Nicaragua Pensionado Visa (Law 694)

Nicaragua’s pensionado route used to sit under Law 694, a retiree-friendly program that let people with foreign pensions settle in the country with a few extra perks. That law has since been repealed and the category now sits inside the broader immigration system under Law 761. The old INTUR-based process is gone.

That shift matters because the tax breaks tied to Law 694 are no longer part of the package. Under the old rules, pensionados could get immediate permanent residence, a one-time household goods exemption and other customs or VAT benefits. Those advantages were built into the repealed law, not the current residency framework.

What still exists is the pensionado residency category itself. Nicaragua still recognizes retirees and other people with qualifying foreign income, but they now apply directly through Immigration rather than through the old tourism program.

Who the pensionado route is for

Under the former Law 694 framework, a pensionado was someone with a government, public or private pension of at least $1,000 a month. The rentista category covered people with stable foreign passive income of at least $1,250 a month. Dependents could be included with an extra $150 a month for each one.

The old law also set a general age floor of 45, though it allowed exceptions for people under 45 who could prove an early pension or qualifying foreign rent. Nicaraguans living abroad for at least 10 years could also qualify under the same framework.

What changed after the repeal

• Application channel: no more INTUR filing, applications now go through Immigration.
• Legal basis: the category is handled under the general migration law, not Law 694.
• Tax perks: the old Law 694 exemptions were removed from the package.
• Tourist entry: this is separate, short-stay status and doesn’t turn into residency on its own.

The practical takeaway is simple, but annoying. If you’re looking at Nicaragua for retirement, don’t rely on old Law 694 summaries floating around the internet. The pensionado label still exists, but the rules, filing path and benefits are no longer the same ones people used to quote from the repealed law.

Law 694 is Nicaragua’s retiree and rentier residency track and it’s open to both foreigners and Nicaraguan citizens who meet the rules. For foreign applicants, nationality isn’t the issue. The law doesn’t carve out country bans or a separate passport list.

The first filter is age. The standard minimum is 45, which can be annoying if you were hoping to use this path early. There is an exception, though. Applicants under 45 can still qualify if they can prove an early pension in their home country or residence country or if they have qualifying rent income that meets the law’s conditions.

The second filter is income and this is where people usually get tripped up. The money has to be stable, permanent and generated abroad. Local Nicaraguan income doesn’t count toward the threshold.

• Pensionado income: at least $1,000 a month from a pension or retirement payment.
• Rentista income: at least $1,250 a month from foreign rents or similar recurring income.
• Dependents: add $150 a month for each dependent you want included.

That means a Pensionado applying with a spouse and one child would need to show $1,300 a month in qualifying foreign income. The law is clear that this income has to be recurring and long term, not a one-time savings balance you hope migration will accept.

Family members can be included, but only if the relationship is documented and the extra income is there. The law covers a spouse, a partner in a recognized stable union, parents, minor children and, in limited cases, other dependent relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity.

Applicants also have to back up the income with proper paperwork. The law calls for certification from the paying institution showing the monthly amount, that the income is permanent and stable and that it can be maintained for at least five years. The public government sources don’t publish a single clean fee sheet or processing-time chart for this residency class, so anyone giving you exact timelines there's probably guessing.

Nicaragua’s Pensionado and Rentista routes are meant for people who can document real foreign income. If you can’t prove the monthly figure and its source, you’re not qualified, no matter how long you’ve been planning the move.

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Nicaragua’s pensionado route used to live under Law 694, but that law was repealed in 2024 and folded into the newer general residency framework. The old document checklist still matters because it’s the clearest baseline anyone has published, but you should treat it as a starting point, not the final word.

For a first residency filing, DGME and embassy guidance point to a pretty standard paper stack. The annoying part is that Nicaragua still expects most of it to be authenticated properly and foreign-language documents need Spanish translations by a Nicaraguan notary.

