption from payment of the one way ticket out of the country for the applicant/resident.
A tax exemption for a vehicle C.I.F. (Cost, Insurance and Freight), up to twenty five thousand dollars ($ 25,000.00); if the price of the vehicle is over twenty five thousand dollars ($ 25,000.00) the Resident will pay taxes on the difference. This vehicle can be changed with tax exemption every four years. Vehicles can be imported from the country where the applicant comes from or bought in Nicaragua in both cases there will be a tax exemption.
A tax exemption of twenty thousand dollars ($ 20,000.00) for household goods. There is a comprehensive list of articles that can be considered household goods. i.e.: “household goods are the new or used goods that help or allow living comfortably in a house”.
A tax exemption of fifty thousand dollars ($ 50,000.00) of the VAT (value added tax) on construction materials to build a house to live in.
Tax exemption of the VAT on rental cars of the Resident, for his personal use in Nicaragua.
Requirements: People who want to apply and get these benefits must submit these documents:

Application form.
Income certification
Birth Certificate
Two pictures
Health Certificate
Photocopy of the passport
Marriage License (where relevant)
Police Record Certificate
List of the household goods and vehicle's documentation
Naturalization Certificate for people who have a different nationality than where they were born.
The whole documentation must be Apostilled (given Consular Legalization) and Authenticated in the country where the documents come from, for the Nicaraguan Consulate.

Obligations:

Live in Nicaragua at least six months per year; it could be continuous or discontinuous. However, with INTUR's authorization there could be exemptions, e.g. heath reasons or having investments in real estate over Seventy five thousand dollars ($ 75,000.00) in Nicaragua.
Submit every year to INTUR, documentation to prove that his/her income (in the amounts specified above) comes into Nicaragua.
The renewal every five years of the Residency according to the Residency Law of the Immigration Department
Prohibition:

The Resident can't work in Nicaragua with government money; but could do private investments in a business and make investments in Real Estates over Seventy five thousand dollars ($ 75,000.00) in Nicaragua in accordance with the Ministry of Economy and Development's approval. People such as scientists or professors in Universities or Research Institutes will be able to work in Nicaragua.
People who build a house for personal or private use, with tax exemptions in construction materials, can't transfer/sell the house for ten years or they must pay the taxes on those materials.

The age to apply:

The legal age to apply for both Retiree and Private Income  - Rentier - applicants is forty five years old, however the same Law in article 23 exempts people who are previously retired for disability (medical reasons).-
This is a modern Law which offers several advantages, and I am pretty sure it will be a wonderful tool for “ex pats” who want to live in Nicaragua.

Best Regards,

Paul Tiffer

This is pretty dated, but, does a prospective imigrante need to go to a Nicaraguan consulate in order to start off?

I have zero police or criminal history and have been living in Mexico for so long I have no idea of where to obtain proof of no criminal activity.


I would need several trips to carry in stuff that cannot be purchased in country. Is the personal property exemption a one-trip event?

I actually most need someone living in Nicaragua to converse with via email.

Hello mexbungalows -> Do not hesitate to start a new thread on the Nicaragua forum for more visibility.

Thank you,
Aurélie