• Completed DGME application form: picked up at DGME offices.
• Passport: biographic page copy and latest entry stamp, with at least 6 months of validity left.
• Photos: two passport-size photos, front-facing, white background, no glasses or head covering.
• Birth certificate: authenticated or apostilled, then legalized as required.
• Police record: from your country of origin or last 3 years of residence, also authenticated.
• Health certificate: issued abroad or, if needed, by Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health.

The classic Law 694 pensionado file was a bit more specific. It asked for a written application stating your intent to live in Nicaragua, your local address and the documents you were attaching, plus proof that your pension is permanent and stable.

• Income proof: official certification of a pension or rent of at least $600 a month.
• Dependent allowance: add $150 a month for each dependent.
• Age proof: a birth certificate showing the applicant is at least 45.
• Family documents: marriage certificates, children’s birth certificates and copies of passports where applicable.
• Background checks: police clearances for the applicant and dependents.
• Extra paperwork: naturalization certificate if your current nationality differs from your birth country.

If you’re bringing household goods or a vehicle, Law 694 also called for a menaje de casa list and import paperwork. That benefit was tied to the old regime, so don’t assume customs will treat it the same way now. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the bureaucracy: original documents plus multiple certified copies and then more stamping and translation on top of that.

One more wrinkle, the old pensionado exemption from the refundable guarantee deposit may not carry over automatically after the repeal. Confirm that directly with DGME or a Nicaraguan consulate before you file. Nicaragua’s paperwork rules are still old-school enough to punish guesswork.

Law 694 sets the Pensionado framework, but it does not publish a clean fee schedule for every step. The awkward part is that the government’s tariff lists are handled through migration law and DGME procedures and those figures aren’t all posted in one place.

The clearest baseline is the income rule. A Pensionado needs at least $600 a month from a stable pension or Social Security, with an extra $150 a month for each dependent. That’s the part applicants can plan around. The fees are messier.

What you’ll likely pay

• Residency card for pensionados: The strongest reported benchmark is about $250 for the 5-year permanent residence card for retirees and pensioners. That figure comes from reporting on the migration-law tariff reform, not a neatly posted public fee sheet.
• Temporary residence card: More general DGME-based fee summaries put temporary residency cards at about $200 per year. Some applicants use this route first, then move to permanent status later.
• Migration form: DGME requires an official procedure form. Older guidance put it at C$50, but DGME later raised form prices and the current exact amount for 2026 isn’t clearly published online.
• Guarantee deposit: After approval, you may also have to post a refundable deposit equal to the cost of a ticket back to your home country or previous residence. There’s no fixed amount because it depends on the fare.

There are also non-government costs that can dwarf the actual filing fee. Most people hire a lawyer or fixer because the paperwork is slow, translated, apostilled and handled in Managua and legal fees often land around $1,000 or more.

If you’re entering first as a tourist, budget another $10 for the entry card. That isn’t part of the residency application, but plenty of pensionado applicants pay it on the way in, so it belongs in the real-world total.

Budgeting reality

A bare-bones application can look cheap on paper. In practice, once you add legal help, translations, apostilles and the guarantee deposit, the out-of-pocket cost usually feels a lot less friendly than the headline residency fee.

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How to apply

There isn’t a live Law 694 application process anymore. Law 694 was repealed and pensionados are now handled under the general migration rules in Law 761 as temporary residents, not as a separate pensionado program with its own fast-track or benefits package.

That means the old route through INTUR is gone for new applicants. If you want to retire in Nicaragua now, you’ll need to deal with the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería in Managua or work through a Nicaraguan consulate if you’re applying from abroad.

• Check your current category: Make sure you’re applying under the post-2024 residency rules, not the old Law 694 pensionado category.
• Prepare proof of income: Official public sources don’t give a fixed current minimum that’s fully locked down online. A 2026 legal memo cites a referential minimum of $1,200 a month, but that isn’t published as a clear statutory figure.
• Gather civil documents: You should expect to need standard residency paperwork such as identity and background documents, but the government hasn’t posted a clean, current public checklist for pensionados.
• Apply in person or through a consulate: There’s no online portal for this category. The process is still paper-heavy and slow.

The annoying part is the timeline. The same legal commentary puts current processing at about 6 to 8 months, which is a lot longer than most people expect when they first look at Nicaragua.

Fees are just as muddy. The old Law 694 system had its own residency card and benefit structure, but that law is no longer in force. Current public sources don’t give a stable, official fee schedule for pensionado temporary residence, so don’t rely on old blog numbers without checking with DGME or a lawyer who's following the current practice.

If you’re serious about this route, start early and verify everything directly. Nicaragua’s pensionado path still exists in spirit, but the paperwork now sits under the broader residency system and the old Law 694 shortcut is gone.

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Law 694 treated the Pensionado category as indefinite, not a fixed-term visa. The whole point was permanent residence for retirees, so there was no built-in end date and no yearly “leave or lose it” clock like a tourist stay.

That said, the residence card itself still had to be renewed. The law required renewal every five years and holders also had to keep meeting the category rules, including annual proof that the pension or rent was actually entering Nicaragua through the local banking system.

There was also a presence test. Pensionados had to spend at least six months in Nicaragua each year, either in one stretch or broken up across the year. If you wanted to be away longer, the law allowed exceptions in limited cases, mainly for people with more than $75,000 in local investment or for documented health problems.

• Status duration: Indefinite under Law 694, as long as the category wasn’t renounced or cancelled.
• Card renewal: Every 5 years.
• Minimum presence: 6 months per year in Nicaragua.
• Maximum absence: More than 1 year outside the country without justification could trigger loss of status.

Law 694 also set clear ways to lose the status. If the qualifying pension stopped for 6 consecutive months, if you failed to meet the residency rules or if you changed to another immigration category, the Pensionado status could be cancelled. INTUR had to run an administrative process first, so it wasn’t supposed to disappear overnight, but the rules were still pretty strict.

There’s a catch for anyone trying to use the old law today. The official legislation portal marks Law 694 as sin vigencia, so it’s no longer in force. Current retiree cases are handled under the general immigration law and practitioner reports suggest the card renewal setup may now be different, sometimes on a 1-year basis. The exact current renewal rhythm isn’t spelled out clearly in the public materials we found, so don’t rely on the old Law 694 schedule without checking the DGME first.

The Pensionado Visa doesn’t come with a special tax break. It’s a residency category, so the tax question still comes down to where your income is earned and whether you’ve become a Nicaraguan tax resident.

Nicaragua uses a territorial tax system for personal income. In plain English, income that originates in Nicaragua is the part that gets taxed locally. Foreign-earned income is generally treated differently, but I couldn’t confirm a separate government statement spelling out a pensionado-only exemption or reduced rate, so don’t assume the visa gives you one.

Tax residency can also kick in even if your income is foreign. Under the current summary I reviewed, you can be treated as a tax resident if you spend more than 180 days in Nicaragua in a calendar year, continuous or not or if your main center of economic interest is in Nicaragua.

That matters for long-stay Pensionado holders. If you’re in the country most of the year or your financial life is centered there, you may be pulled into ordinary resident tax rules even if your pension or salary comes from abroad.

What gets taxed

• Nicaraguan-source income: Subject to the local income tax system.
• Non-residents with Nicaraguan-source income: Subject to a definitive 20% withholding tax.
• Resident taxpayers: Face progressive rates up to 30% on taxable Nicaraguan income.

I couldn’t confirm a general double-tax treaty network from official Nicaraguan government material in the research set I reviewed. PwC’s summary says Nicaragua hasn’t signed a general double-tax treaty with any country, aside from a limited air-transport agreement with Mexico. That’s not a green light to ignore taxes at home, so check how your home country treats foreign residency and foreign tax credits.

The other gap is reporting. I could verify the residency and tax rules, but not the exact filing thresholds, return forms or account-reporting steps from an official tax portal. If you have Nicaraguan-source income or you cross the 180-day mark, expect normal compliance obligations and get local tax advice before you make assumptions you can’t unwind later.